Just in time for the weekend… Vanessa Williams announces today's AFI Movie Club selection: IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE.
The film ranks #20 on AFI's Top 100 greatest American films of all time, #1 on 100 Years…100 Cheers and #9 on 100 Years…100 Passions. George Bailey is listed at #9 on AFI's 100 Heroes list, and James Stewart is ranked #3 on AFI's list of the greatest stars in cinematic history.
DID YOU KNOW? Writer Philip Van Doren Stern sent out his short story "The Greatest Gift" as a 21-page Christmas card, which provided the original concept for IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE.
David Hempstead, a producer at RKO Pictures, ended up getting a hold of it and purchased the movie rights for $10,000. In this exclusive AFI Archive video, director Frank Capra talks about developing the film.
