80th Anniversary Of "It's A Wonderful Life" To Be Observed In Seneca Falls

SENECA FALLS — In 1946, director Frank Capra and Liberty Films studio released his life-affirming movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” to little acclaim.

It has since become a beloved classic, its message of every life having value resonating with so many people.

The movie is set in a small upstate New York community called Bedford Falls. Many local residents are convinced Capra based Bedford Falls on Seneca Falls, a place he visited in 1945. That belief led to the creation of the annual It’s a Wonderful Life Festival every December.

The 80th anniversary of the movie’s release will be cause for a six-day festival this year, three days longer than usual. It’s scheduled for Dec. 8-14.

Among those planning to come to town are frequent attendee Karolyn Grimes, who played Zuzu Bailey; Jimmy Hawkins, who played Tommy Bailey; Don Collins, who played Little Peter Bailey; and the car driven by George Bailey to the bridge where George tried to take his life before being “rescued” by the angel Clarence.

Other special guests: Monica Capra Hodges, Frank Capra’s granddaughter; John Kuri, son of movie set decorator Emile Kuri; Elizabeth Kuri Clark, daughter of Emile Kuri; and Sarah Robinson and Perrine Robinson-Geller, granddaughters of Philip Van Doren Stern, author of “The Greatest Gift,” the short story upon which the movie is based.

Read more about it here.