As he anticipates the traditional seasonal rerun of Frank Capra’s classic, “It’s A Wonderful Life”, Michael Reardon FRSA wonders whether the story of George Bailey can inspire a model of ethical banking for our troubled time.s

One of the things I look forward to most at this time of the year is the opportunity to get reacquainted with the folks of Bedford Falls. George Bailey and his brother Frank, old man Potter and the not so heavenly angel Clarence.

Perhaps Jimmy Stewart’s finest moment aside from “Harvey”, “It’s a Wonderful Life”, was not a hit when it was originally realized; post-war audiences preferred grittier fare. It has since become a fixture in the Christmas TV schedules. An indication of how deeply buried it is on the public psyche, was the fact that the ground-breaking early ‘90s series ‘Thirtysomething’ was made by the Bedford Falls production company and each episode played out with the last few bars of the song ‘Buffalo Girls’; a motif that runs through the film.

It has traditionally been thought of as a movie that shows the contribution that each of us has to make in our lifetime. Its life affirming character derives from the fact that the angel Clarence shows our hero, George Bailey, when he is at his lowest ebb, just how much poorer the lives of his family and neighbours would have been if he had not been lived. This bleaker, parallel life that George is shown is most poignantly summed up by the death of his brother Frank in an accident because George is not there to save him. (more…)