by Anonymous: reply 22: March 26, 2016 2:35 PM: What a life! During the filming of It's a Wonderful Life, James Stewart was actively suffering from PTSD and depression due to his service in WWII. From 1965 to 1967, she had a recurring role in the NBC television series Please Don't Eat the Daisies, based on an earlier Doris Day film. He tries selling his mother a brush. Janie asked her mother if now was the right time to play "Hark the Herald Angel Sing" in the final scene, according to the novelization. "It's a Wonderful Life," in which she played a . This was very unusual for a Hollywood film of the time; the Motion Picture Production Code, popularly known as the Hays Code, after Will H. Hays, then the president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (known as the Motion Picture Association of America [MPAA] from 1945 until September 2019, and The Motion Picture Association [MPA] since 2019), also then known as the Hays Office--the film industry's censor--code required that criminals must always be shown to be either punished or made to repent at the end of every film. Both James Stewart and Donna Reed came from small towns; Stewart from Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Reed from Denison, Iowa. Ellen Corby was born as Ellen Hansen to Danish immigrants in Racine, Wisconsin on June 3, 1911. Thurston Hall, Russell Hicks, Moroni Olsen, and Tom Tully were considered for Peter Bailey. According to Michael Learned, who played Olivia Walton, Will Geer (Zebulon Walton, her husband in the series) may have saved her life. He lights a cigarette outside the party for brother Harry and his new bride Ruth. The song "Buffalo Gals" was a 19th-century vaudeville song. So, Capra took the film back to the lab and cropped and enlarged it, and cropped and enlarged it, until he got the "close-up." There's a pivotal scene where George, totally overcome with despair, sits at the bar and prays to God to save him. Actors & Actresses . Ellen Corby was born Ellen Hansen on June 3, 1911, in Racine, Wisconsin. There's also the drawing of George at his home. It's a Wonderful Life. Clarence appears on the bridge, but doesn't dive into the water. Her gradual climb into the acting world helped her cross paths with cinematographer Francis Corby, her future husband. This was the title of the 1944 story which inspired the film. He doesn't see Harry at the party, but at his parents house. He then decided to make a "Christmas Card" style gift out of it and printed 200 copies which he sent out to friends and family in December of 1943. James Stewart signed up to do the film on November 5, 1945. Ellen Hansen was born on June 3, 1911 in Racine, Wisconsin, and later changed her name to Ellen Corby. Born on June 3, 1911, in Racine, Wisconsin, USA, Ellen Corby was the daughter of Danish immigrants. Right before rolling the cameras, director Frank Capra told. Included among the American Film Institute's 2004 list of 400 movies nominated for the top 100 America's Greatest Music in the Movies for the song "Buffalo Gal (Won't You Come Out Tonight).". She was also nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe Award for her performance as Aunt Trina in I Remember Mama (1948). At $3.7 million, this was a very expensive independent production. If you look at the scene closely, you'll see it's grainier than the rest of the scenes. During the bank run in It's a Wonderful Life, Ellen was one of the customers asking for her money. Both Walker and Biroc share credits on the film, Biroc listed above Walker. There are portraits of Potter and Peter Bailey in each other's respective offices; Peter's is a posthumous one. When Mary throws her bouquet at the wedding reception it's caught by Violet, her childhood rival for George's affection and the least likely of women in Bedford Falls to get married. In 1967, Dustin Hoffman is told that the future is in one word, "Plastics" in "The Graduate". Stewart's spontaneous reply was so genuine that Capra left the scene in the final film. | Source: WikiMedia Commons Images, Public Domain. Ellen Corby Miss Davis . The bank run scene encapsulates this. 'Tis the season to watch "It's a Wonderful Life." But before you tune in or start streaming, click through for 40 fun facts about the 1946 movie that became a timeless holiday tradition. When George is running through the rowdy section of "Pottersville," one of the signs he passes says "Welcome Jitterbug." George's friends have no idea who he is. It shows the happy days of the 20s turn into the Depression of the 30s, and finally the unification of the 40s and the war effort. Though he didn't have the kind of pedigree as his fellow co-stars Ellen Corby . When George is walking down the street, Uncle Billy (portrayed by Thomas Mitchell) calls out "Hey Captain Cook, got your sea legs yet?" In an interview, the "It's a Wonderful Life" star admitted her shared bond with the boy. Director Frank Capra decided to use this take in the final cut and gave the stagehand a $10 bonus for "improving the sound.". This film was added to the U.S. Library of Congress' National Film Registry in 1990 for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. Lots of people (Ellen Corby's age) use to smoke back then. According to Robert J. Anderson, H.B. Mary tells George she married him to keep from being an "old maid." In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked this as the #20 Greatest Movie of All Time. Both in this film and in You Can't Take It with You (1938), Lionel Barrymore says the line, "Not with my money!". Starting in 2016, NBC's corporate sibling, USA Network, showed the film in a marathon over the weekend of December 9--11. This version was pulled from distribution in 1993 when the film's copyright was restored, but a new colorized version was produced under the authorization of Paramount Pictures and released in 2007. The young man who opened the floor to the pool was Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer in an uncredited role. Walter Abel, Leon Ames, Edward Arnold, George Bancroft, Edgar Barrier, Charles Bickford, Edgar Buchanan, Louis Calhern, Charles Coburn, Ray Collins, George Coulouris, Albert Dekker, Charles Dingle, Dan Duryea, Richard Gaines, Charles Halton, Henry Hull, Victor Jory, Otto Kruger, Gene Lockhart, Raymond Massey, Vincent Price, Claude Rains, Stanley Ridges and Lee Tracy were considered for Mr. Potter. [citation needed]. After filming season six, Geer actually passed away in 1978. Walker was released by Capra, the scene was shot and Biroc was promoted to Cinematographer. Ellen Corby Miss Davis . He also carried on his music pursuits, releasing several hit songs over the years, including the 2017 blues-inspired album "Goin' To Clarksdale." Named by directors Rob Reiner and Edward Zwick as their favorite film in a poll taken by by the AFI. The Bank Run One-Liner. Sam Wainwirght tells Mary he had offered George to get in at the bottom of plastics, where he made his fortune. It covered four acres of RKO's Encino Ranch. The only one of Clifford Odets' ideas to appear in the finished script was George preventing Mr. Gower from mistakenly dispensing poison instead of medication. Captain James Cook (1728-1779) was an English sea captain and world explorer, who explored many previously isolated regions including Oregon, Australia, and Hawaii, where he was killed when a dispute with locals turned violent. By this time, Jimmy Stewart, a man of faith, was a basket case; he broke down and began to cry. [2] She returned to the series during the final episode of the 197778 season, with her character depicted as also recovering from a stroke. Items ship quickly and securely. It included 75 stores and buildings, a main street, a factory district and a large residential and slum area. The 2016 edition comes with new packaging that describes itself as a "Platinum Edition" - which in my view, is a marketing gimmick to . Adriana Caselotti's final film acting role. . While filming the scene in which George prays in the bar, James Stewart was so overcome that he began to sob. The Martinis are based on director Frank Capra's own family, who emigrated from Sicily in 1903. | Source: Getty Images, With no biological kids or grandchildren, Corby was survived only by her friend of 45 years Stella Luchetta who was by her side until her last breath. The film is included on Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" list. Corby went on to resume her role on the weekly television series The Waltons. Included among the American Film Institute's 1998 list of the Top 100 Greatest American Movies. . The same move is on the marquis at Radio City in The Godfather when Michael Corleone sees a newspaper headline that his father has been shot. During an interview in 1974, Corby explained her relationship with Walmsley. Director Frank Capra estimated the film would be shot within 90 days. The Bailey Park scenes were filmed in the Crescenta Valley and far western end of the San Gabriel Valley, both in Los Angeles County, California, USA, in what were then the separate unincorporated communities of La Caada and Flintridge, California. Ellen Corby holding her glass of wine at a restaurant on September 16, 1978. Two of Sesame Street (1969)'s Muppets, Bert and Ernie, share their names with the film's cop and cab driver, respectively, but it's believed to be just a coincidence. . According to an interview with Karolyn Grimes, the name Zuzu comes from Zu Zu Ginger Snaps. The salary Potter offers him is worth almost $370,000; since it's a three-year contract, he'd get more than a million dollars in 2020 money. Further, The FBI claimed in a report that two of its screenwriters, Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, "were very close to known Communists and on one occasion in the recent past practically lived with known Communists and were observed eating lunch every day with known Communists." They started dating in 1948 and Ellen . She had a long-lasting committed lesbian relationship with a woman named [] Donna Reed (Mary), Argentina Brunetti (Mrs Martini) and Bill Edmunds (Mr Martini) also appear in The Caddy (1953), starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. When Corby had a stroke in 1976, she missed a season and a half of the TV show.The show depicted Grandma having aphasia due to . Grandma had a girlfriend Ellen Corby, who played strict, god-fearing Grandma Walton, was apparently a chain-smoking, cussing lesbian off the set. Mr Potter is one of the few movie villains whose fate is left unknown by the end of the film. Titles It's a Wonderful Life. She has a cameo as the singer at Martini's bar. Pigeons, cats and dogs were allowed to roam the mammoth set to give it a lived-in feel. The genesis stemmed from a reneged deal between Frank Capra and Colorization Inc., the producers of this version. It is rarely if ever mentioned, but one of the reasons that this film underperformed during its original release in 1946 may have been the fact that seven years earlier James Stewart starred in a film with an almost identical title. Clarence gives him brushes from a satchel, so George can pretend he's a salesman in Pottersville, and then Clarence disappears.