Virtual Talk: A Look Inside "It’s a Wonderful Life" with Film Historian Brian Rose

Program Type:

Lecture

Age Group:

Everyone
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Event Details

America’s Favorite Holiday Movie: A Look Inside It’s a Wonderful Life
Voted the most inspirational movie ever made by the American Film Institute, Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life has been a beloved Christmas classic for many generations. Yet when the film was released in 1946, it was a box-office flop, won no Academy Awards, and was largely forgotten—until it was rediscovered through endless airings on local TV stations beginning in the 1970s.

Enjoy a free viewing of the movie on Friday, December 9th at 2:00 pm in the library. 

This online talk will examine the fascinating story of It’s a Wonderful Life, looking at the challenges of how it was made, its surprisingly dark portrait of small-town life, and how it became the ultimate portrayal of holiday goodwill and cheer.

Brian Rose is a professor emeritus at Fordham University, where he taught for 38 years in the Department of Communication and Media Studies. He’s written several books on television history and cultural programming, and conducted more than a hundred Q&A’s with leading directors, actors, and writers for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Screen Actors Guild, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and the Directors Guild of America. Over the last decade, he’s presented more than 500 lectures at libraries and cultural organizations around the country, including the Smithsonian, the 92nd St. Y, Film Forum in New York City, OLLI in Washington DC and JCC’s in New York, Chicago, Cincinnati and Boca Raton.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Cohasset Library.