Siskoid Cinema presents… On Borrowed Time, the shows that explores time travel in movies. On this episode, Siskoid and Dr. Anj discuss 1946’s Christmas classic, It’s A Wonderful Life. Is it, in fact, a time travel film? We dare say yes!
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Credits:
Bonus clips: “It’s a Wonderful Life” by Frank Capra, starring Henry Travers, James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, and Karolyn Grimes; and “Auld Lang Syne” (traditional; Isisip on piano).
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I think I’ve only done It’s a Wonderful Life once all the way through, probably in the tweens or teens, during one of those cable marathons. I liked it fine, but never felt any compulsion to own it, or otherwise revisit, though I have caught bits and pieces over time. Probably in my top five Jimmy Stewart movies, but toward the back, with Harvey and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance at the fore. I definitely saw the SNL skit before the actual movie, one of the very few to feature Dennis Miller, and that may have colored my perception of the film itself. I guess if this is a time travel picture, then so is A Christmas Carol, so you’ll never want for December OBT material for the rest of your natural life. That is to say, neither feature truly qualifies, because both are celestial visions of a potential timeline, not a material existence in any plane. But you do you.
A Christmas Carol is DEFINITELY a time travel story. They take Scrooge to his youth and to his grave!
In my canon of time travel films, you will find fantasies (like this), trips through memory (well, wasn’t Triangle kind of that?), and time loops. I’m not too fussy, which means a lot of variety on the show.
There’s a sequel movie Clarence made in ’90 which isn’t very good and I’m not going to bother finding to see if I remember correctly bu I think they tell him no changing time.
First getting this out of the way, I can see your assessment that this is a time travel story, but I’m not particularly buying it. We don’t see Clarence or God or whatever higher power go back in time and stop George from being conceived. For me a time travel story has to actually involve travelling through time being depicted in some fashion.
I do think you’re splitting hairs saying this is NOT a multiverse film, because a parallel timeline and a parallel universe are usually presented as essentially the same thing. Parallel timelines and universes are often depicted as splintering off one event (the lack of a George Baily here), so I think it works in that regard, whether it was Divine Intervention, or George’s mom not ovulating at the correct time, or whatever.
Having said all that, none of the above matters because you and Anj had a wonderful discusison about this nearly perfect film, and I enjoyed the heck out of it. Although I had seen this movie many times over the years, it was only recently that my family sat down and watched it from start to finish, and we all loved it, and all got misty-eyed by the end. But as you pointed out, it has just enough schmaltz, not too much, to make it overly saccarine.
Having been a librarian at one point in her life, Cindy always laughs at Mary’s “horrible fate”. But as someone who married their high school sweetheart, I subscribe to the “missing soulmate” angle as well.
Oh, and I believe the reason the film was so prevelant on TV when we were younger is owed to a misconception that it was in the public domain. It actually isn’t, but that wasn’t confirmed until just a decade or so ago.
Anyhow, wonderful discussion gents. Happy Holidays!
I’m watching the film again right now, because it’s Christmas Eve and that’s when we always watch it. Ukulele music is about to be heard…
Time travel is less what this film is than a multiverse movie, but I’d not go for either, it’s a straightforward ‘what if’. Ach, who cares, I’ve never felt a need to categorise the film, if ‘time travel’ is what’s needed to get you and Anj podcasting, I’ll take it. Who are these wimps who were afraid to so much as whisper George Bailey’s name? We need people who would stand up to Old Man Potter!
I’ve always wondered about that mangy crow, and you tell me it was just a thing Frank Capra did in lots of his films? Honestly!
I read somewhere that the basic story was sent out as a Christmas card by – looks it up – Philip Van Doren Stern. 4000 words! That’s bigger than those round Robin cards families send out.
There’s a novel by film critic David Thomson called Suspects (as in ‘usual’) made up of cross-crossing bios of film characters. There’s an IaWL connection in there.
Loved this episode. I feel you both had some really interesting things to say about this film that I hadn’t thought about, so thats always fun.
I’m definitely in the same boat of ot watching this earnestly until I was much older. I was probably in my 40s (wait…Im not still in my 40s?) When I first watched it.
When you mentioned this would be covered on an episode of On Borrowed Time my first thought about how it could be a time travel movie was about the angels, who we are introduced to on the day George considers jumping off the bridge, and yet they go back and experience his entire life.
I think Dr. Anj made the point about the death of George’s brother as the turning point for the town from the sort of Norman Rockwell painting to a dark, hard place to live makes so much sense. You have a town that could have celebrated a kid as a hero and instead they endure not one, but two children dying pretty close to each other if we include the child Gower accidentally poisons. George’s two acts of heroism as a kid really has made an imprint the entire town’s psyche.
Im also glad ypu both took time to praise Donna Reed. Mary is definitely a character that makes things happen. And she never looks at George and asks him “what do we do now” like a lot of women in film at this time tend to do. That or be femme fatales.
Really enjoyed this episode and can’t wait for the next one.