It’s a Wonderful Life is a 1946 classic American Christmas movie. The movie is about a struggling father and businessman named George Bailey, played by James Stewart, who has given up on his personal dreams to help those in his community.

Everyone around George is happy with how their lives are, and their success stories make George feel stuck running his father’s building and loan business.

The movie opens with a scene of angels in heaven receiving prayers from George Bailey’s family and friends, praying for God to send an angel down to help him because they can tell something is wrong.

On Christmas Eve, his Uncle Billy goes to deposit George’s $8,000 check in the bank when he realizes that he has misplaced it. Billy had accidentally put the check in the fold of a newspaper giving the newspaper to Mr. Potter, the man who runs the bank. Mr. Potter then steals the money for himself.

Billy then goes home to deliver the news to George that he has lost the money, and George freaks out and starts yelling at him. George then goes home to yell at all his kids and make nasty remarks to them.

He goes to the bar and starts drinking. He goes to a bridge, and right before he jumps, his guardian angel is sent down from Heaven to save him from taking his life.

They select an angel named Clarence, played by Henry Travers, who is a down-on-his luck angel who has not yet earned his wings. The guardian angel takes him back in time to show him what his town, family, and friends would be like if he never existed.

It’s a Wonderful Life was nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture. It has also been recognized by the American Film Institute as one of the 100 Best American Films ever made. Still to this day, It’s a Wonderful Life is considered to be one of the greatest films of all time.

This movie is not only a good family Christmas movie, but it also has a great plot and spreads an important message. You can watch the movie on Amazon Prime Video and Hulu +.

Quite often during this holiday season, one can catch an It’s a Wonderful Life marathon on one of the cable channels. Due to its classic status, stations often run 24-hour marathons of this movie which includes the classic line, “Teacher says every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.”

It’s a Wonderful Life is a timeless classic that people of all ages can enjoy throughout the season.