It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

It's a Wonderful Life rating: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

IMDb8.6/10· 552K votes

Rotten Tomatoes94%

Metacritic89%

TMDb8.281/10· 5K votes

With 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by 8.6/10 on IMDb and 89/100 on Metacritic, critical reception of this film has been very positive.

About It's a Wonderful Life

George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. But on Christmas Eve the business's $8,000 is lost and George's troubles begin.

Cast of It's a Wonderful Life

• 

  James Stewart

  as George Bailey

• 

  Donna Reed

  as Mary Hatch

• 

  Lionel Barrymore

  as Mr. Potter

• 

  Thomas Mitchell

  as Uncle Billy

• 

  Henry Travers

  as Clarence

• 

  Beulah Bondi

  as Mrs. Bailey

• 

  Frank Faylen

  as Ernie

• 

  Ward Bond

  as Bert

• 

  Gloria Grahame

  as Violet

• 

  H.B. Warner

  as Mr. Gower

• 

  Frank Albertson

  as Sam Wainwright

• 

  Todd Karns

  as Harry Bailey

It's a Wonderful Life facts

Budget

$3.2M

Box office

$9.6M

Our take on It's a Wonderful Life

Frank Capra's 1946 perennial follows George Bailey, a small-town man whose lifetime of quiet self-sacrifice collapses one Christmas Eve — until an angel shows him how empty the world would be without him. Equal parts heartwarming and surprisingly dark, it earns its uplift through real despair. If its blend of sentiment and hard-won hope moved you, seek out classic feel-good dramas and life-affirming holiday films that find grace in ordinary lives.