NY Times looks at Holiday windows
Thanks to my friend Marion for this.
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25-examples-of-christmas-decoration-abuse
My friend, Sarah, sent the link above to me. Thanks.
Last night, Christmas Eve, I went into the city to the IFC movie theater to see IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE. What makes it special is that Donna Reed’s daughter, Mary Owen, introduces it and tells wonderful stories about her mother. It’s become a holiday tradition–this is the fifth year that they’ve done it now. A portion of the proceeds go to the Donna Reed Foundation for the Performing Arts.
Acting has an axiom that carries weight in the real world as well. It’s “Remember: there are no small parts, only small actors.” I wanted to make sure I had the quotation correct so I googled it and was surprised to discover that this is actually an attributable quotation. Konstantin Stanislavisky the founder of The Method evidently was the first to say it.
I bring it up because there is no movie I know where this is better displayed then It’s a Wonderful Life. I cannot imagine this movie being as successful without the diligent work of H.B. Warner. “Who the heck is H.B. Warner?”, you ask. He’s the gent who plays Mr. Gower, the owner of the drug store. The man who drunkenly beats George deafening him; the same man who if George never lives becomes the town drunk and spends 20 years in prison for poisoning a child because George wasn’t there to stop it from happening. His entrance in to the bar as wizened and beaten down man is at the heart of this movie–its essential message.
I could list actor after actor in this movie who deserves credit for making it so great–IN FACT–I WILL. How about Dick Elliott. He’s a face–and a voice–you seen (and heard) in a million movies. He played the man on the porch who grumbles about youth being wasted on the wrong people. A tiny part…miniscule, some might say, but like every role in this film a moment of perfection. A moment of joy.
Samuels S. Hinds as Pa Bailey; Frank Albertson, Sam Wainwright; Gloria Grahame, Violet; Ward Bond as Bert, the cop and Frank Faylen as Ernie the cab driver. Yes, folks, Bert and Ernie. Though the Wikipedia entry claims that the muppet characters with the same names is merely a coincidence I find that a little hard to swallow. Speaking of swallowing how about Sheldon Leonard as Nick the bartender? Sheldon Leonard went on to be a face you’ve seen in a zillion films but more importantly he went on to produce TV shows like: The Dick VanDyke Show, The Andy Griffith Show, mmmm, and I Spy. If he did nothing else he would be a cultural hero for doing one thing–he was the first producer cast a black man, Bill Cosby, as a lead in a television series: “I Spy”.
You get the idea. One last thing you need to keep in mind is that Frank Capra directed it and should be applauded for directing a film that though it might not be the greatest movie ever made it certainly is a film that can be considered nearly perfect.
