My better half and I jointly watch an hour or more of television fare five or six evenings each week. Mostly we dial up series, with the occasional movie thrown into the mix. During the second half of December, however, we went movie-crazy, by our standards, what with five flicks passing before our eyes. In chronological order, they were: A Thousand And One; A Million Miles Away; Maestro; Rustin; It’s A Wonderful Life. All came out last year, excepting It’s A Wonderful Life, which, since its release in 1946, has ascended to an exalted status reached by few films. I’m now going to devote a few words to it and to A Thousand And One, as they, unlike the others on the list, seem to be in no hurry to fade from my mind. They made a strong impression on me and got me thinking.
I’d seen It’s A Wonderful Life once or twice before, but not in ages. Not blessed with the world’s finest memory, I might as well have been viewing it for the first time last month, so few of the scenes did I recall. Well, all I can say is, “Wow!” IAWL deserves its immense popularity and the high esteem millions of folks hold it in. This is a great movie, one that pulls at your heartstrings and does its darnedest to make you believe in the basic goodness of humankind. Hats off to that.
Frank Capra, also of Mr. Smith Goes To Washington and It Happened One Night fame, directed It’s A Wonderful Life. For those of you who haven’t seen the film, be aware that spoilers lie ahead. I’m confident they won’t lessen your enjoyment should you choose to view it.
IAWL tells the tale of George Bailey (played flawlessly by James Stewart), a generous, caring individual who discovers that his company, through no fault of his own, suddenly is on the verge of bankruptcy. Distraught, and finding no way to right the sinking ship, he decides to put an end to his earthly existence. The money his wife Mary (the superb Donna Reed) then would collect from his life insurance policy would keep her and their children sheltered and fed for a long while.
Moments before George is about to carry out his plan, a heavenly force — Clarence, a low-level guardian angel trying to earn his wings — intervenes. Clarence’s efforts, and those of Mary, save the day. George learns that his importance to his family and community is immeasurable, and that his many friends truly love him. Anyone whose heart is not encased in granite will find themselves tearing up at It’s A Wonderful Life’s happy ending, an ending that implies that never again will George allow despair to conquer him. George will be okay.
But will Terry, a main character in A Thousand And One, be okay? That’s a worrisome unknown in the powerhouse drama written and directed by A.V. Rockwell.
We first meet Terry (played by three actors, one for each time period the movie covers) in the mid-1990s. He’s six years old at that time, a foster-care child lonely for his absent mother Inez. Portrayed with swagger by Teyana Taylor, Inez is armed with eyes that don’t miss a thing. She is barely into her twenties and always has lived on society’s edges. Inez re-enters Terry’s life after being released from prison, soon taking him, illegally, from his foster parents. For the next eleven years she tries as best she can to raise him. Ultimately, however, circumstances catch up with them big-time.
A Thousand And One pulls no punches. Set mostly in New York City’s Harlem section, it often is as gritty as a sandstorm. I’ve given away much of the ending of It’s A Wonderful Life. I won’t do the same with A Thousand And One, whose concluding scenes I didn’t see coming. Those scenes left me concerned, not for street-savvy Inez’s prospects, but for those of shy and gentle Terry. For the most part, I’ve led a stable and comfortable life. A Thousand And One has me counting my lucky stars.
What a world we live in. So much poverty and inequality. So much violence and emotional trauma. So much intolerance, indifference and deception. That’s the way things always have been. And, I believe, always will be. There also is beauty in our world, of course. And love and joy and kindness. It can’t be denied, though, that life is a very rocky road for multitudes of people. Too many Terrys, and other unfortunates, are out there. If only it were otherwise.
Yeah, Another Blogger 
Wow. Going all out with the movies. IAWL is the only one of those I’ve heard of. We used to watch movies, but now we generally only have time for shows, often ones we’ve seen in the past but liked enough to rewatch. IAWL is a movie that’s always worth rewatching, though. Nice choice. 🙂
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Hi. Is this Betsy? — the comments were posted as being from Anonymous. I forget why my wife and I decided to watch IAWL (we hadn’t seen it in many years), but I’m glad we did.
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Can’t wait to dive in, Neil! Happy New Year!
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Great to hear from you, Pam. Happy New Year to you and yours.
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I’ll have to check out ‘A Thousand and One,’ Neil; I hadn’t heard of it till now. ‘IAWL’ is one of my favorite films as well.
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Evening, Mitch. To me, it’s a well-made movie. I hope you’ll like.
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Watched it over the weekend. ‘A Thousand and One’ is an excellent film.
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Hey, Mitch. I agree. I think it won a number of indie film awards.
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IAWL is a Christmas favorite but we missed it this year. I agree with your assessment. I have not heard of the other movie you mentioned but will check it out.
My husband and I love a good movie. Here are some worth mentioning:
-Jules (Ben Kingsley plays the main character – it is delightful, sweet, and hilarious) -Reptile (gritty but well done)
-Long Shot (Seth Rogan, Charlize Theron (a nice romantic comedy)
-The Glass Castle (based on a true story – I read the book – and shock of shock they did a great job of telling the story well on screen)
We also saw Maestro. Thoroughly enjoyed the music. Rustin is on my Watch List.
Thanks for telling me about A Thousand and One. I’ll add it to my list.
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Hi Linda. Thanks for the tips. We’ve seen Long Shot, and liked it. Based on your recommendation, we plan to watch Jules. Take care.
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I’d be interested in hearing what you think.
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Neil, a great review of IAWL and I only saw this for the first time a couple of years ago – and now it is a must at home! I’m intrigued by A Thousand and One Stars, sounds powerful and gritty. Yes, there are quite a few times I am watching something, news or a film and be ever so grateful for everything I have and my life. BTW. the other day saw Maudie for the first time on Netflix – a quirky but superb film based on real-life arthritis-ridden woman artist in the remotest part of Nova Scotia. Stunning landscape and wonderful story.
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Hi, Annika, and thanks for the tip about Maudie. My wife and I are always on the lookout for movies to watch. Have a good day. See you.
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Loved reading your thoughts on It’s a Wonderful Life (an annual tradition in our house).
Thanks also for the heads up re: A Thousand and One. Sounds haunting and thought-provoking, and I’ll be looking for it.
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I think you’ll like it. It’s on Netflix, and maybe available elsewhere too. Thanks for stopping by. Take care.
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Thanks for the heads up on A Thousand and One. Will seek it out.
It’s a Wonderful Life always appears at our local Arts Centre Cinema ahead of Christmas – It’s a staple but you’ve got to wear waterproof mascara!
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IAWL probably is one of the most popular movies of all time.
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Unlike you, I have seen “It’s a Wonderful Life” every Christmas for the past 38 years, and it STILL makes the tears come. Such a great, touching, funny, fabulous film. As Clarence signs the book he leaves Jimmy Stewart: “No man is a failure who has friends.” I haven’t seen “A Thousand and One”, but will look it up. Happy New Year to you and Sandy.
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There’s just something about Jimmy Stewart as an actor — he was outstanding in many outstanding films: Rear Window; Vertigo; The Man Who Knew Too Much; Harvey; Mr. Smith Goes To Washington; and others. He was down-to-earth and very believable in all those roles.
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Yes, I’m a major Jimmy Stewart fan!
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Hi Neil – If you’re ever traveling through the Finger Lakes area (between Rochester and Syracuse) you should definitely stop in Seneca Falls (just a few miles from my hometown). Capra had relatives in the area and visited when they were writing the script for It’s a Wonderful Life, they think their village was the inspiration for the place in the movie. Every Xmas season, they put up signs “Welcome to Bedford Falls” and have a little museum dedicated to the movie. Some of the actors who played his kids have come to the yearly celebration.
When my parents first moved to the area, they lived there, maybe 35 years ago, they didn’t know any of this. They were walking downtown and ran into an old guy in an antique wheelchair, who said something snarky when they said hello. The guy was a reenactor, supposed to be Mr. Potter, the evil banker, but they didn’t know that. My dad told mom, what a miserable old guy, maybe we should push him into a snowdrift and she said, don’t be so mean, it’s probably that horrible-looking wheelchair, it must be very uncomfortable.
I like Harvey, Rear Window, Flight of the Phoenix (Vertigo, not so much), but Stewart always seemed to be excellent no matter the movie.
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Robert, the comments you posted are way better than my essay! Many thanks for telling the story about that town and your parents. I appreciate it a lot.
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Hi Neil, it’s been quite the journey to get on your blog! I finally found you again via John Malone’s comments section. Though I received an email of a new blog from you, there was no content for me to click on. Most bizarre!
Anyway…. I must watch the second film you speak of. And I agree, the world is fucked up royally.
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Hey, I really appreciate your taking all that time to find my site. You rate very high in my book!
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I have not watched IAWL–though it is a classic–so I better get movie-ing and watch it soon!
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Hi. Give it a try. I think you’ll like it.
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My husband and I try to watch It’s a Wonderful Life during the holiday season every few years because it never fails to move us and lift our spirits, because of what you mentioned–the ability to believe in the basic goodness of humanity. Of course there is plenty of badness, but we can rejoice that it doesn’t win in the end.
Here is hoping that goodness still has a future.
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I suppose that human nature hasn’t changed at all over the millennia. But the armaments have gotten much more powerful and widespread, which is an enormous worry.
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what a lovely post! Bert & Ernie of Sesame Street were named after the cops on IAWL 🙂 tx much for visiting my site. I love anything to do with books & would be thrilled if you’d write a guest blog post for my site, which is for anyone who enjoys writing, or books, and all the arts. If you think it might be fun or helpful to have my followers (who total about 10k across my various social media) meet you, here’s the link for general guidelines: https://wp.me/p6OZAy-1eQ – best, da-AL
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Hello there. I didn’t know about the Sesame Street connection to IAWL. That’s pretty cool. And thanks for the offer to write a guest post. I have to decline, though. Take care.
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Thanks for considering. Wishing you a happy week 😃
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It’s a Wonderful Life is one of my favorite Christmas movies. I haven’t seen A Thousand and One. Life could be so much better if greed and meanness didn’t get in the way. It’s really up to how people want to be.
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Hi Michele. Unfortunately though, a lot of people are victims of circumstances beyond their control.
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An excellent post! One bit of trivia about IAWL is that at some point, someone let the television rights lapse, with the result that the movie could be aired at very little cost. Decades of TV airings rescued it from obscurity. I will be a contrarian and argue that Miracle On 34th Street is at least as good of a Christmas movie, and maybe better. I mean the 1947 original and not any of the remakes.
The other film may be too depressing for me, sorry to say.
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Hi. Miracle On 34th Street is terrific. And that Macy’s store is still there. I remember walking by it a few years ago, amazed by how enormous it is.
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“What a world we live in. ”
But as you say it has always been thus and always will be. In the grand scheme of things I wonder whether it matters too much. Perhaps we as individuals have to do our best to be kind and good and decent and honest. And recognize that a whole bunch of very terrible and awful people will continue to steal and murder and crucify.
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Hi. I think you’re right.
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