• It’s a Wonderful Life ranked #1 on AFI’s “Most Inspirational Films,” edging out Major League II and Freddy Got Fingered.
  • The town of Seneca Falls, New York claims to be the inspiration for the film. All of New Jersey claims to be the inspiration for a guy “falling off” a bridge.
  • After leaving his wife and stumbling out of a piano bar, George Bailey drives into a tree. Or as it’s also known, “The Billy Joel Trifecta.”
  • The monologue where James Stewart screams at Mr. Potter, saying he is “nothing more than a scurvy little spider” was completely improvised and occurred before Stewart even knew Lionel Barrymore was in the movie.
  • Though not mentioned in the film, director Frank Capra later confirmed that Mr. Potter was wheelchair-bound after sitting on his balls like Mr. Belvedere.
  • There is no truth to the rumor that Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie were named after the film’s cop and taxi driver. So finally—there's no crazy rumor about Bert and Ernie.
  • SPOILER: Santa isn’t real.
  • Alternate titles for It’s a Wonderful Life: It’s an Excellent Life, It’s a Marvelous Life, It’s a Beautiful Life, IT’S BEEEEEEEEEN…One Life Since You Looked at Me!
  • When George Bailey leaves for a world where he wasn’t born, it stops snowing. But when he returns, it resumes snowing. This makes no fucking sense.
  • When Bert the cop shoots at George, his bullets take out three of the letters in the Pottersville sign. In his police report, Bert would write, “Uhh…the sign shot at me first! And had drugs!”
  • In Christmas Vacation, an unhinged Chevy Chase uses a chainsaw to remove a loose newel post – seemingly an homage. In reality, Chase had never seen It’s a Wonderful Life, this was not in the script for Christmas Vacation, and nobody knows where he got the chainsaw.
  • In a deleted scene, Bedford Falls floozy Violet Bick hooks up with Pete Davidson.
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