It's a Wonderful Life (1947)

It's A Wonderful Life is a wonderful movie.

Reel Popcorn Junkie has reviewed several Christmas films in recent weeks. This is the best of the bunch.

It's hard not to cry watching Frank Capra's 1947 film. Fellas, that's OK.

There's tears of empathy for George Bailey (James Stewart), the dreamer from a small town who wants to see the world and be associated with big projects like building bridges and erecting skyscrapers. He dreams of "shaking the dust of this crummy little town off my feet."

But life keeps George from ever leaving his hometown. Emergencies at home, at work and in the world economy all force him to keep staying put while his family and friends move on to new adventures. They find success in the workplace and their investments, rubbing shoulders with dignitaries and enjoying life's luxuries.

George ends up heading Bailey Building and Loan, a business that helps the town's residents get decent housing. But it's a far than lucrative line of work for its overseers. The enterprise is the only business in Bedford Falls that operates outside the clutches of cold-hearted businessman Henry Potter (Lionel Barrymore). There's little money for George to make and he has to work hard to keep Potter's paws off the enterprise.

It's a Wonderful Life has many wonderful scenes. One has Potter trying to woo Bailey to come work for him. There's a promise of a huge pay increase and business trips to large cities. It's like Satan trying to woo Christ in the desert. Bailey tries to get comfortable in a seat that's too small for him as he considers this amazing offer.

Bailey considers killing himself when his forgetful Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell) loses a hefty bank deposit on Christmas Eve. Bank examiners are in town and those missing dollars mean scandal, and likely jail, for George.

Heaven sends Bailey's guardian angel, Clarence (Henry Travers), to stop Bailey from taking his own life. His attempts to reason with George go nowhere, until he suggests he wishes he'd never been born. Clarence makes George's wish a reality. He has never existed.

Here's where more tears come easily. Clarence finally gets a chance to show George how his absence affects Bedford Falls. Timely interactions with others through his life have never happened. That impacts others outside Bedford Falls that George never knew existed. No George means the lives of many, many others have been impacted - for the worse.

Appreciating life. Appreciating what you have. Understanding how someone can make a big difference even in a small town. It's these themes that make It's A Wonderful Life a Christmas classic.

Plus, there's a great romance between George and Mary Hatch (Donna Reed), the girl who has loved him since she was a youngster. There's laughs with George and Mary dancing the Charleston at a high school graduation bash and George's pondering what to do when Mary ends up with no clothes and hides in a bush.

George Bailey offers James Stewart one of the finest roles in his career. There's flashes of anger and despair as his character deals with what life has handed him. Lionel Barrymore is fantastic as one of Hollywood's great villains. This man has no soul. "I am an old man and most people hate me, but I don't like them either so that makes it all even," he tells George at one point. That's a wonderful life?

See this film, again and again, and appreciate all of your life's gifts.

Merry Christmas.

RATING: 10/10

FUN FACTS: Why didn't this happen to Titanic? It's A Wonderful Life was nominated for five Oscars, including best movie, actor and director, but didn't win a single Academy Award.

It's A Wonderful Life was James Stewart's first film after serving in the Second World War.

Ward Bond is in the supporting cast as Bert, a police officer. He was Major Seth Adams in television's Wagon Train.

Gloria Grahame is Violet Bick, the other woman who's interested in George Bailey. She won a best supporting Oscar for her work in The Bad and the Beautiful .

Look closely. That's Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer from The Little Rascals who tries to get Mary Ward on the dance floor during the graduation scene.

The Defiant Ones (1958)

Director Stanley Kramer's drama about cons on the run still packs a punch more than 50 years later after its release.

This 1958 release, just Kramer's third feature, earned nine Academy Award nominations including best picture, director and actor for leads Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier. This black and white production scooped up a pair of Oscars for cinematography and top screenplay.

The Defiant Ones wastes little time launching its story. A truck carrying convicts is involved in a collision at night during a heavy rainfall.

No one is killed, but two cons - John 'Joker' Jackson (Tony Curtis) and Noah Cullen (Sidney Poitier) escape. The pair, fueled by racial tensions, hate each other. They came close to trading blows before the truck goes over an embankment. They're shackled together. "The warden has a sense of humour," offers Sheriff Max Muller (Theodore Bikel) about why the two men are linked by a chain.

Jackson and Cullen have a good headstart thanks to the weather and a delayed search. While tension between the two still simmers, Muller has his own nemesis to deal with. State police officer Capt. Frank Gibbons (Charles McGraw) has his own ideas about how the search should be done. Gibbons is eager to sign on local men eager to hunt down the criminals. He's a little more liberal with how to use the search dogs. Muller is in an election year. If he can't find the wanted men, he could pay a price at the polls. His edginess increases as the search drags on.

Jackson wants to head south. Cullen figures his best chance is to head north where a black man won't look out of place. Their hatred for each other begins to temper. They need each other to succeeed. Cullen and Jackson rely on each other to get out of several tight situations including crossing a river with a strong current and trying to escape a muddy pit.

The Defiant Ones keeps offering viewers unexpected twists in its story. When the cons are caught trying to break into a store, a cold-blooded Mack (well done, Claude Atkins) wants to lynch them. Jackson and Cullen find an ally in another con, Big Sam (Lou Chaney, Jr.). Later, the pair cross paths with a young boy, Billy (Kevin Coughlin) and his mother (Cara Williams). She and Jackson are attracted to each other, but the mother also has an agenda of her own that will draw Jackson and Cullen even closer togehter.

The manhunt closes in on the fugitives. A train to freedom is nearby. The Defiant Ones keeps audiences guessing about the pair's fate until its last moments.

Curtis and Poitier both shine as men who've experienced rough pasts and are quick to fits of rage. Bikel is a low-key law enforcement leader who wants to find the cons, but is more measured in his approach to justice than others. Williams is trapped in a life-long prison of her own.

Films like this, with minimal special effects and accompanying soundtrack, always impress me. Bigger and noisier isn't always better. The Defiant Ones is a taut film packed with very fine performances. Watch it.

RATING: 9/10

FATAL FACTS: The Defiant Ones is the final screen appearance of Carl Switzer. He was Alfalfa in The Little Rascals shorts. Switzer was murdered in 1959.

Kevin Coughlin also died tragically. Internet Movie Database reports he died when he was struck by a speeding driver in 1976. He was 30.

The very first screen appearance for Claude Atkins, although he wasn't credited, was in From Here to Eternity.