Among the many Christmas films that everyone watches around the holiday season, “It’s a Wonderful Life” is perhaps the most timeless. Frequently cited as one of the best classic Christmas films, it has become a tradition to watch it in December as the cold dark nights come around and families gather around television screens to spend time together.
First released in 1943, it tells the story of George Bailey (James Stewart). Contemplating taking his own life on Christmas Eve, a mysterious guardian angel (Henry Travers) shows Bailey his impact on the world.
“Annie Oakley” and “Leave It to Beaver” star Jimmy Hawkins also had a role in the film, playing one of George’s children Tommy. At 5 years old at the time of filming, he has become something of a spokesperson for the film in modern times as one of the few surviving members of the cast. Here, he reveals some behind-the-scenes secrets about the making of “It’s A Wonderful Life.”
The Impact of ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’
GettySpeaking to Parade to discuss the film, Hawkins recalls the impact that the film has had on audiences and what it means to those who have watched it. “This movie showed that we’re all important,” Hawkins says. “You don’t have to be the best looking guy in town or the wealthiest. You can make a difference.”
However, he also revealed that director Frank Capra couldn’t understand why the film performed so poorly at the box office when it was initially released, and only became more highly regarded years later.
“When it bombed, [Capra] couldn’t understand it,” Hawkins shares. “He said, ‘This is the greatest film I’ve ever made … in fact, I think it’s the greatest film anybody made … Why didn’t it go?’ It just came and went so fast.”
Shooting With Kids Posed a Problem for Frank Capra
Hawkins went on to recall a conversation with Capra about what the most difficult scene was to shoot from the movie. According to the director, the scene where George angrily shouts at his family after losing the $8,000 was the most challenging because it involved filming with all of the children.
The actor continued, “I said, ‘Well, why? Did we give you a problem?’ ‘Oh, no, no, you kids were great. It’s just that there was so much going on in that scene.’”
Knowing that the scene would be intense for viewers to see, Capra decided to add a moment of levity to try and keep things light. He settled on having Tommy saying “excuse me, excuse me, I burped” — something that was not in the original script. According to Hawkins, the inspiration for this came from Capra’s own son.
“That’s something that his real son, Tom Capra, who was about that age, did at home,” Hawkins says. “Whenever anything was going on dramatically, [Capra] tried to put some humor into it to make it more palatable to the people watching the movie.”
Speaking of that particular scene, Hawkins also revealed that it wasn’t Capra who directed the shot of Tommy tearing up after George snaps at him. It was actually Slavko Vorkapich who was entrusted to capture all of the tight shots of the children reacting to what their father was saying to them.
James Stewart Refused to Re-shoot One Scene
GettyAnyone who has seen “It’s A Wonderful Life” will no doubt remember the moment when George is at a bar and becomes emotional. In despair, he breaks down and begins praying, asking for some sort of divine intervention. The emotion on Stewart’s face is clear to see, as tears run down his cheeks.
The script didn’t call for George to actually cry in the scene but, according to Hawkins, the actor simply became overwhelmed and could not help but show his sadness. Hawkins explains that Capra then wanted to try another take upon seeing Stewart’s reaction but the star refused as he didn’t want to put himself through the trauma again.
Stewart also put off filming a scene that involved him kissing his wife Mary (Donna Reed) as he didn’t feel comfortable sharing on-screen intimacy. “[He] didn’t want to film that scene,” Hawkins says. ”He had been putting it off for a while. He hadn’t shared a kiss on-screen in a long time. Finally, Capra said enough is enough. ‘Jimmy, it’s just two lips coming together. Let’s do this.’”
