Jimmy Stewart said he agreed to do the movie without reading the script. Said he was convinced when Capra told him the plot. Stewart said this was his all time favorite movie.
Stewart said this after the resurgence of the film in the 70’s. I am a bit of a Capra afficianado; and met Stewart several times in the 90’s.
Capra reported that in the 60’s Stewart barely gave him the time of day. Nothing against Jimmy, but Capra nosedived after Wonderful Life bombed. He was later graylisted by the US government because he had hired so many Red screenwriters. Capra himself admitted he “lost his nerve” as a director, started doubting himself and making story compromises after 1946.
In his own private papers, Capra was suicidal after the late 1950’s and sought the Lord for his solace. His life really picked up after he penned his autobiography in the early 70’s and college filmstudents started re evaluating him.
In the 90’s a scallawag named Joseph McBride wrote a completely insane autobiography of Capra. McBride cheated with many of his notations about Capra’s life. McBride was so insanely P.C. that he basically stated that because Capra was a Republican, he didn’t understand the message of his own movies!
Joseph McBride. You are a skunk. Even the Capra boys know it, and don’t be fooled they let you partake in their own documentary about their dad. What a ridiculous leftwing liar McBride is.