Paramount On Screen: It’s A Wonderful Life [PG]

Return to Bedford Falls and relive the magic and wonder of director Frank Capra’s heartwarming and enchanting holiday tale, It’s a Wonderful Life, as it plays on the Big Screen at The Paramount Theater this holiday season!

After George Bailey (James Stewart) wishes he had never been born, an angel (Henry Travers) is sent to earth to make George’s wish come true. George starts to realize how many lives he has changed and impacted, and how they would be different if he was never there.

Despite its initially poor performance due to high production costs and stiff competition, the Motion Picture Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences saw fit to nominate It’s a Wonderful Life for five Oscars. With the considerable boost from over forty years of television screenings, the film has gone on to become one of the most inspirational and beloved movies in American cinema. It has since been recognized by the American Film Institute as one of the 100 best American Films ever made.

Image credits: Paramount

Did you know?

• For the scene that required Donna Reed to throw a rock through the window of the Granville house, director Frank Capra hired a marksman to shoot it out on cue. To everyone’s amazement, Reed broke the window by herself. She had played baseball in high school and had a strong throwing arm.
• The gym floor that opens in the middle to reveal the swimming pool underneath was filmed at Beverly Hills High School In Beverly Hills, California, USA was real and is still in regular use. The same gymnasium moving floor was used in a similar school dance scene in Whatever It Takes (2000), fifty-four years later. The young man who opened the floor to the pool was Carl ‘Alfalfa’ Switzer in an uncredited role. He was one of the stars in the Our Gang Little Rascals series.
• Director Frank Capra often said that this was his favorite of all his films.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO! The Paramount Theater is pleased to bring diverse programming to the stage and screen. The Theater does not provide advisories about subject matter for events, as sensitivities vary. Not all events may appeal to, or be appropriate for, every person. Patrons are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the shows offered in order to make informed decisions prior to purchasing tickets.

In addition to show synopses, trailers, and reviews on our web events, other resources about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb, and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches. For further questions, please contact the Box Office at 434.979.1333 or at boxoffice@theparamount.net, 10AM-2PM Monday-Friday + 1 hour before events.