STORY:
A guardian angel intervenes on behalf of a man in trouble in this movie. It begins with an imaginative illustration of heaven's angels discussing a new issue. "Please, God, something's the matter with Daddy" are some of the prayers that are being offered to them from mortals. They need to send an angel down to Earth to stop George Bailey (James Stewart), who is about to commit suicide. They choose Clarence (Henry Travers), an angel who is a little down on his luck and hasn't yet earned his wings, but they decide he's the right person for the job. If Clarence succeeds, the senior angels promise that he will receive his wings. The senior angels relive George's life for Clarence's benefit throughout the majority of the film so that Clarence can comprehend George.
George Bailey was a young man who had big aspirations despite living in a small town in upstate New York. He had the aspiration from a young age to escape Bedford Falls, travel the world, and accomplish great things like planning cities and constructing enormous airfields, skyscrapers, and bridges. Clarence first observes George rescuing his younger brother Harry (Todd Karns) from an accident while playing on an ice-covered pond when George was 12 years old. George lost the meeting in his passed on ear due to being in the frosty water. Shortly after that, while working part-time in Mr. Gower's (H.B. Warner) drug store, he stops a prescription error from poisoning someone and resulting in their death. Gower beats George until the boy explains the situation, enraged at the neglected delivery and delirious over his son's death. Gower is deeply remorseful and grateful to George after testing the medication and realizing the boy avoided a terrible mistake. George vows to keep the error to himself. Mary Hatch (Donna Reed) and Violet Bick (Gloria Grahame), the two young women in George's life at the time, appear to be competing for his attention.
George's father, Samuel S. Hinds, and a small staff, including Uncle Billy, Thomas Mitchell, run a building and loan business that provides Bedford Falls residents with mortgage financing. With the evil, avaricious, and wealthy Henry Potter (Lionel Barrymore), they must fight a difficult battle. Mr. Potter, who is confined to a wheelchair, is on the Building and Loan's board of directors, holds most of its assets, owns almost everything else in town, charges outrageous rent for his own apartments, and wants Bailey's business to go out of business.
After graduating from college, George intends to begin his travels. He has a lot of respect for his father and what he does to help people, but he does not want to work at the Building and Loan like his father did. However, his plans are derailed by a series of events.
George went to work at the Structure and Credit for a couple of years subsequent to moving on from secondary school, with the assumption that Harry would take this over when he graduated, and George would go on an European visit and afterward set off for college. However, George must take over the B&L for a few months due to his father's fatal stroke, necessitating a break from the European tour. The only thing that can stop Potter's attempt to liquidate the B&L is George himself taking control of it. As a result, he drops out of college and gives Harry money from college. At that point, the plan was for Harry to take over the B&L when he graduated, and George would go to college. However, Harry has married Ruth Dakin since returning from college, and Ruth's father has offered him a job in upstate New York. George marries Mary Hatch after a difficult introduction in which he mistakenly believes that Mary is in love with his lifelong rival Sam Wainwright (Frank Albertson), despite Harry's promise to turn it down for George's sake. George cannot bear to cost his brother the opportunity, so he has no choice but to remain with the B&L. They have saved $2000 and are about to embark on their honeymoon. However, a banking crisis arises. Potter has called in the loans and taken over the bank that backs the B&L loans. The clients are in a frenzy and are enticed to head toward Potter's bank. George can only save the situation by using his honeymoon funds to meet the demands of the customers. Their cabbie friend Ernie (Frank Faylen) and policeman friend Bert (Ward Bond) plan a cheap honeymoon at their house. They serenade the love birds from outside in the downpour.
Bedford Falls residents continue to receive low-cost housing from the B&L, which developed the entire neighborhood known as "Bailey Park." This includes the family home of Mr. Martini (William Edmunds), the proprietor of the local tavern. Sam Wainwright and his significant other drop by to offer that George and Mary get away with them in Florida, yet they can't move away in any event, for that.
Potter tries to persuade George to work for him instead by offering him a high salary and a lot of travel, and he is unhappy that George's B&L is driving customers away from his apartment business. Even though it might be tempting, George is turned off by everything Potter stands for, so he declines.
Therefore, George never leaves Bedford Falls with his wife and four children. Harry serves in World War II (George is exempt due to his ear) and heroically shoots down two hostile airplanes to save a transport ship as a whole. He is granted the Legislative Decoration of Distinction at a service in Washington.
A bank examiner arrives for a routine audit the morning before Christmas, the day Bedford Falls will host a huge Harry celebration. Uncle Billy makes a routine cash deposit of $8,000 to the bank on the same day. Potter occurs by, and Billy gladly brings up the paper with the report about Harry. Potter returns the newspaper with the cash envelope after he folds it accidentally. After that, Billy realizes that the money was lost. Potter, presently in another room, sees this, and slips away.
Billy shows up at the B&L, where George, liberal as usual, is giving Violet his very own portion cash for her to venture out to New York City and begin another life. There is a commotion when Billy tells George about the loss. George and Billy look everywhere to see if the money is still there. George yells at Billy that this implies insolvency, outrage and jail, and that he, George, isn't the person who will go to jail.
George returns home to his family, where they are preparing for a Christmas party that evening, in a very bad mood. George is extremely resentful and mean, and he verbally abuses everyone, asking, "Why do we have to have all these children?" at one point. His actions are alarming to the entire family. He finds out that their youngest daughter, "Zuzu," played by Karalyn Grimes, has a cold and is in bed. It appears that she saw it as she walked home from school without buttoning her coat because she didn't want to hurt the rose that had been given to her. George goes up to see her. Some of the rose's petals fall off when handled. They are placed in George's watch pocket.
Mrs. Welch, Zuzu's teacher, calls to inquire about her. Because of her carelessness, George hits her hard with his tongue. George verbally and physically abuses Mr. Welch when he answers the phone. George then begins to kick and throw objects. The youngsters are crying. George storms out of the house after refusing to discuss what's wrong or bothering him. Mary telephones Uncle Billy to figure out what's going on. Mary replies that they should pray for their father when the kids ask if they should.
George visits Mr. Potter to beg for an $8,000 loan while word of the disaster spreads. Mr. Potter is sarcastic and completely uncaring. He points out that George is known to have given money to Violet Bick and suggests that George has been manipulating the books, playing the market with company funds, or paying off a woman. Potter is interested in collateral. George's only possession is a $15,000 life insurance policy that only has $500 in equity. "You're worth more dead than alive," declares Mr. Potter.
George drinks at Mr. Martini's bar before praying to the Almighty for guidance. The considerate bartender Nick (Sheldon Leonard), among his friends, notices and tries to assist. Mr. Welch (Stanley Andrews), the husband of the teacher George insulted for no reason over the telephone earlier, hears Mr. Martini say George's name out loud. He punches George, causing a horrendous lip. Even though his friends tell him to stay and rest, George leaves. George drives toward a bridge in his car. Due to the cold climate, he inadvertently drives it into a tree. The mortgage holder emerges and berates him for hurting the tree. To commit suicide, George just keeps walking out onto the bridge.
Clarence descends to Earth just as George is about to drown in the frigid river; His time has arrived. He knows George well enough to know that George will save Clarence if he jumps into the river. George steps in and rescues him as planned when he does this. To dry their clothes, they go to the cabin of the toll collector. Clarence explains everything, saying that he is an angel named "Clarence Odbody, Angel second class" who was sent to stop George from taking his own life. George was surprised to learn that Clarence knew everything about his life. George is doubting and skeptical about the entire thing, referencing that it isn't is to be expected that he got just an inferior holy messenger, one without wings. He refuses Clarence's pleas because he believes he must have drunk contaminated liquor. He at long last says "I wish I'd never been conceived." After discussing his plan in prayer with the senior angels, Clarence declares, "You've got your wish. You have never existed."
Things shift right away. It is not snowing in the alternate universe. George notices that his lip is not bleeding and that he can hear through his left ear. Clarence brings up that numerous things will be different at this point.
George and Clarence pass the tree that George hit with his car as they walk back toward town. The vehicle is gone, and there is no slice in the tree. George inquires about the tree's damage and the car when the homeowner comes by. The homeowner has no knowledge of this. He states, "You made me nervous. One of the most established trees in Pottersville." George, perplexed, tries to correct the man, but the man yells at George and tells him that the town is Pottersville. Clarence and George leave.
They move on to the town. Martini's bar has turned into a shabby plunge, and Mr. Martini is mysteriously gone. Nick, the bartender, now owns it, but he is now very mean and rude. At the bar, George and Clarence settle in. Nick is immediately dissatisfied by Clarence's polite speech and demeanor. Nick is aware of George, but George is not aware of Nick. At the point when a sales register rings, Clarence brings up that, at whatever point that occurs, it implies a heavenly messenger has procured his wings. Nick tells an elderly Mr. Gower, who is now homeless and abandoned, to leave. Mr. Gower does not recognize George as he speaks to him. Nick tells George, when George inquires about the individual, that Mr. Gower served 20 years in prison on a manslaughter charge for poisoning a child, and that if this stranger knows Mr. Gower, he must also be a prisoner. After throwing George and Clarence out of the tavern, Nick mockingly rings the cash register and claims to be giving away angel wings.
Before the bar, George is genuinely upset by what is happening when he sees the sign for 'Scratch's' instead of Martini's name. Clarence makes sense of indeed that George doesn't exist from that wish he made that he was rarely conceived. George raises the issue that assuming he was rarely conceived and is alive and collaborating with individuals... then who is he? In response, George says that in this alternate reality, he is just a person without a name. George looks in his pockets for his wallet, any other forms of identification, or the policy for his life insurance. Clarence makes the point that they are not real. George checks his watch pocket at last. Clarence says "They're not there either." " What?" George inquires. " Zuzu's petals. George, you have been given a wonderful present. The opportunity to see what the world would resemble without you."
George continues to walk downtown without Clarence, continuing to deny what is happening. Pottersville has evolved from Bedford Falls into a gloomy, brutish, and perverse community that is overrun by shady bars and nightclubs. The cinema, the Retail outlet retail chain, and the B&L, are a distant memory. Disorders are being dealt with by police everywhere. George calls Ernie's taxicab and asks to be driven home after observing the police arrest Violet and remove her from the former B&L brothel. Ernie has no clue about what his identity is or where he resides. He provides Ernie with the address, to which Ernie informs him that it is an abandoned residence but that he will nevertheless take him there. Ernie tells George about his life when he asks about it. He says that his wife left him three years ago and that he now lives alone in Potter's Field. He outwardly flags for Bert the police officer to follow them. Clarence appears as George searches the house in search of his family. Clarence intervenes and then vanishes, allowing George to escape when Bert tries to arrest them.
After that, George travels to his mother's house, which has evolved into "Ma Bailey's Boarding House," a run-down boarding house. She tells him to leave when she opens the front door but doesn't recognize him. She says that Uncle Billy has been in an insane asylum since the B&L went out of business many years ago, which George mentions.
George then goes to Martini's house in Bailey Park with Clarence, still denying what is happening. There isn't such a place; it's a cemetery-covered wasteland. Clarence identifies Harry Bailey's grave. "Your brother Harry Bailey broke through the ice and drowned at the age of nine," Clarence declares.
"That is untrue! Harry Bailey fought in the war. He was awarded the Medal of Honor from Congress. He saved the lives of each and every passenger on that ship." says George.
"On that ship, every man died. Because you weren't there to save Harry, Harry wasn't there to save them. George, you were truly blessed throughout your life. Don't you see what a mix-up it is discard it?"
Then, George wants to see Mary. Clarence claims to have never been married and to be employed at the library. There, George goes. She is unfamiliar with him. He tries to hold her close; she shouts and runs into a club. He pursues her, but he is confronted by a group of people he knows, who obviously do not recognize the wild man they have never met before. George finally realizes what's going on and calls out to Clarence as the police arrive. George punches Bert and then flees. Bert fires at him but misses, and then he drives his squad car after him.
George yells, "Help me Clarence, please! " as he makes his way to the bridge where he was about to jump. Please! Once more, I need to live!" He prays earnestly to God to bring him back.
The alternate universe abruptly ends with that plea. It has snowed once more. Bert shows up in his squad car, and shouts to George that he's been searching for him, since seeing his vehicle blasted through the tree. Additionally, he draws attention to George's bleeding lip. George is more than happy to hear this, and to realize that Bert knows him. He checks his watch pocket; There are the rose petals!
George is overjoyed. He enters the town, which is once more Bedford Falls, and is greeted with unbridled joy by all of its familiar institutions. Even though the authorities are waiting for him at home, he wishes Mr. Potter a sarcastic Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in jail. George knows that he will probably be arrested for bank fraud when he gets home. The authorities are present and prepared to arrest him. However, George astonishes them with his joy at receiving his warrant for arrest, especially considering that his children are also present, and they all have a joyful reunion.
Mary and numerous others, led by Uncle Billy, return home. It turned out that when word got out that George was having financial difficulties, the townspeople he had been so kind to had contributed whatever they could, contrary to Mr. Potter's claim that they would hate him for losing their money. Many individuals show up, with an entire clothing container brimming with cash, gems, and different resources. The Bank Examiner, moved by this public show of support and aware that the financial deficit will be compensated, moves up to contribute, and the attending police officer tears up the arrest warrant with a smile when he receives a telegram from Sam Wainwright in Europe stating that he would advance up to $25,000 to cover the debt on the B&L. After hearing that his brother required his support, Harry abruptly arrives from New York and toasts "To my big brother George." The city's richest individual."
In the final scene, George finds a copy of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" in his inside coat pocket with a brief handwritten note on the inside pages as the crowd sings "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and "Auld Lang Syne." It peruses, "Dear George. Keep in mind that a man with friends is not a failure. Gratitude for the wings! Regards, Clarence. George simply responds that it is a Christmas present from a very dear friend when Mary inquires about Clarence because he is aware that Mary would never believe the whole story. A bell on the Christmas tree sounds that instant. "Look, dad, " Zuzu declares. The instructor states, "An angel gets his wings every time a bell rings." George says "Believe it or not. That is correct." Also, looking upward, "Attaboy, Clarence."
