It S A Wonderful Life Movie

True story: In the early '70s, the Baltimore Sun's most incompetent copyreader was in career trouble. It seemed his employers expected him to spell words correctly, even the hard ones, like "sheriff" and "caricature." He also wanted to write but hated the paperwork. His prospects in either endeavor were limited. Add the fact that it was Christmas Eve, the mega-depressive spoonful-of-arsenic night of the year.

This time of year, film fans everywhere remind Bob Anderson of his wonderful life. Called Bobbie at age 12, Anderson was the clean-cut kid who portrayed Jimmy Stewart's character, a young soda jerk, in the opening scenes of Frank Capra's latent classic "It's a Wonderful Life." Stewart would later commend Anderson for his performance as the young George Bailey, a film genus that both men would share for a lifetime. Capra produced, directed and cast the film down to the extras.

If you love "It's a Wonderful Life," you probably won't want to be without the golden-anniversary snow globe. To commemorate the film's 50th year, Republic Home Video has released three editions of the movie as well as a deluxe laserdisc. The uncut version, which includes special collector's cards, goes for $14.98. "The 50th Anniversary Edition" ($19.98) includes a "making of" featurette, the original trailer and an audiocassette of "It's a Wonderful Life: The Christmas Album."

George: I suppose it would have been better if I'd never been born at all. Clarence: . . . That's an idea. . . . All right. You've got your wish. You've never been born.--"It's a Wonderful Life" * Fifty years ago this month, the ultimate Christmas movie made its uncertain debut in the world, as Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life" premiered to mostly indifferent audience response.

You don't have to be a psychologist to appreciate "It's a Wonderful Life," the 1946 Frank Capra movie in which fatherhood is honored, small town values celebrated, greed thwarted, God's existence validated, a suicide averted and a world war won. But critics and academics recently have been psychoanalyzing the beloved Christmas story in professional journals, dissertations and interviews.

IT is arguably one of the most magnetic moments ever captured on film. This enduring celluloid juncture from 1946's "It's a Wonderful Life" can be summoned to mind by merely mentioning "the prayer scene." In it, a tearfully reduced George Bailey -- played by Jimmy Stewart -- sits at a bar and contemplates taking his own life, then clasps his hands and quietly asks for God's intervention. And while filming this key moment, this pivotal point in the picture, Frank Capra \o7goofed\f7 -- big time.

Zuzu has a cold again. She sniffles and sucks on a cold pill as she signs autographs for fans lined up to the door in a coffee shop. Karolyn Grimes jokes that she left her coat open, like her character Zuzu Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life." But a more likely culprit is the holiday crunch of appearances by the former child actress -- from a Victorian festival in Puyallup, Wash.

This year, the Frank Capra Christmas classic "It's a Wonderful Life" features former President George H.W. Bush in a major role. He cannot be seen, but he can be heard by viewers whose televisions come equipped with the secondary audio program option. The new version of "It's a Wonderful Life," including Bush's narrative, first aired on Dec. 7 and will repeat Tuesday at 8 p.m. on NBC.

This is the time of year when Frank Capra's beloved "It's a Wonderful Life" twinkles on television like Christmas lights. Check out NBC. Oscar judges doted on "It's a Wonderful Life" when it was released in 1946, granting it a potful of nominations. And today it stands as possibly the most adored movie ever to beam across the airwaves, all that misplaced affection for something that's undeniably warm and emotional, but hardly the inspiring masterpiece it's cracked up to be.

In the early 1970s, actor Jimmy Hawkins left a phone message with a New York agent. When the man's colleague, Mary Jo Slater, heard his name, she asked if he was the Jimmy Hawkins from her favorite film, "It's a Wonderful Life." None other, Hawkins replied--and the seeds of a 25-year friendship were sown. Slater, who later traded agenting for a Hollywood casting career, went on to produce a musical of the 1946 Frank Capra holiday classic.