12 AMERICAN BLUES THEATER The film started as a greeting card. When author Philip Van Doren Stern failed to find a publisher for his book about a man named George Pratt who considers suicide until he gets a chance to see what the world would be like without him, he printed it as his Christmas card in 1943. One of the 200 cards he self- published eventually made its way to RKO Pictures producer David Hempstead, who purchased the rights. Capra bought the rights a year later, turning "The Greatest Gift" into “It's a Wonderful Life”. It didn’t do well at the box office. The film, although now considered a classic, was such a financial disappointment that it busted Capra's production company, Liberty Films. It was the first and last time Capra produced, financed, directed, and co-wrote a film. Cary Grant almost starred in it. When the rights were still held at RKO, Cary Grant was slated to play the lead role of George Bailey made iconic by Jimmy Stewart. There could have been a different Mary Bailey. Ginger Rogers allegedly turned down the role because she thought the character too bland. When Rogers penned her autobiography, she questioned that decision by asking the readers, "Foolish, you say?" The bird was a staple of Capra films. Capra first used Jimmy the raven, a wildly prolific avian actor, in his 1938 film “You Can't Take it With You” and cast him in every film he made subsequently. In “It's a Wonderful Life”, Jimmy the raven played Uncle Billy's pet, kept at the Building & Loan. James Stewart, in particular, was a fan: "When they call Jimmy, we both answer," he remarked while filming, calling the bird "the smartest actor on set." There were some significant rewrites to the screenplay. According to Robert Matzen’s book Mission: Jimmy Stewart and the Fight for Europe, the original screenplay began with a scene in Benjamin Franklin's workshop in heaven. Beulah Bondi was a pro at playing Jimmy Stewart’s mom. Beulah Bondi, who plays Mrs. Bailey, didn’t need a lot of rehearsal to play Jimmy Stewart’s mom. She had done it three times previously in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, “Of Human Hearts”, and “Vivacious Lady”. The gym scene features a “Rascal”. The disgruntled prankster who opens the gymnasium floor, revealing the pool during the school dance, is none other than Carl Switzer, who played Alfalfa in “The Little Rascals”. “IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE” 16 WONDERFUL FACTS Jimmy Stewart with Jimmy the raven in “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946) Cary Grant (left) and Ginger Rogers (right) — alleged contenders for the roles of George and Mary Bailey, respectively.