The Extraordinary Censorship of "It's a Wonderful Life"
December 10, 2020
Ron
"It's a Wonderful Life" is now regarded as one of the great Christmas chestnuts, but it wasn't always so favored; it was never on the playlist when I was a kid in the 60s. That list included "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "Frosty the Snowman", "The Littlest Angel", "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and others, but not "It's a Wonderful Life". This classic started getting local airplay around the country in the late 70s because it'd fallen into the public domain, so it was cheap. I also remember it on video in the dollar bins. And every local station played it, sometimes simultaneously. Then legal instruments became involved into the 80s and wound a grip around this iconic Frank Capra yarn of redemption.
Author James Perloff speaks about his article "The Extraordinary Censorship of 'It's a Wonderful Life'" in this insightful video and discusses why Frank Capra’s 1946 classic was snubbed by the Oscars in favor of the now-forgotten “The Best Years of Our Lives.” James is the author of "Truth Is A Lonely Warrior" and "The Shadows of Power".
THE SOURCE ARTICLE
"The Extraordinary Censorship of 'It's a Wonderful Life'"
THE FILM
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)
THE MAKING OF
The Making Of It's a Wonderful Life — Tom Bosley
The Making Of It's a Wonderful Life — Frank Capra, Jr.
RECOLLECTIONS
Burt Reynolds interviews Jimmy Stewart, Mickey Rooney, Ricardo Montalban, and Van Johnson
[The piece opens with Stewart talking about “It’s a Wonderful Life”.]
"It's a Wonderful Life" Interview with Original Cast Members Karlyn Grimes and Jimmy Hawkins (Zuzu and Tommy Bailey, respectively.]
ANCILLARY
"It's a Wonderful Life": House Tour
[CG Tour]
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