It’s the time of the year when we are inundated with Christmas movies.  

While I would like to see the Hallmark channel and its all too perfect representations of Christmas discontinued for the months of November and December, I do look forward to several classic holiday films.  

For me, the most classic of all is “It’s A Wonderful Life,” the 1946 film starring James Stewart and Donna Reed.  

It debuted in New York City Dec. 21 of that year, the first Christmas season after the end of World War II. Audience reaction and critical reviews were mixed and were overall disappointing. The holiday classic, which started out like as a box office flop that didn’t even return the cost of production, is one of my top five favorite films. The others are “The Wild Bunch,” “For Love Of The Game,” “Four Weddings And A Funeral” and “Slap Shot”.  

Say what you want about my tastes in films, but I stand firm in my enthusiasm of “It’s A Wonderful Life,” no matter how many times I see it. I pretty much know every line, but familiarity has not bred contempt. The movie was based on a short story “The Greatest Gift” written three years earlier by Philip Van Doren Stern, better known as a historian and the writer of award-winning books about the Civil War.  

It developed some interest among Hollywood movie executives but director Frank Capra, known for directing award-winning movies with a feel-good theme, brought it to the screen. The film has inspired millions during the holiday season as more and more people have viewed it on television.  

More theaters are reserving time for the film during the Christmas season, and I urge anyone who has not seen it on the big screen to find time to do so.  

While the general public and the critics were less than impressed the movie did receive five Oscar nominations including best picture, best director and best actor for Stewart. It received no awards. Stewart, who was hesitant to star in the film as he was recovering from his experiences during the war, called it a lost movie. Later in life Stewart would call “It’s A Wonderful Life” his favorite film.  

It has been a tradition for my daughter and I to watch the black-and-white film on the big screen at the Belcourt Theater in Nashville. We plan to restart the tradition next week after last year’s theater blackouts due to the COVID pandemic.  

The film is celebrating its 75th anniversary. It is hard to believe but during some discussions I have engaged in with people about the film during the Christmas season I come across people who have never seen the movie despite the number of times it has been available on television or as a DVD.  

This Christmas season don’t let the inspirational story of a man contemplating suicide who is saved by a guardian angel be lost for you and your family.