By Barb Oates
Dec. 20, 2021, will mark the 75th anniversary of the release of Frank Capra’s beloved and timeless 1946 fantasy It’s a Wonderful Life, which NBC will be re-airing on Christmas Eve (this Friday).
Best Actor Oscar nominee James Stewart stars as George Bailey, a discouraged and despairing building-and-loan manager who contemplates suicide before a guardian angel named Clarence (Henry Travers) intervenes and allows George to see what his small town of Bedford Falls would be without him — and all that is right in his world. Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore costar in the iconic film whose Oscar nominations also included Best Picture and Best Director for Capra.
Also among the cast is Jimmy Hawkins, who at age 4 played the youngest of the Bailey children, Tommy. We recently had a chance to catch up with the now 80-year-old Hawkins to get some of his on-set recollections and his general thoughts on this iconic film.
What is your favorite scene in It’s a Wonderful Life?
When George comes to visit Mary [played by Reed]. … It’s the phone scene when George and Mary are talking to Sam “Hee-Haw” Wainwright [played by Frank Albertson]. I think it’s one of the great movie love scenes. You can actually see and feel the electricity when they are kissing. Funny thing is, when the scene was over and Frank Capra yelled “Cut! Print,” the script girl said, “Mr. Capra, they left out a page of dialogue.” Capra said, “With technique like that, who needs dialogue? Print it!” And Jimmy Stewart was so nervous about “The Kiss.” He had asked Capra to put it off for weeks.
What do you still cherish about the film’s underlying message? Did you understand the film at the time?
Even at 4, I had a lot of memories about doing the film, but not what it was about. But I’ve written four books about the film and learned a lot from talking to many cast and crew members. What I and my movie siblings do today is [attend] It’s a Wonderful Life (IAWL) festivals and meet with thousands of fans. We carry Frank Capra’s message. Everyone relates to it: “Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?” It tells people that we are all important, we can make a difference.
Off-camera, between takes, what do you remember?
I remember a few things. People ask me today: “What kind of gum are you chewing in the movie?” I tell ’em “Dubble Bubble.”… Karolyn Grimes [who plays the Baileys’ daughter Zuzu] would chase us around the set at lunchtime. We would stare at the lights and ornaments on the tree but were told not to touch anything. … Remember, we filmed in June (it was 90 degrees outside). There was real snow in front of the house on Stage 14 at the RKO-Pathé lot in Culver City. I remember they took a photo of all the cast in front of that 320 Sycamore house. In front of me was a bunch of bushes with snow on them. But it wasn’t snow, it was cotton. Movies — WOW!
How many times have you watched It’s a Wonderful Life?
A lot. I’ve been a member of the Motion Picture Academy for 60 years (this year). They asked me to host a screening of IAWL at their new museum. I asked Karolyn and Carol [Coomes, who plays Janie Bailey] to host it with me. So that’s where we’ll be Dec. 19, the eve of IAWL‘s 75th anniversary. We try to do appearances together. Makes it more of an event. People (fans) can’t believe someone’s still alive from the movie. Like we made it the year of the Flood.