It's a wonderful life - 1946

I love this movie, always has. I rewatched it now, for Christmas. As always it made me cry, but it ends well, of course. I like how it starts, with Heaven hearing all the town's people praying for the same person. First half of the movie is then to know George Bailey and his life, how he always wanted to travel, but he never did because he had to take his father's place after he died, and then he stayed in order to allow his brother to accept a good job in his wife's father firm. How George never went to a university because he  had to lead the Bailey's Building and loan or else it  would have closed, and the horrible, greedy, cold Mr Henry Potter would have won. Second half of the movie is about his worst crisis, when his uncle has lost all their money, 8.000 dollars, and George is now risking failure, closure, bankrupt and prison. He doesn't know what to do, it seems this is the end, and he is thinking of killing himself, when angel Clarence throws himself in the river to save him :-p yeah, because as soon as George sees a man in the river shouting for help, he only thinks about saving him. Clarence has been sent to help George, and when George says he would like to have never been born, Clarence granted his wish to show him what the world would be without him. His brother would have died at 8 years old because George wasn't there to save him, therefore his mother would have lost her only son. The man he worked for as a boy would have spent 20 years in jail for poisoning a boy, because when he was devastated for his son's death he put poison into a medicine by mistake, and George wasn't there to help him, Mary would have never married, and so on, things like that. Potter would have taken hold of the whole city, and everything would be different. George at the end cries and prays to have his family back, to be allowed to live and have his family with him again. Granted. He goes back to find his house is again there, and his four children are there to greet him, and his wife is so worried for him, and has gone through the city saying George is in trouble and everyone wanted to help him and now they're bringing in money. All the people of the town tipping in to help him, and a telegram from his rich friend saying whatever he needs he can have it. And a last goodbye from Clarence: No man is a failure who has friends.
George Bailey is played by James Stewart, and I've always liked him. Donna Reed was Mary, a lovely character. Lionel Barrymore was the horrible Mr Potter who stole their 8.000 dollars and then tried to have him arrested. Thomas Mitchell was that disaster of a uncle Billy. Henry Travers was sweet gentle angel Clarence.
I love it. It's a classic for a reason. :-)