It's a Wonderful Life Facts, Trivia, Actors, Actresses, and Composers

It's a Wonderful Life is an American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, that was based on the short story "The Greatest Gift", written by Philip Van Doren Stern. Released in 1946, the film stars James Stewart as George Bailey, a man whose imminent suicide on Christmas Eve brings about the intervention of his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody . Clarence shows George all the lives he has touched and how different life in his community would be had he never been born. Despite initially being considered a box office flop due to high production costs and stiff competition at...
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quick facts

Release date:	December 20, 1946
Directed by:	Frank Capra
Runtime:	130 Minutes
Producer:	Frank Capra
Editor:	William Hornbeck
Music by:	Dimitri Tiomkin
Cinematography:	Joseph Walker, Joseph F. Biroc, Victor Milner
Screenplay by:	Albert Hackett, Frank Capra, Jo Swerling, Michael Wilson, Frances Goodrich
Estimated budget:	$3,180,000
Genre:	Fantasy

Cast of It's a Wonderful Life

Lionel Barrymore

Henry F. Potter

Born:Apr. 28, 1878

Died:Nov. 15, 1954

James Stewart

George Bailey

Born:May 20, 1908

Died:July 2, 1997

Ward Bond

Bert

Born:Apr. 9, 1903

Died:Nov. 5, 1960

H. B. Warner

Mr. Gower

Born:Oct. 26, 1875

Died:Dec. 21, 1958

Charles Lane

Real Estate Salesman

Born:Jan. 26, 1905

Died:July 9, 2007

Thomas Mitchell

Uncle Billy Bailey

Born:July 11, 1892

Died:Dec. 17, 1962

Honors and Awards

Year	Award Won
1947	Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Film, Frank Capra

Year	Award Nomination
1946	Academy Award for Best Director, Frank Capra
1946	Academy Award for Best Picture, Frank Capra
1946	Academy Award for Actor in a Leading Role, James Stewart
1947	Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Film, Frank Capra

Film director of It's a Wonderful Life

Frank Capra

Born: May 18, 1897

Died: September 3, 1991

Education: California Institute of Technology

Frank Russell Capra was a Sicilian-born American film director. He emigrated to the U.S. when he was six, and eventually became a creative force behind major award-winning films during the 1930s and 1940s. His rags-to-riches story, having worked his way through college, has led film historians...
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Title	Released	Genre
Our Mr. Sun
Hemo the Magnificent		Animation
Rendezvous in Space	1964	Short Film
Pocketful of Miracles	1961	Comedy
A Hole in the Head	1959	Comedy
The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays	1957	Animation
Here Comes the Groom	1951	Musical
Riding High	1950	Comedy
State of the Union	1948
It's a Wonderful Life	1946	Fantasy
War Comes to America	1945
Here Is Germany	1945
Your Job In Germany	1945	Short Film
Know Your Enemy: Japan	1945
Two Down and One to Go	1945	Short Film
Arsenic and Old Lace	1944	Comedy
Tunisian Victory	1944
The Battle of China	1944
The Battle of Russia	1943
Prelude to War	1943
The Nazis Strike	1943	Short Film
Divide and Conquer	1943
The Battle of Britain	1943
Meet John Doe	1941	Comedy
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington	1939
You Can't Take It With You	1938	Comedy
Lost Horizon	1937	Fantasy
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town	1936	Comedy
Broadway Bill	1934	Comedy
It Happened One Night	1934	Comedy
The Bitter Tea of General Yen	1933
Lady for a Day	1933	Comedy
Forbidden	1932
American Madness	1932
Platinum Blonde	1931	Comedy
The Miracle Woman	1931
Dirigible	1931	Adventure
Rain or Shine	1930
Ladies of Leisure	1930
The Donovan Affair	1929	Comedy
Flight	1929
The Younger Generation	1929
Submarine	1928
The Power of the Press	1928
Say It with Sables	1928
The Way of the Strong	1928
The Matinee Idol	1928	Comedy
That Certain Thing	1928
So This Is Love?	1928	Comedy
The Burglar	1928	Short Film
For the Love of Mike	1927
Long Pants	1927	Comedy
The Strong Man	1926	Comedy
Tramp, Tramp, Tramp	1926	Comedy
Harry Langdon: The Forgotten Clown	1926	Comedy
The Ballad of Fisher's Boarding House	1922	Short Film

Music contributors for It's a Wonderful Life

Dimitri Tiomkin

Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin was a Russian-born Hollywood film score composer and conductor. He is considered "one of the giants of Hollywood movie...
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Frequently Asked Questions

Q:
Who wrote the movie It's a Wonderful Life?
A:
Albert Hackett, Frank Capra, Philip Van Doren Stern and Jo Swerling performed the movie's screenwriting.
Q:
How much was the approximate cost to "It's a Wonderful Life"?
A:
$3.2 million was the cost to make this movie.
Q:
Which actors were the stars of the film, "It's a Wonderful Life"?
A:
James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Charles Lane and Henry Travers played a role in the movie.
Q:
Who composed the music for the film It's a Wonderful Life?
A:
Dimitri Tiomkin composed the music score for the soundtrack.
Q:
What slogan was included in advertising materials for the motion picture, "It's a Wonderful Life"?
A:
The film's slogan was, "They're making memories tonight!"
Q:
Who was the producer of the film, "It's a Wonderful Life"?
A:
Frank Capra was the film's producer.
Q:
Who was the director of the movie "It's a Wonderful Life"?
A:
Frank Capra directed the motion picture.
Q:
When was the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" debuted?
A:
The film premiered in January, 1947.
Q:
How many minutes is the runtime of the movie "It's a Wonderful Life"?
A:
The total time for the film is 130 minutes.
Q:
The film, "It's a Wonderful Life" is of which genre?
A:
The film is labeled as: Drama, Family, Black-and-white, Romance film and Fantasy.

It's a Wonderful Life