ItsAWonderfulLife Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Villains We Love: Mr. Potter, 'It's a Wonderful Life'
Filed under: Classics », Fandom », Trailers and Clips »
I think it's time we all took another look at Mr. Henry F. Potter, the heartless businessman played by Lionel Barrymore in the 1946 classic holiday film It's a Wonderful Life. Yes, he's a crotchety old slumlord who wants to buy out the Bailey Building and Loan and not let "lazy rabble" have mortgages, but in the current economy, you have to wonder if some of his policies made sense. Adam Gopnik in The New Yorker points out that Jimmy Stewart's George Bailey was handing out a lot of sub-prime mortgages to bad risks, which is maybe not something we'd consider praiseworthy these days.
In addition, as I grow older, the hypothetical Pottersville doesn't look all that bad to me -- it's not nearly as lurid as Vegas or the French Quarter. Perhaps I've been prejudiced by one of my favorite short stories, Bradley Denton's "The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians," in which the afterlife for comedians who must reform before they can get to Heaven includes a daily viewing of It's a Wonderful Life. Some of the characters become quite cynical about the Capra film after a number of viewings and I'm sure that rubbed off on me.
RIP: Reel Important People - June 9, 2008
Filed under: Obits »
- Dino Risi (1916-2008) - Writer, Director - Oscar-nominated for his 1974 Italian film Scent of a Woman (which was remade in 1992 with Al Pacino). His career spans from the 1940s to the 1990s, and he is credited with being one of the masters of the Commedia all'italiana (Italian Comedy). Other films include Pane, amore e..., which starred Sophia Loren and Vittorio DeSica, Poor, But Handsome, A Difficult Life, The Easy Life and Opiate '67 (aka 15 from Rome). In 2002, the Venice Film Festival honored him with a lifetime achievement Golden Lion. He died June 7 in Rome. (Reuters)
- Bobby Anderson (1933-2008) - Child Actor - Played Little George Baily (younger version of James Stewart) in It's a Wonderful Life. He also appears in The Bishop's Wife, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Samson and Delilah, A Place in the Sun and Raoul Walsh's Silver River. He died of melanoma June 6, in Palm Springs, California. (LA Times)
- Saban Bajramovic (1936-2008) - Singer, Composer, Actor - Legendary singer of Roma music (aka Romani or Gypsy music) and star of the 1997 Macedonian film Gypsy Magic. He died June 8 in Nis, Serbia. (Javno)
- Harry Bernsen (1925-2008) - Producer - Associate producer of Andrew V. McLaglen's Fools' Pride, which starred James Stewart, and Something Big, which starred Dean Martin. He also produced Take a Hard Ride and Three the Hard Way, both starring Fred Williamson and Jim Brown, as well as a European stage musical based on Mrs. Doubtfire. He was the father of actor Corbin Bernsen. He died May 31 in Woodland Hills, California. (Variety)
- Richard F. Brophy (1945-2008) - Producer - Line producer for the horror films House and Speak of the Devil and producer of The Boneyard. He died May 28 in Hollywood. (IMDb)
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