How It's a Wonderful Life devised a new form of fake snow that revolutionized the medium Prior to this movie, fake snow was made of cornflakes painted white. It didn’t look much like snow under close inspection, but the real issue was that they made a loud crunching sound when anyone stepped on them. It also didn't allow for footprints, tire tracks, and the like to appear in the snow. Director Frank Capra recruited RKO special-effects department head Russell Shearman, who devised a mixture of Foamite (found in fire extinguishers), soap, sugar, and water that could be shot out of canisters at high pressure and gently wafted over a set with silent fans. The set during filming of It's a Wonderful Life: The movie was filmed during the summer in Los Angeles, California. More snow was used than any other film at the time since Lost Horizon, which Capra directed a decade prior, and shot by creating real snow and shooting in a giant indoor icehouse.
I just listened to that Paul Harvey video. The reason it was so popular on tv is that someone forgot to renew the copyright, putting the movie into the public domain. So stations could (and did...and can) play the heck out of it over & over & over...royalty-free.
Yes. There's been a marathon all weekend. I saw the ending one time and caught the beginning another. Same with The Christmas Story (the leg lamp).
It (Wonderful Life) was on last night. I passed. I've seen it so many times I can't ever watch it again. I'd watch Christmas Story again,but have not seen it listed on antenna tv channels.
Speaking of fake snow.....one year at the Christmas festivities in Celebration (the "model community" built by Disney), somebody had the idea of using instant mashed potato flakes for snow. It looked good, it wafted down convincingly, all was good. UNTIL....it got misty overnight, the flakes turned into mashed potatoes and the Florida sun came out the next morning and turned it all into BAKED potatoes. It took days of power washing to clean it up. The next year, it was back to the usual soap-suds snow.
It tries too much to be sentimental and cliches for me. I wish he wasn't born! Btw. Doris Day was asked to play the wife Donna Reed but did not want to work with Stewart
I knew Doris Day, and she was just entering into the movie industry when It's a Wonderful Life was made. I cannot imagine her even being considered for this role. Jean Arthur on the other hand, was first choice as Donna Reed was all that well known as yet.