The good news is that It’s a Wonderful Life Museum is open this year for visitors and they are also planning a big 75th-anniversary bash for next year! Start planning now.
The following is a transcript from an interview I did last year on my Reel Travels podcast. I thought you would enjoy it as we get ready for this year’s holiday season.
If you haven’t watched It’s a Wonderful Life, you can see it almost all the time on television during the holiday season. It is a classic — albeit it a little dark — with a really amazing story to tell.
I interviewed Anwei Skinsnes Law, the museum’s historian, and an award-winning author.
Can you tell us a little bit about the museum?
It’s a Wonderful Life Museum was founded in 2010, in Seneca Falls, New York. And Seneca Falls is best known for its tradition of women’s rights. In Seneca is the Women’s Rights National Historical Park and the National Women’s Hall of Fame.
We also have a connection to It’s a Wonderful Life. It’s believed that Frank Capra came through here when he was working on the script. And there are a lot of things that indicate that. But even more important, the message of this movie about the value of each person fits in the context of the discussion of women’s rights and human rights. It’s all about believing in the value of everybody.
How does It’s a Wonderful Life connect to women’s rights?
The movie is really based on one simple idea of showing someone what the world would be like if they’d never been born. How many people’s lives would have been affected? Frank Capra thought it was the greatest idea he’d ever heard.
Capra talked about how he wanted this movie to help people believe in themselves and believe in each other again. And that’s why we believe the message is so timeless because it’s not as relevant today as it was when it was made in 1946.
What do you think people love about this movie? Of course, James Stewart is just so lovable and then there’s Donna Reed, but what do you think is the reason why people watch this movie time and time and time and time again, every year?
I think it’s because of that message. People have traditions of watching this with their families and for their grandparents who are no longer with them. They have traditions associated with this film. It’s a long film, well over two hours, but when you know the ending, it’s worth waiting for. And the ending brings tears to people’s eyes every time they watch it because it’s about a community coming together to value someone who maybe had been taken for granted or, you know, never thought he was special.
George never got to do the things in life he dreamed of doing. But by not doing those things he became the George Bailey that everyone admires. And everybody wants their life to be like that of George Bailey, where people would come together to show them how much they mean to them.
And it’s Jimmy Stewart, certainly Donna Reed, but it’s the whole cast. Frank Capra chose these people. You could never imagine anyone else in the roles. When you look at the Bailey children, and there are three of them who fortunately are still with us today — Karolyn Grimes who played Zuzu, Carol Coombs who played Janie, and Jimmy Hawkins who played Tommy — and they really embody the message of this film.
And when you meet them, you feel like you’re meeting Zuzu grown-up, Virginia grown-up, and Tommy grown up, because they have taken this movie and the message to heart and promoted it the message as well as the history for years.
The Bailey Children
In December (2019), we had the three Bailey kids and young Violet. It’s the first time you’ve had four actors from this film together in 20 years. So it’s quite something. It was the only movie she was ever in. She had been on the radio with Jack Benny and Phil Harris and others, but she spent the rest of her life working as a psychologist.
The ending of the movie really is just so breathtakingly beautiful and it’s awesome that it’s not just the museum, but the whole community in Seneca Falls that took that message and made it much larger than life. I love that.
In the museum, we expand on the message in different ways. Donna Reed was very strongly involved in promoting better roles for Women in Film and Television. And she was also involved in an organization called Another Mother for Peace that was active during the Vietnam War, and they were lobbying for a secretary of peace and a department of peace, something we think would be very useful today. And so through Donna Reed’s efforts, we can talk about that.
What can you see there?
We have a lot of personal items from people. It’s not just about their role, and It’s a Wonderful Life. Carol sent us the doll her uncle gave her during World War II. We have things from the movie, not props, there’s not much left, but we have a lot of autographed items and a lot of photographs. And but it just has a spirit about it, of people and people who just love this movie, and carry it in their hearts.
Who are the people that are coming to see the museum? Are they typically older?
Everybody. We’ve had people from all 50 states and 30 countries. We had 10,000 people come through here last year. That’s a lot for a little museum that doesn’t do a whole lot of publicity. And people have heard about it and they tell people about it. They’re people of all ages. We get senior citizens, families with babies, saying they’re going to show that movie to their baby when it grows up.
We need to take this movie to its 100th anniversary.
The 75th Anniversary
Here is the info copied from their website about the 2021 anniversary celebration: PLEASE NOTE: Our Museum is planning an extra two days of presentations, autograph signings, and other events for the 75th Anniversary Celebration of It’s a Wonderful Life in 2021! To maximize your experience for the 75th Anniversary, we suggest you plan to come for all five days, arriving on December 7 and leaving December 13. Activities will start with special presentations on the morning of December 8 and end with the Final Scene Dinner on Sunday, December 12. Contact us via email or call 315-568-5838 with any questions. Join us for the historic 75th anniversary next year!)
