Published December 24, 2021
“It’s A Wonderful Life” first hit theaters in 1946. Seventy-five years later, the Christmas classic remains a magnificent testament to America’s promise.
Frank Capra created the film as the first production of his new independent film company, Liberty Films. The choice was surely no coincidence for the famously patriotic, Italian-born director. He was known for making movies such as “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” unabashed love poems to his adopted homeland. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, making a series of esteemed films titled “Why We Fight” that explained to troops why the United States was at war.
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Henry Olsen is a Washington Post columnist and a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.
Photo by ROMAN ODINTSOV from Pexels
Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, studies and provides commentary on American politics. His work focuses on how America’s political order is being upended by populist challenges, from the left and the right. He also studies populism’s impact in other democracies in the developed world.