OLR Movie Night – It’s a Wonderful Life

It’s a Wonderful Life is a classic movie staring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed and directed by Frank Capra. It is a must-see movie about a suicidal man that, with the help of his guardian angel, changes his ways.

When originally released, the movie was wrought with controversy. Thought to contain communist propaganda, the movie caught the eye of the FBI (and certainly J. Edgar Hoover) who issued a memo about the movie and its potential for communist ties. The director, Frank Capra, finished filming the film straddled with debt ($374,000 in 2022 dollars) but stated that It’s a Wonderful Life was “the greatest film I ever made.”