Merry Christmas

A Wonderful Life is Built by Mary.

This week, I watched Frank Capra’s Christmas masterpiece, It’s a Wonderful Life, with my family. I try to watch this film as I feel it a sort of tradition during this time of year. I usually laugh at flashbacks in George’s childhood, cry at the ending, and feel like I spend a good time watching a good vintage film. This viewing was different. Realizing that the unsung hero of Bedford Falls is Mary Bailey. My wife sat with me the entire film and our children either cuddled up next to us or played with LEGOs on the table behind the couch.

The Beginning

Consequently, I noticed Mary Bailey’s part to play in the tale. It helped that my wife was sitting next to me the whole time and I couldn’t help but notice this strong feminine role. She enters the story in Gower’s Chemist Shoppe. Mary stares longingly at the young George and even tells him of her undying love for him. Mary is absent from the movie until George hesitatingly decides to go to his younger brother’s graduation dance. The actress who plays Mary, Donna Reed, stuns and grabbed my attention. A classic beauty. George and Mary walk back from the dance in makeshift clothing due to their clothing being wet from the pool opening up.

They walk up to 320 Sycamore Street, an old, run-down house. George and Mary start to talk about the house, and Mary sees not the house that is there, but the potential house of her future. He throws a rock, breaks a window, and makes a wish. George’s wishes are one of a bachelor thinking about fun and adventure. Then, Mary also throws a rock and breaks a window. George asks about her wish, but she doesn’t tell because she wants it to come true. Mary’s wish ends up being something very substantive and down to earth, and wholesome. From this small start you can already see glimmers of how Mary Bailey is the unsung hero of Bedford Falls.

Return From College

Accordingly, the movie moves forward again, Mary goes to college and returns to Bedford Falls. George receives his brother and his wife at home and they celebrate that evening. Buzzed from his beer, George jokes with his mother that he wants to find a woman to do some “passionate necking” with. George runs into Violet, a boy-crazy woman. George is a bit uninhibited with his words and says he wants to go to Mount Bedford and run through the forest barefoot and cause a scandal, jokingly. Violet doesn’t share the sense of adventure or romance as George does, thankfully. George saunters through Bedford Falls and finds himself in front of Mary Hatch’s house.

Unbeknownst to George, his mother already called Mary and informed her George would be coming by. Consequently, this raises another point, George’s mother knew her son well enough that she foresaw where he would end up. Smart woman recognizes another smart woman. Mary, receiving the information from Mrs. Bailey, prepares her home with the hand-drawn picture of George lassoing the moon and playing Buffalo Girls on the phonograph.

George is sulking and the booze in him doesn’t make it easier. Mary uses her smarts to try to get George jealous of Sam Wainwright calling her and asks Sam to talk to George. Wisely, Marry doesn’t move and stands stationary by the phone, close to George. Mary is a professor of chemistry and this whole scene is electric and tasteful.

Marriage

Later, Mary and George marry and the Great Depression starts on their way to the train station. George stays at the Baily Building and Loan and does his persuasion game to get the townsfolk to retain their shares. Mary is there and offers their honeymoon money to the shareholders. Mary’s character shines through here. There is not question she is all in in her marriage, and her selflessness. She sees the big picture and she rolls her sleeves up and sacrifices when needed. She is the archetypical wife portrayed on the silver screen. Mary and George avert the collapse of the Building and loan. George comes home, forgetting that he is even married, and finds his wife already making 320 Sycamore a home.

Additionally, the Narrator explains how Mary worked tirelessly on improving the home. This small scene stood out to me so much. I thought about my own young family when we moved to Alabama. The house we rented was a small 3 bedroom house on cinderblocks. It was not clean when we moved into it. My wife worked daily to scrub the wooden floors with bleach and make that shack into a home. I thought of my wife’s sacrifice and diligence in making sure she was pulling her fair share and more.

The Ending

While George is spiraling into suicidal depression, Mary is reaching out to all the friends and neighbors in town. George built a trusting relationship with all of them throughout the years. Clarence, his guardian angel, even writes in his copy of Tom Sawyer that a who has friends in very rich. I think the more important part here is that a man who marries a quality wife is wealthy beyond measure. When George was down, the only that changed was his outlook on the influence he had on the people around him. On the other hand, Mary was able to rally the town and cash in on the built up social capital George accumulated with his honesty and goodwill.

Coming back from the brink of death, nothing changes but Georges attitude. Mary is the one who is the driving force. You might even call her the answer to her children’s and George’s prayer. All along George had the helpmeet he needed in Mary. Marrying well is the wonderful life. Being committed is the wonderful life. Mary Bailey is the unsung hero of Bedford Falls.

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You can also watch It’s A Wonderful Life for free on Amazon Prime.