| “ | You want the moon? Just say the word, and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. | „ |
| ~ George to his wife, Mary. |
| “ | Clarence! Clarence! Help me, Clarence! Get me back! Get me back, I don't care what happens to me! Get me back to my wife and kids! Help me Clarence, please! Please! I wanna live again. I wanna live again! I wanna live again. Please, God, let me live again. | „ |
| ~ George after Clarence showed him the alternate world. |
| “ | Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you're talking about... they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath? Anyway, my father didn't think so. People were human beings to him. But to you, a warped, frustrated old man, they're cattle. Well in my book, my father died a much richer man than you'll ever be! | „ |
| ~ George's speech to Mr. Potter. |
George Bailey is the main protagonist of the 1946 Christmas supernatural drama film It’s a Wonderful Life. As an adult, he was portrayed by the late James Stewart, who also played Jefferson Smith in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, John "Scottie" Ferguson in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, and Wylie Burp in An American Tail: Fievel Goes West. As an child, he was portrayed by Bobby Anderson. He occupies the ninth slot of the 50 Heroes list of the AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains.
History[]
George Bailey was born to Peter Bailey and Irene "Ma" Bailey. He has one little brother named Harry. Growing up, George was best friends with Sam Wainwright, Marty Hatch, Ernie Bishop, and Bert. He also had a good friendship with Violet Bick, a local girl whom often flirted with most boys.
One winter, George rescued his brother Harry from drowning in an icy river while they were out sledding with their friends, leading to losing all hearing in his left ear. Following his recovery, George helped his boss Emil Gower when he accidentally put poison in a child's prescription, due to him being too distraught from his son's death to pay attention.
When he grows up, George is a good natured man, who has big dreams of designing bridges and skyscrapers and to see the world beyond his hometown of Bedford Falls. George has saved up his money to embark on a trip to Europe before attending college, but after his father's death from a stroke, George is forced to cancel his trip and take over as head of the Bailey Brothers Building and Loan to save it from being shut down by local baron Henry F. Potter, thus also giving up his dreams of going to college. He gives his college money to Harry, who returns four years later following his graduation with his new wife, Ruth Dakin. Harry's father-in-law offers him a job, but Harry intends to turn it down so he can take over the Building & Loan from his brother so that the latter can also attend university; George, however, cannot bring himself to let his brother give up such an opportunity, and thus resigns himself to continue running the Building & Loan.
George later marries to his childhood crush, and his friend Marty's little sister, Mary Hatch, but to fulfill the needs of the locals during a bank run, he sacrifices his and Mary's honeymoon money, which they had planned to spend on an extravagent vacation. Two years later, George opens up a new housing development called Bailey Park, where they provide decent and affordable housing to the residents of Potter's Field, inclduing the Italian Martini family. Potter is annoyed by this, and tries to manipulate George into a deal that would make him rich, but would lead him to take over the Building and Loan, playing to his dreams by offering him business trips to New York and Europe. George at first agrees, but then immediately turns it down, citing Potter as a "warped frustrated old man".
Later, George and Mary have four children. Pete, Jane, Tommy, and Zuzu. During this time, Potter begins Bearing Down hard on the Building and Loan, determined to close it down.
When World War II braks out, all of George's friends including Harry join the army, but he couldn't be drafted due to his deaf ear, so he was forced to take up small assisting jobs in Bedford Falls while also running the Building & Loan business.
During Christmas Eve of 1945, Harry was being awarded for his services in the war, and George's family was hosting a Christmas party at his house later that night. However, Uncle Billy loses $8000 needed for the Building and Loan, and George is angered and devastated, because he would go to jail for fraud. He didn't however, know that Potter had the money, and used it as his last ditch effort to destroy the bailey family. After yelling at Uncle Billy, George goes home, and vents his frustrations. Yelling at Zuzu's teacher over the phone after learning she got sick when coming home from school, as well as exploding at his children when he gets frustrated. Feeling guilty and desperate, he goes to Potter and asks for a loan, offering him his $15,000 life insurance policy as collatoral, but Potter gloats over the ironic situation. He mocks George for helping the people of the town, declaring that with his life insurace policy, George is worth more dead than alive. Potter then calls the police to order George's arrest, and George leaves as Potter continues taunting him.
George then goes to Mr. Martini's bar, where he cries while silently praying to God for help, all the while being drunk. Mr. Martini comes to comfort him, however, Mr. Welch, the husband of Zuzu's teacher Mrs. Welch, hears George's name, and punches him to the ground for yelling at and upsetting his wife. Mr. Martini and his bartended Nick kick Mr. Welch out and tries to help George, but the leaves. After crashing his car into a man's tree, he goes to the bridge, overlooking the icy river, where he intends to kill himself by jumping into the icy water so that his family can claim his life insurance. Just then, his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody, an Angel Second Class, jumps into the water, driving George to dive in and save him.
As they are drying off, George and Clarence talk about his issues in life, and he wishes he had never been born, inspiring Clarence to show him what the world would be like without him. In this alternate timeline, Potter has completely taken over Bedford Falls, renaming it Pottersville, with most businesses closed down and replaced by sleazy nightclubs, bars and pawn shops. Martini does not own his bar and it is instead run by a more abrasive Nick, Mr. Gower spent twenty years in prison for accidentally poisoning the child and is now a pariah, Ernie is divorced and lives in squalor, Bert is a corrupt cop, Violet is arrested by the police, Ma Bailey is a lonely and miserable old woman running a boarding house, Uncle Billy was commited to an insane asylum after the Building and Lone closed, Harry drowned as a child in the sledding accident and the men he would have saved during World War II also died without his intervention, George's children don't exist, and Mary is an unmarried spinster working as a librarian. George desperatly attempts to remind Mary of who he is, but she screams and runs away in terror. George runs back to the bridge while Bert fires at him.
After fleeing Bert, George realizes he had a wonderful life, and sadly begs to live again. Suddenly he finds himself back in his world. Bert comes to help him, as he's been looking for him the whole night. Elated, George runs through the town back home, wishing a "Merry Christmas" to the entire town, and even to Mr. Potter. When he arrives home, George embraces his family and is almost arrested, but is too happy to have his life back to care. However, Mary and Uncle Billy had reached out to everyone, and they had brought money to help George. Including Violet, Mr. Martini, Mr. Gower, his mother's maid Annie, his old teacher Mr. Partridge, and many more. George then received a telegram from Sam, which included a loan of $25,000.
Harry then arrives, having come all the way from New York, and toasts George as "the richest man in town". George then notices a copy of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer among the donations with a letter from Clarence, telling him to remember that "no man is a failure who has friends" and thanking him for the wings; at that moment, one of the bells on the Christmas tree rings, and Zuzu points out that her teacher told her that "every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings". Happy for Clarence, George then joins the rest of the town in singing "Auld Lang Syne", embracing his truly wonderful life.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
"Building and Loan," the type of bank Baily runs, bears stark resemble to "Savings and Loan." The character of George Bailey appears to glorify the savings and loans bank industry as an entity independent of the standard FDIC-affiliated bank industry. In real life, however, Bailey's apparent glorification of these banks would eventually lose significance, with the FDIC even managing to absorb the FSLIC institution which strengthened the independence of savings and loan banks. The savings and loan bank industry would in fact eventually lose sway in the United States by the 1980s, with numerous savings and loans companies being abolished between 1986 and 1995 and the Federal Home Loan Bank Board(FHLBB). and with it the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC), being abolished in 1989. Nevertheless, some savings and loans companies still exist in the United States, though in far less number than they did during the time It's A Wonderful Life was released. While the FDIC was created under the Administration of U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, who George Bailey actor James Stewart and It's A Wonderful Life director and screenplay writer Frank Capra opposed, the Federal Home Loan Bank Board was in fact created under Roosevelt's Republican predecessor Herbert Hoover. Though the FSLIC was also created under Roosevelt, it was, unlike the FDIC, not an independent government institution and in fact fell under the supervision of the FHLBB.
External Links[]
- George Bailey on the Near Pure Good Wiki
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 It's a Wonderful Life Heroes
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Bailey Family Other Characters |
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