So we have reached the final movie in my favorite Christmas movie countdown. Before I get to the skinny on the film, which a new survey lists as the most loved holiday movie, I wanted to give my backstory on how I even came to learn of this movie.

It was 1985 and I listened to the weekly Top 40 countdown with Casey Kasem like clockwork. I never missed a week, and I kept track of all the songs. One song on the countdown that week was Billy Joel’s “You’re Only Human (Second Wind)” and Casey discussed the background of the song. The song deals with teenage depression and suicide, it became a top-ten hit for Joel and he donated all royalties from the song to the National Committee for Youth Suicide Prevention. But in his mention of the background, Casey brought up Frank Capra’s Christmas film “It’s A Wonderful Life” and told how the song’s video pays homage to the 1946 Jimmy Stewart classic.

Until then, I had never heard of the movie. Being a Christmas freak even back then, I knew I had to see it.

I believe I ended up renting it from the video store because back then “It’s A Wonderful Life” was not played on TV as much as it is now. I was hooked from there. In 1996 I bought the 50th anniversary edition on VHS and I now own it on DVD in both black and white and color.

So what’s this five-time Academy Award nominated film about? The film stated by the American Film Institute as one of the 100 best American films ever made? The film selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress?

It’s all about the life of George Bailey (Stewart) from the time he’s a boy saving his brother Harry (Todd Karns) and working in Gower’s (H.B. Warner) drugstore to his father (Samuel S. Hinds) suddenly passing away, to taking over the family bank, the ol’ Bailey Building & Loan and giving up his dreams of traveling the world, to falling in love and marrying Mary Hatch (Donna Reed), to dealing with Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell) and all the unruly customers during the run on the bank, to starting a family with Mary, to still wanting to get away but instead helping your community grow by helping people obtain home ownership, to dealing with Henry Potter (Lionel Barrymore)

to having your war hero brother coming home on Christmas Eve, to having Uncle Billy “lose” $8,000 by inadvertently handing it to Potter, to having the authorities after you, to drinking at Martini’s, to getting punched in the lip, to running to the bridge to jump and then…being saved by Clarence Odbody (Henry Travers), Angel Second Class–because he hasn’t earned his wings yet.

Clarence wants those wings and come hell or high water, he’s going to make sure George grasps just how wonderful his life has been so he can earn them. Dammit.

George receives the best gift from Clarence: a chance to see his world without him in it. Bedford Falls is now Pottersville. The Building & Loan doesn’t exist. Martini’s is now Nick’s. Gower is a drunk. Harry died in the sledding accident. Zuzu’s petals are missing. The turning point for George is when he sees Mary has become nothing but a lonely librarian and he scares the shit out of her. That’s when he goes back to the bridge and begs to live again.

And it’s such a joyous moment when Bert the cop comes along and tells George everyone’s been looking for him. And George realizes it’s snowing. And his lip is bleeding. And Zuzu’s petals are in his pocket. And he’s running through Bedford Falls yelling “Merry Christmas!” at everyone and everything.

It chokes me up every. single. time.

The final scene is the best, the party of all parties at George’s house, celebrating Harry’s return, Mary and Uncle Billy have gone around town collecting money to help George, even the bank examiner rips up his papers. And in with the donations is a copy of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”, which Clarence just so happens to have been reading when he saved George. Inside the book is an inscription that says it all:

Zuzu closes it out when a bell on the Christmas tree rings and she declares that “every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings” to which George smiles upwards and says “‘Atta boy, Clarence!”.

You just don’t get any better a Christmas movie than this one. It will forever be my favorite Christmas movie. As the plaque on my door declares: “It’s A Wonderful Life”.