It's A Wonderful Life

1946.

#11 / #20

Nominated for 5 Academy Awards.

George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) has a pretty tough life. When he contemplates suicide, Clarence (Henry Travers) - an angel - shows George what his life would be like if he had never been born.

Eddie: I had never seen IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. I had seen the ending and the parodies, but never the whole flick. First, I thought the movie was terrifyingly slow. It takes a solid hour to recap George's life and another half-hour to fill you in on why things are so bad at the moment. It's not until ninety minutes in that we finally get to the bridge. Secondly, the score is terrible. The composer, Dimitri Tiomkin, has a knack for hitting a scene a little too hard on the nose, and I think it takes away from the emotion of the movie. The performances are so good, the flick doesn't need "Mickey Mouse" music to oversell its sentimentality.

Despite that, I thought it was great. It was a lot darker than I expected it to be, and I loved it. Stewart's performance is light years ahead of its time. This, coupled with THE PHILADELPHIA STORY, prove that there's more to a Stewart performance than just that iconic voice. He is the master of understatement, saving it for a big explosion. In the case of IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, it comes when he barrels through his house, "Why did we have to have so many kids?".

In the end, the movie pays off all of the tension that it has wound up. When Harry comes in and offers a toast, "To my brother, George, the richest man in town," I wept.

Sarah: I hadn't seen this movie since middle school. I remember thinking it was a bit cartoonish. That is still true. Frank Capra's Bedford Falls is like a Norman Rockwell picture. Between Clarence the clumsy angel, and the Scrooge-like villian, Henry Potter (Lionel Barrymore) (saying "you're a wizard Henry" never got old to me), this seems like it should be a kid's film.

But then the film takes a sharp twist to darkness and depression. These are scenes I didn't quite grasp as a kid. When you're young, you can't fully understand George Bailey's tragedy - giving up his own dreams in order to fulfill his obligations. It's startling to see this change, and though it feels a bit bi-polar, the scenes where George really starts to lose it are what gives the film its staying power. I was wondering how I went from watching a silly Christmas movie to watching a movie about a man reckoning with his disappointments in life. How had this annoyingly cheery film arrived here? But, that's what is fascinating about IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE.

And of course the end makes the whole film worth it. As the town pours in to support George and Mary (Donna Reed), I was becoming just as overwhelmed as they were.

Why You Should See It: We try to avoid clichés in this part of our review, but if we said anything other than the last reel of the movie, we'd be lying. The ending of the movie, starting with Bert discovering George on the bridge, all the way to Clarence getting his wings - it's pure gold.

It Happened One Night

1934.

#35 / #46

Winner of 5 Academy Awards.

Ellie (Claudette Colbert) runs away from her rich home with plans to elope. Peter (Clark Gable) is a newspaper man who helps her out with hopes of getting the biggest scoop of the year. Their plan is perfect, except they begin to fall in love.

Sarah: This is my favorite of the Frank Capra films on the list, and one of my favorites ever. You know it's good because it didn't win just any five Academy Awards. It was the first film to win the Big Five (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay).

Capra's films are always charming, but I think this is the funniest. Colbert and Gable have great chemistry and banter. Have I mentioned I love Clark Gable?

Eddie: The only Clark Gable movie I had seen before this was GONE WITH THE WIND, which I've already made clear I despise. When Sarah and I watched this one, I was blown away once again by Gable's performance. How he manages to exude such coolness at twenty-four frames per second is unfathomable. I'd put his performance in IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT in a category with Cary Grant in NORTH BY NORTHWEST and Brando in ON THE WATERFRONT. Too much cool, too little time.

The movie is, by now, a standard romantic comedy. The formula has been copied and imitated ad nauseam, but Gable and Colbert did it right in this 1934 classic. And, like Sarah said, you know you're getting your money's worth when you're watching a movie that's won the Big Five.

Why You Should See It: Gable and Colbert pretend to be a bickering couple so her father's men won't find her. Their improvised repartee is hilarious.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

1939.

#29 / #26

Winner of 1 Academy Award.

Jefferson Smith (Jimmy Stewart) is appointed to the U.S. Senate, but he's caught up in a political machine that threatens to slander his good name. In order to defend himself, Senator Smith leads an against-all-odds filibuster on the Senate floor.

Eddie: Anybody who doesn't love this film must hate America. Stewart's depiction of Jefferson Smith epitomizes Stewart's predilection for playing good characters struggling to do great things. Frank Capra's films don't exactly offer roller coaster twists and turns, but the simple story in MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON delivers in a big way.

The good guy triumphs. The bad guy is brought down. Liberty and justice for all.

Sarah: This is one of those movies that makes you feel like everything is A-OK, and if you just believe in yourself and do what is right, things will work out. But it's refreshing to have something like this on the list. This apple-pie life is part of Capra's charm.

Why You Should See It: The filibuster scene, of course.