Watch it's a wonderful life.
To some, Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without It’s a Wonderful Life on the television.
How old was donna reed in it's a wonderful life
Voted as the ‘most inspirational film of all time’ by the American Film Institute, the film has become a staple of the festive season.
However, Frank Capra’s film, which follows a frustrated businessman receiving a visit from an angel, wasn’t an instant hit.
So how did the film go on to become the Christmas classic we know it as today?
Mixed reviews
Considering how fond audiences are of the film nowadays, it’s hard to imagine that its first reviews were decidedly mixed.
On 20 December 1946, the film received a charity preview screening at the Globe Theater in New York, one day before its official premiere. The New York Times described it as a “quaint and engaging modern parable” but concluded: “…the weakness of this picture… is the sentimentality of it – its illusory concept of life.
Mr Capra’s nice people are charming, his town is a quite beguiling place…