The Life of Bailey

Hasn't everybody already seen Frank Capra's 1946 film classic, It's a Wonderful Life? Doesn't everybody want to see it again? The parallels with Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol are obvious, for here we have Bob Cratchit (in the person of Jimmy Stewart's hardworking, long-suffering George Bailey) living out his life as the thorn in the side of the town's Scrooge, Henry Potter (Lionel Barrymore). Ultimately, it is Clarence the angel (the Ghost of Christmas Past) who delivers the film's most resonant line: "Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole." That is the truth that director Capra was striving for and the hope that Stewart personifies. Even if you think you overdosed on this movie long ago, that life-affirming message bears hearing anew, and never more than at Christmastime. It's a Wonderful Life screens at 10:30 a.m. today at the Hi-Pointe Theatre (1005 McCausland Avenue; 314-644-1100 or www.hi-pointetheatre.com). Tickets are $5.
Sat., Dec. 14, 2013