Nominated for 5 Academy Awards, “It’s A Wonderful Life”, which also created suspicions of Communist conspiracy by the Federal Government, didn’t recoup its budget that year. Had it not been for a copyright glitch, we may never even know about the movie made by “Mr. Gee-Whiz,” Capra’s nickname for always looking at the world with a sense of awe and hope. With an expired copyright in 1974, the movie was broadcast on every television channel countless times until 1994 when Viacom bought and now protects diligently the rights to the film.
You’ll probably catch “It’s A Wonderful Life” on TV or live theater or even as the spectacular radio theater show this year. Or perhaps, if you’re like my family, you’ve got the DVD and you’ll make everyone watch it on Christmas Eve, tissues at the ready. But could the story have a Part II? The answer seems to be, “Yes!” Although many of the actors from the film, several of whom went on to successful television and film careers, have now passed, Martha Bolton and Bob Farnsworth have written “It’s a Wonderful Life: The Rest of the Story”, which depicts George’s troubled grandson and Aunt Zuzu (Karolyn Grimes) convincing him that the world would have been better had he never been born. Sounds a bit darker than the original and I’m not sure Mr. Gee-Whiz would approve.
Information obtained from:
(Biography.com Healthguidehq.com, Wikipedia, LAtimes.com, screenrant.com, todayifoundout.com, imdb.com, Daven Hiskey, Robert Matzen, Chicago Tribune-Nina Metz 2016
Additional information obtained from watching the film a hundred times!