Listeners have asked me to post the 1947 Lux Radio Drama version of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. Enjoy this great story in a different format!
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Buzzkill Bookshelf
Michael Willian, The Essential It’s a Wonderful Life – 75th Anniversary Edition: A Scene-by-Scene Guide to the Classic Film
To celebrate the 75th anniversary of this inspiration holiday classic, here comes a new and expanded 75th anniversary edition of The Essential It’s a Wonderful Life. Packed with fresh insights, this comprehensive guidebook walks you through It’s a Wonderful Life scene by scene. It’s a Wonderful Life fans will be thrilled by the guidebook’s assortment of intriguing insights, cool cast and film anecdotes, closer looks at scene details, historical tie-ins, scene and storyline curiosities, gaffes and more. And it’s all presented in an immersive, page-turning format.
And this anniversary edition features 50% more content, with never-before-revealed discoveries, deeper dives into details from your favorite scenes and even more immersive maps, illustrations and photos. This humorous and intelligent companion to It’s a Wonderful Life is the perfect way to explore this timeless film with fresh eyes.
Inside you’ll see:
- A first-of-its-kind 3D bird’s-eye illustration showing Bedford Falls’ downtown and residential areas
- Never-before-seen maps of downtown Bedford Falls and Pottersville, pinpointing the location of stores and key scenes
- Architectural floor plans created for 320 Sycamore and the Building & Loan offices, showing offices, rooms, scene locations, set features and even furniture
- Photos from the studio backlot and on-location sets, offering fresh insights into favorite scenes
- A handy film chronology and a breakdown of the film’s soundtrack
- And here are just a few of the things you’ll discover:
- Who’s at the Christmas Eve gathering and who’s not, who crashes it, and why Harry Bailey’s wife isn’t there
- Who won “The Charleston” contest, what happened to the trophy, and how Cary Grant is involved
- What real-life singing and piano legends perform at Martini’s and Nick’s
- The real-life set locations for the graduation dance “Swim-Gym,” the Bedford Falls train station, Bailey Park and the Martini’s house, with inside stories and looks
- How to make a flaming rum punch
- Why George should have spent Christmas Eve in jail
- Which Wonderful Life actor was a professional boxer and world-class rower
- The stories behind George and everyone’s war contributions, including how Harry stacked up against World War II flying aces and why Marty’s Remagen bridge heroics were so impressive.
