A Wonderful Life (film)

Last updated
A Wonderful Life
Directed by William Beaudine
Written byAlan Shilin
Produced byPaul F. Heard
Starring
Cinematography Marcel Le Picard
Edited by Al Joseph
Music byLouis Forbes [1]
Distributed by Protestant Film Commission
Release date
  • 1951 (1951)
Running time
45 minutes [2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

A Wonderful Life is a 1951 black-and-white short drama film produced by the National Council of Churches of Christ and distributed by the Protestant Film Commission. It is an adaptation of Frank Capra's 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life for the Christian film industry. Directed by William Beaudine, it stars James Dunn, Allene Roberts, and Arthur Shields. The film retells the life of an ordinary Christian family man in flashback as his family and friends remember all the good he did through his devotion to church and community. The film emphasizes the power of faith, love, and community service for living a meaningful life, together with the message that people do not realize the true worth of others until after they have died. [3] The film was not released commercially, but was distributed to some 30,000 churches throughout the United States and Canada.

Contents

Plot

Henry Wood (James Dunn) is an ordinary Christian family man who lives with faith, love, and dedication to his church and community in the fictional Martinville, Missouri. However, his acquaintances and family consider him naïve and someone who is easily taken advantage of. After his unexpected death, his family and friends gather to reminisce about his life, seen in flashback. Henry's daughter Mary is bitter about the way he never received remuneration for serving as treasurer in a host of committees, leaving the family to struggle financially. But after Henry's life and his effect on other people is reexamined—including his care of Mary when she was diagnosed with infantile paralysis, and his providing the funds to send her to college—Mary realizes that her father did live a meaningful life, and resolves to emulate his commitment to do good for others. [4]

Cast

Production

Development

A Wonderful Life is an adaptation of Frank Capra's 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life for the Christian film industry. [5] The death of an ordinary Christian family man leaves a "spiritual vacuum" among his friends and neighbors due to his selfless acts of charity for his church and community. The story was inspired by a real-life case in Sedalia, Missouri. [5] The original screenplay was written by Alan Shilin. [6] The voice-over narration was supplied by Arthur Shields, who played the pastor. [7]

The film was one of 11 short features directed by William Beaudine for the Protestant Film Commission. Beaudine was considered ideal for the job because of his "aversion to preaching": he was able "to create films with a strong story whose message was evident but not overwhelming". [8] Technical advisers included Rev. S. Franklin Mack, an ordained Presbyterian minister who was director of films for the Broadcasting and Film Commission of the National Council of Churches of Christ, and Oscar Rumpf, who once served as a minister in Sedalia. [2] [9] [10] [7]

Producer Paul F. Heard and associate producer Barney Sarecky [2] completed the film for the National Council of Churches of Christ. [11]

Filming

Beaudine typically finished this and similar films on a six-day shooting schedule. [12] The production, staged at KTTV studios in Los Angeles, with exterior scenes filmed in Sedalia, Missouri, [7] was completed in December 1950. [6] [12]

Release

The film was distributed exclusively to churches throughout the United States and Canada. These included Congregational Christian Churches, Presbyterian Church U.S.A., Evangelical churches, and Reformed churches, [13] with a reach estimated at some 30,000 churches. [14]

Awards

The film won first prize in the Protestant Religious Section at the first annual film festival sponsored by the Film Council of Greater Boston in 1951. [15]

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Again Pioneers is a 1950 American black-and-white short drama film produced by Paul F. Heard for the Protestant Film Commission. Directed by William Beaudine, it stars Colleen Townsend, Tom Powers, Sarah Padden, and Regis Toomey. The story is set in the fictional town of Fairview and depicts the friction between the middle-class residents and the impoverished migrants who live on the outskirts in a shantytown called "The Patch". The film explores the meaning of the American Dream for both types of residents, and the responsibility of the church to reinstill Christian values of human dignity and freedom into American life. The film was produced at the request of the Home Missions Council of North America. It was not released commercially, but was distributed to 30,000 Protestant denominational churches in the United States.

Prejudice is a 1949 American black-and-white drama film produced by the Protestant Film Commission (PFC) and Edmund L. Dorfmann Productions. Directed by Edward L. Cahn, it stars David Bruce, Mary Marshall, Tommy Ivo, and Bruce Edwards. The story centers on an American Protestant man who believes he is tolerant of other religions and nationalities, but feels threatened by his Jewish colleague. As the film delves into the reasons for prejudice, he and other main characters realize that they are both perpetrators and victims of intolerance. The film concludes that only with faith in Christ, who loved all men equally, can prejudice be eliminated.

South of the Clouds is a 1950 black and white short documentary film produced by the Protestant Film Commission. Filmed on the campus of the Beirut College for Women, it depicts the progress made by Christian missionary education in the Near East. The story focuses on a Muslim young woman from an aristocratic family who rooms with an orphan Lebanese Christian girl at the college and broadens her personal outlook through education, Christian fellowship, and community service. The film was developed in response to a request by Protestant mission boards functioning under the Missionary Education Movement to assist in their promotion of overseas missionary education. It was distributed through the Religious Film Association for rental to denominational churches throughout the United States.

References

  1. Craggs 2019, p. 1947.
  2. 1 2 3 Marshall 2005, p. 342.
  3. Marshall 2005, p. 248.
  4. "Hold Preview Of 'Wonderful Life' At KTTV". Valley Times. September 22, 1951. p. 8 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  5. 1 2 Lindvall & Quicke 2011, p. 67.
  6. 1 2 "Stars Signed for Protestant Film 'A Wonderful Life'". Valley Times. December 20, 1950. p. 19 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  7. 1 2 3 "A Wonderful Life (1951)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films . American Film Institute. 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  8. Marshall 2005, pp. 248–9.
  9. "Flashes". Oklahoma City Star. March 23, 1951. p. 1 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  10. The Committee on Film Classification 1969, p. 31.
  11. "A Wonderful Life (1951)". British Film Institute . 2020. Archived from the original on March 31, 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  12. 1 2 Marshall 2005, p. 249.
  13. Marshall 2005, p. 247.
  14. Paduitt, James (January 11, 1951). "Around Hollywood". New Castle News . p. 11 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  15. "Religious Film Receives Award". The Messenger. Board of Business Management of the Evangelical and Reformed Church. 16: 25. 1951.

Sources