Life seemed grim for the DiGiacomo family of Waukegan last Christmas.
But when Caitlin DiGiacomo, wife and mother of two young children, sat down to watch her favorite holiday show, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” that year, she realized that though her husband, Joe, had lost his job and the family lost their Beach Park home, she felt grateful.
“I thought, ‘My little one is asleep in bed on Christmas Eve. I have a lot.'”
This holiday season, DiGiacomo, along with many other Americans, will watch “It’s A Wonderful Life,” again, as she has for so many years. And this year, they will be celebrating the 75th anniversary of the release of the Frank Capra movie, the story of George Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart, who gives up his dreams to help the people of Bedford Falls.
When life seems hopeless, Bailey contemplates suicide, then meets an angel named Clarence who helps him realize the good he’s done in the world.
DiGiacomo’s favorite scene is when Bailey is standing alone in the snow and saying, “I want to live again.”
“It’s so real to me,” she said. “How many people have experienced that, especially coming out of the pandemic? We all forget that. We lose sight of how much we really have.”
When DiGiacomo’s husband lost his job and they lost their home during the pandemic, the couple and their young children, now ages 5 and 2, moved in with her parents in Beach Park. This year, Joe has a new job he loves, and they are living in their own home in Waukegan.
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“We lost a lot of safety and security — all these things that you come to rely on. But losing them made us feel grateful when we got them back,” she said.
David Brian Stuart, executive director and founder of the Improv Playhouse in Libertyville, has similar feelings when watching the movie. Stuart is playing George Bailey in a live radio production of the show on Dec. 10, 11, 12, 18 and 19, in Libertyville.
For eight years around the holidays, the Improv Playhouse has set the story in a 1940s radio studio, with commercials and sound effects.
“The show has become a staple of the holiday season in Libertyville,” Stuart said. “It resonated not only with our audiences, but also our Improv Playhouse family. So many folks have been through struggles in their personal lives.”
Stuart said he grew up watching the movie during the holidays.
– Original Credit: News-Sun
Loving Jimmy Stewart
“I loved Jimmy Stewart. He was not only a brilliant actor, but also a terrific statesman and representative of the nation. He was a renowned veteran and served in World War II, as did both of my parents,” Stuart said.
He added, “It’s probably one of the first films to highlight mental health, and in a male-centered culture.”
Stewart, who portrays Bailey on the brink of suicide, had just come out of battle before the movie was produced. “Knowing Stewart suffered from PTSD, makes certain scenes in the movie very provocative,” Stuart said.
Before each show, he pays homage to veterans and tells the audience about Stewart’s role in the war.
Army officer and Improv Playhouse actor George Elliot of Hainesville said he can relate to being in combat during war. “It certainly gives you a different perspective on things,” he said. “I almost bought it a few times.”
He portrays several different characters in the Improv’s radio show of “‘It’s Wonderful Life,” and has done so for many years.
He enjoys the challenge of changing voices for different characters such as the local drugstore owner, the superintendent of angels and the toll-taker at the bridge where Bailey contemplates suicide.
The other reason he said he performs this particular show each year is because of, “the story itself and what it represents.”
He said he has learned over the years, like George Bailey does in the show, that, “No matter how tough things are, there are positive things you can get from your life.”
Stuart said as he portrays George Bailey, he identifies with the struggles a community member and businessman has trying to keep the company afloat, something he’s endured while managing the theater company.
“Though we have not had many Mr. Potters (the villain in the movie who made George Bailey’s life miserable), we have faced adversity. We have faced individuals who were not like-minded in our vision and proved to be opponents to our growth. From that perspective, and seeing ourselves come out hopefully as robust as ever, I trust that there always has been a Clarence (George Bailey’s angel) whispering in my ear,” Stuart said.
A flop at first
Stuart said the movie was not well-received when released in 1946. “People thought it was a downer. It was postwar, and people did not want to reflect,” he said. “They wanted to celebrate. But I think the movie does conjure a celebrative perspective, especially at the end.
“The movie wasn’t as financially successful as they would have hoped, but the original cast perceived it as a badge of honor, and when it was released on television for all to see, it became very successful,” Stuart added.
Some of those actors who played young children in the movie are alive today and support the It’s a Wonderful Life Museum in Seneca Falls, N.Y. The museum has a 75th anniversary celebration planned in December.
Charlotte Gandolphi Hunt of Grayslake has watched the movie ever since she was a child around the holidays. She and her husband Joe are such big fans that they could likely win an “It’s A Wonderful Life” trivia contest. They quote the movie all year long.
One line is recited by Zuzu, George Bailey’s youngest daughter, who says, “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings.”
Not by coincidence, their granddaughter’s name is Zuzu. The 5-year-old hasn’t seen the movie yet, but Hunt hopes when the family meets for Thanksgiving, they’ll watch it together.
“I would love to see Zuzu’s face when George Bailey finds Zuzu’s petals in his pocket,” she said.
– Original Credit: News-Sun
Buffalo Gal
Hunt has other favorite scenes. “I like when they throw the stones and break the windows and they sing ‘Buffalo Gal won’t you come out tonight.’ It was almost out of place for its time because she (George’s wife, Mary, played by Donna Reed) doesn’t have any clothes on and when he steps on her robe, she has to hide in the bushes.”
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“When I was a little kid, I had one of those record players where the needle had a big round head and we used to play, ‘Buffalo Gal,'” Hunt recalled.
Joe’s favorite scene is when Clarence introduces himself as ASC.
“Angel second-class because I haven’t earned my wings yet,” he says in the movie.
Veronica Hinke grew up watching “It’s A Wonderful Life” as well. In fact, her father showed it to his fifth grade class for 30 years around the holidays when he was a teacher in Wisconsin. After he died, Hinke, who lives in Channahon, and her mother decorated an “It’s a Wonderful Life” Christmas tree in his memory, and for a fundraiser for Aspira Wausau Hospice in Wisconsin.
Hinke made, “great big cardboard Christmas ornaments. I printed stills from the movie on photo paper. I found cute little silver frames. It just seemed like the tree should be silver and white because of the era of the film, and of course we had lots of angel feathers and bells — silver of course,” she said.
– Original Credit: News-Sun
The last time Hinke watched the movie with her mother was in 2017. Hinke was working in the basement and her mother asked for her to come watch the movie with her.
“I had so much to do, I really didn’t want to stop to watch the movie,” Hinke said.
But she went upstairs and watched. Six weeks later, her mother died.
Hinke remains glad, she said, that she watched the movie with her mother, “that one very special last time.”