and here comes the scare-baby, my kid brother, harry bailey.
i'm coming, harry.
make a chain, gang! a chain!
mr. potter!
so long!
wish i had a million dollars.
hot dog!
it's me, mr. gower. george bailey.
yes, sir.
two cents worth of shoelaces?
shoelaces?
here you are.
help you down!
made up your mind yet?
with coconuts?
you don't like coconuts! say, brainless, don't you know where coconuts come from? lookit here – from tahiti – fiji islands, the coral sea!
of course you never. only us explorers can get it. i've been nominated for membership in the national geographic society.
i'm going out exploring some day, you watch. and i'm going to have a couple of harems, and maybe three or four wives. wait and see.
yes, sir.
no, sir.
mr. gower, do you want something.  anything?
anything i can do back here?
i'll get them, sir.
yes, sir. they have the diphtheria there, haven't they, sir?
is it a charge, sir?
mr. gower, i think.
yes, sir.
got to see pop, uncle billy.
it's important.
pop!
pop!
pop!
he's not a failure! you can't say that about my father!
you're not! you're the biggest man in town!
bigger'n him!
bigger'n everybody.
don't let him say that about you, pop.
capsules.
yes, sir, i.
you're hurting my sore ear.
mr. gower, you don't know what you're doing. you put something wrong in those capsules. i know you're unhappy. you got that telegram, and you're upset. you put something bad in those capsules. it wasn't your fault, mr. gower.
just look and see what you did. look at the bottle you took the powder from. it's poison! i tell you, it's poison! i know you feel bad.  and.
don't hurt my sore ear again.
don't hurt my ear again!
mr. gower, i won't ever tell anyone. i know what you're feeling. i won't ever tell a soul. hope to die, i won't.
nope. nope. nope. nope. now, look, joe. now, look, i.  i want a big one.
big - see! i don't want one for one night. i want something for a thousand and one nights, with plenty of room for labels from italy and baghdad, samarkand.  a great big one.
now you're talkin'. gee whiz, i could use this as a raft in case the boat sunk. how much does this cost?
that's my trick ear, joe. it sounded as if you said no charge.
what's my name doing on it?
he did? whatta you know about that – my old boss.
i'm working across on a cattle boat.
okay, i like cows.
mr. gower.  mr. gower.  thanks ever so much for the bag. it's just exactly what i wanted.
oh, it's wonderful.
oh.  oh. wish i had a million dollars.
hot dog!
hey, ernie!
hi, bert.
ernie, i'm a rich tourist today. how about driving me home in style?
hello, violet. hey, you look good. that's some dress you got on there.
yes.
boy, oh, boy, oh, boy – my last meal at the old bailey boarding house.
oh, let him have the plates, mother.
i'm going to miss you, too, pop. what's the matter? you look tired.
oh.
i wonder what's eating that old money grubbing buzzard anyway?
got a match?
what do you mean, and be bored to death?
i hope it works.
father, did i act like that when i graduated from high school?
we have that all figured out. you see, harry'll take my job at the building and loan, work there four years, then he'll go.
well, no younger than i was.
how's that?
oh, well, you know what i've always talked about – build things.  design new buildings – plan modern cities – all that stuff i was talking about.
no, i'll settle for half that in cash.
well, i.  annie, why don't you draw up a chair? then you'd be more comfortable and you could hear everything that's going on.
you would, huh?
oh, now, pop, i couldn't. i couldn't face being cooped up for the rest of my life in a shabby little office.
oh, i'm sorry, pop. i didn't mean that remark, but this business of nickels and dimes and spending all your life trying to figure out how to save three cents on a length of pipe.  i'd go crazy. i want to do something big and something important.
i know, dad. i wish i felt.  but i've been hoarding pennies like a miser in order to.  most of my friends have already finished college. i just feel like if i don't get away, i'd bust.
you see what i mean, don't you, pop?
pop, do you want a shock? i think you're a great guy.
oh, did you hear that, annie?
i'm going to miss old annie. pop, i think i'll get dressed and go over to harry's party.
here you are.
oh, oh. sam wainwright! how are you? when did you get here?
old college graduate now, huh?
yep.
hee-haw!
hello, mr. partridge, how are you?
hello, violet.
hiya, marty. well, it's old home week.
what's that?
oh, yeah, yeah.
oh.  me? oh, well, i feel funny enough already, with all these kids.
well, excuse me, violet. don't be long, marty. i don't want to be a wet nurse for.
well.  well.  well.
oh, why don't you stop annoying people?
well, hello.
well, i don't.
me?
uh-uh. that was a little girl named mary hatch. that wasn't you.
i'm not very good at this.
okay – what can we lose?
they're cheering us. we must be good.
hot dog! just like an organ.
and i told harry i thought i'd be bored to death. you should have seen the commotion in that locker room. i had to knock down three people to get this stuff we're wearing here. here, let me hold that old wet dress of yours.
i guess i'm not quite the football type. you.  look wonderful. you know, if it wasn't me talking i'd say you were the prettiest girl in town.
i don't know. maybe i will say it. how old are you anyway?
eighteen? why, it was only last year you were seventeen.
oh, no. just right. your age fits you. yes, sir, you look a little older without your clothes on.
i mean, without a dress. you look older.  i mean, younger. you look just.
oh-oh.
a pox upon me for a clumsy lout.
your.  your caboose, my lady.
ummmmm.
hey – hey, mary.
okay, then, i'll throw a rock at the old granville house.
no. you see, you make a wish and then try and break some glass. you got to be a pretty good shot nowadays, too.
in that place?
i wouldn't live in it as a ghost. now watch.  right on the second floor there.
well, not just one wish. a whole hatful, mary. i know what i'm going to do tomorrow and the next day and the next year and the year after that. i'm shaking the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and i'm going to see the world. italy, greece, the parthenon, the colosseum. then i'm coming back here and go to college and see what they know.  and then i'm going to build things. i'm gonna build air fields. i'm gonna build skyscrapers a hundred stories high. i'm gonna build bridges a mile long.
are you gonna throw a rock?
hey, that's pretty good. what'd you wish, mary?
what'd you wish when you threw that rock?
come on, tell me.
what is it you want, mary? what do you want? you want the moon? just say.
the word and i'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. hey, that's a pretty good idea. i'll give you the moon, mary.
well, then you could swallow it and it'd all dissolve, see? and the moonbeams'd shoot out of your fingers and your toes, and the ends of your hair. am i talking too much?
how's that?
want me to kiss her, huh?
hey, hey, hold on. hey, mister, come on back out here, and i'll show you some kissing that'll put hair back on your head. what are you.
mary.
okay, i give up. where are you?
here you are. catch.
wait a minute. what am i doing? this is a very interesting situation.
hmm.  a man doesn't get in a situation like this every day.
not in bedford falls, anyway.
gesundheit. this requires a little thought here.
i've heard about things like this, but i've never.
oh, my mother's way up the corner there.
they're way downtown. they'd be on my side, too.
maybe i could sell tickets. let's see. no, the point is, in order to get this robe.  i've got it! i'll make a deal with you, mary.
mary.  mary, i'm sorry. i've got to go.
did you get a doctor?
i have a taxi waiting downstairs.
thanks.
thank you very much.
well, i handled that, mr. potter. you have all the papers there. his salary, insurance. i can personally vouch for his character.
yes, sir.
just a minute – just a minute. now, hold on, mr. potter. you're right when you say my father was no business man. i know that. why he ever started this cheap, penny-ante building and loan, i'll never know. but neither you nor anybody else can say anything against his character, because his whole life was.  why, in the twenty- five years since he and uncle billy started this thing, he never once thought of himself. isn't that right, uncle billy? he didn't save enough money to send harry to school, let alone me. but he did help a few people get out of your slums, mr. potter. and what's wrong with that? why.  here, you're all businessmen here. doesn't it make them better citizens? doesn't it make them better customers? you.  you said.  what'd you say just a minute ago?.  they had to wait and save their money before they even ought to think of a decent home. wait! wait for what? until their children grow up and leave them? until they're so old and broken- down that they.  do you know how long it takes a working man to save five thousand dollars? just remember this, mr. potter, that this rabble you're talking about.  they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath? anyway, my father didn't think so. people were human beings to him, but to you, a warped, frustrated old man, they're cattle. well, in my book he died a much richer man than you'll ever be!
i know very well what you're talking about. you're talking about something you can't get your fingers on, and it's galling you. that's what you're talking about, i know. well, i've said too much. i.  you're the board here. you do what you want with this thing. just one thing more, though. this town needs this measly one-horse institution if only to have some place where people can come without crawling to potter. come on, uncle billy!
yeah, i'll be right down.
i wonder what's going on in there?
what's that?
oh, no! but, uncle billy.
dr. campbell, now let's get this thing straight. i'm leaving. i'm leaving right now. i'm going to school. this is my last chance. uncle billy here, he's your man.
oh, there are plenty of jobs around for somebody that likes to travel. look at this. there.  venezuela oil fields – wanted, man with construction experience. here's the yukon, right here – wanted, man with engineering experience.
thar she blows. you know what the three most exciting sounds in the world are?
no, no, no, no! anchor chains, plane motors, and train whistles.
there's the professor now! old professor, phi beta kappa bailey! all american!
oh, am i glad to see you.
she's home cooking the fatted calf. come on, let's go.
hello.
well, how do you do. congratulations. congratulations. what am i doing?
harry, why didn't you tell somebody? what's a pretty girl like you doing marrying this two-headed brother of mine?
ruth, this.  what about this job?
is it a good job?
and you did, too?
the middle one.
right down here.
now you just turn this way and go right straight down.
hello, mom.
she's swell.
keep him out of bedford falls, anyway.
uh-huh.
hmmmm.
hmmmm.
hmmm.
hmmm.
sure – sam wainwright.
yes. sam's crazy about mary.
well, how do you know? did she discuss it with you?
well then, how do you know?
oh.
and all's fair in love and war?
mother, you know, i can see right through you – right back to your back collar button.  trying to get rid of me, huh?
well, here's your hat, what's your hurry? all right, mother, old building and loan pal, i think i'll go out and find a girl and do a little passionate necking.
now, if you'll just point me in the right direction.  this direction? good night, mrs. bailey.
hello, vi.
nothing.
oh, i'll probably end up down at the library.
yes.  what are you doing tonight?
are you game, vi? let's make a night of it.
let's go out in the fields and take off our shoes and walk through the grass.
then we can go up to the falls. it's beautiful up there in the moonlight, and there's a green pool up there, and we can swim in it. then we can climb mt. bedford, and smell the pines, and watch the sunrise against the peaks, and.  we'll stay up there the whole night, and everybody'll be talking and there'll be a terrific scandal.
shhh.
okay, just forget about the whole thing.
hello, mary. i just happened to be passing by.
how's that?
about what?
my mother just called you? well, how did she know?
i didn't tell anybody. i just went for a walk and happened to be passing by.
what do you.  went for a walk, that's all.
well, i'll come in for a minute, but i didn't tell anybody i was coming over here.
when did you get back?
where'd you get that dress?
it's all right. i thought you'd go back to new york like sam and ingie, and the rest of them.
homesick? for bedford falls?
all right, for a minute. i still can't understand it though. you know i didn't tell anybody i was coming here.
no, i don't want to be rude.
some joke, huh?
well, i see it still smells like pine needles in here.
what's the matter? oh, yeah.  yeah.
well, i.
oh.  yeah, yeah. that's all right.
well, of course i like her. she's a peach.
no, marriage is all right for harry, and marty, and sam and you.
me? not a thing. i just came in to get warm.
but your mother needn't.  you know i didn't come here to.  to.  to.
i don't know. you tell me. you're supposed to be the one that has all the answers. you tell me.
that's where i'm going. i don't know why i came here in the first place! good night!
i forgot my hat.
hello, sam.
what do you mean? nobody's trying to steal your girl. here.  here's mary.
here. you take it. you tell him.
huh? yeah-yeah-yeah.  soybeans. yeah.
rochester? well, why rochester?
oh, i don't know.  why not right here? you remember that old tool and machinery works? you tell your father he can get that for a song. and all the labor he wants, too. half the town was thrown out of work when they closed down.
money? yeah.  well, a little.
now you listen to me! i don't want any plastics! i don't want any ground floors, and i don't want to get married – ever – to anyone! you understand that? i want to do what i want to do. and you're.  and you're.
oh, mary.  mary.
mary.
hey, look! somebody's driving this cab.
oh, look at this. champagne!
where are we going? look at this. there's the kitty, ernie. here, come on, count it, mary.
you know what we're going to do? we're going to shoot the works. a whole week in new york. a whole week in bermuda. the highest hotels – the oldest champagne – the richest caviar – the hottest music, and the prettiest wife!
then what, honey?
that does it – come here.
just a minute, dear. oh-oh.
i'll be back in a minute, mary.
hello, everybody. mrs. thompson, how are you? charlie? what's the matter here, can't you get in?
what is this, uncle billy? a holiday?
come on in, everybody. that's right, just come in.
now look, why don't you all sit down. there are a lot of seats over there. just make yourselves at home.
why didn't you call me?
all right now, what happened? how did it start?
when?
all of it?
holy mackerel!
the whole town's gone crazy.
hello?
police? what for?
he just took over the bank.
aw, you never miss a trick, do you, potter? well, you're going to miss this one.
yeah.  . you can take this one off now.
now, just remember that this thing isn't as black as it appears.
i have some news for you, folks. i've just talked to old man potter, and he's guaranteed cash payments at the bank. the bank's going to reopen next week.
well, no, charlie. i didn't even ask him. we don't need potter over here.
no, but you.  you.  you're thinking of this place all wrong. as if i had the money back in a safe. the money's not here. your money's in joe's house.  . right next to yours. and in the kennedy house, and mrs. macklin's house, and a hundred others. why, you're lending them the money to build, and then, they're going to pay it back to you as best they can. now what are you going to do? foreclose on them?
okay, tom. all right. here you are. you sign this. you'll get your money in sixty days.
well, now that's what you agreed to when you bought your shares.
now, tom, you have to stick to your original agreement. now give us sixty days on this.
tom! tom! randall! now wait.  now listen.  now listen to me. i beg of you not to do this thing. if potter gets hold of this building and loan there'll never be another decent house built in this town. he's already got charge of the bank. he's got the bus line. he's got the department stores. and now he's after us. why? well, it's very simple. because we're cutting in on his business, that's why. and because he wants to keep you living in his slums and paying the kind of rent he decides.
joe, you lived in one of his houses, didn't you? well, have you forgotten? have you forgotten what he charged you for that broken-down shack? here, ed. you know, you remember last year when things weren't going so well, and you couldn't make your payments. you didn't lose your house, did you? do you think potter would have let you keep it? can't you understand what's happening here? don't you see what's happening? potter isn't selling. potter's buying! and why? because we're panicky and he's not. that's why. he's picking up some bargains. now, we can get through this thing all right. we've got to stick together, though. we've got to have faith in each other.
hey! i got two thousand dollars! here's two thousand dollars. this'll tide us over until the bank reopen. all right, tom, how much do you need?
aw, tom, just enough to tide you over till the bank reopens.
there you are.
your account's still here. that's a loan.
okay. all right, ed?
aw, now, ed.  what'll it take till the bank reopens? what do you need?
twenty dollars. now you're talking. fine. thanks, ed. all right, now, mrs. thompson. how much do you want?
never mind about that. how much do you want?
twenty dollars.
you don't have to sign anything. i know you'll pay it back when you can. that's okay. all right, mrs. davis.
seven.  bless your heart, of course you can have it. you got fifty cents? seven.
six.  five.  four.  three.  two.  one.  bingo!
we made it! look.  .  look, we're still in business! we've still got two bucks left!
well, let's have some of that. get some glasses, cousin tilly. we're a couple of financial wizards.
get a tray for these great big important simoleons.
a toast! a toast to papa dollar and to mama dollar, and if you want the old building and loan to stay in business, you better have a family real quick.
i wish they were too. okay, let's put them in the safe and see what happens.
oh-oh.  wedding! holy mackerel, i'm married! where's mary? mary.  poor mary. look, i've got a train to catch. well, the train's gone. i wonder if ernie's still here with his taxicab?
look, will you get my wife on the phone? she's probably over at her mother's.
i don't want mrs. bailey. i want my wife. mrs. bailey! oh, that's my wife! here, i'll take it in here. mary? hello. listen, dear, i'm sorry.  what? come home? what home? three-twenty sycamore? well, what.  whose home is that? the waldorf hotel, huh?
well, i'll be.  mary, mary, where did you.
oh, mary.
darling, you're wonderful.
what's that?
come on.  bring the baby. i'll bring the kids in the car.
all right, kids – here – get in here. now get right up on the seat there. get the.  get the goat!
all in.
mr. and mrs. martini, welcome home. the martinis cross themselves.
sam wainwright!
and wine! that joy and prosperity may reign forever. enter the martini castle!
oh.
oh, i'm afraid i couldn't get away, sam.
oh, now, don't rub it in.
goodbye.
goodbye, sam.
thanks for dropping around.
hee-haw.
thank you, sir. quite a cigar, mr. potter.
well, i.  i suppose i'll find out sooner or later, but just what exactly did you want to see me about?
yes. well, most people say you stole all the rest.
forty-five!
now what's your point, mr. potter?
hire me?
twenty thou.  twenty thousand dollars a year?
would i? you're not talking to somebody else around here, are you? you know, this is me, you remember me? george bailey.
well, what about the building and loan?
well, mr. potter, i.  i.  i know i ought to jump at the chance, but i.  i just.  i wonder if it would be possible for you to give me twenty- four hours to think it over?
i'd like to do that.
all right, sir.
okay, mr. potter.
no.  no.  no.  no, now wait a minute, here! i don't have to talk to anybody! i know right now, and the answer is no! no! doggone it! you sit around here and you spin your little webs and you think the whole world revolves around you and your money. well, it doesn't, mr. potter! in the.  in the whole vast configuration of things, i'd say you were nothing but a scurvy little spider. you.
and that goes for you too!
and it goes for you too!
hi.
mary hatch, why in the world did you ever marry a guy like me?
you could have married sam wainwright or anybody else in town.
you didn't even have a honeymoon. i promised you.  . your what?
you mean.  mary, you on the nest?
lassos the stork! you mean you.  what is it, a boy or a girl?
hold on.  hold on.  hold on now. don't you know there's a war on?
hi, ernie, look at that.
what do you mean – it's gonna snow again? look at the headlines.
commander harry bailey. mr. gower, look at this – the second page. now look, this is for you. this is for you, this is for you. see you again.
extra! extra! read all about it!
harry! what do you know about that?
what do you mean it's okay? for a hero? harry! oh, you old seven kinds of a son of a gun. congratulations! how's mother standing it?.  she did? what do you know.  mother had lunch with the president's wife!
what did they have to eat? harry, you should see what they're cooking up in the town for you.  oh, are they? the navy's going to fly mother home this afternoon.
what? uncle billy? has uncle billy come in yet?
he's not here right now, harry.
but look.
now tell me about it.
what man?
oh.  talk to eustace a minute, will you. i'll be right back.
good morning, sir.
mr. carter, merry christmas.
we're all excited around here. my brother just got the congressional medal of honor. the president just decorated him.
good year? well, between you and me, mr. carter, we're broke.
well.  . now, come right in here, mr. carter.
no, no. he wants to talk to uncle billy. you just hold on.
i don't blame you at all, mr. carter, just step right in here. we'll fix you up.
just make yourself at home, mr. carter. i'll get those books for you.
oh, hello, vi.
why, of course you can. come on in the office here.
uncle billy, talk to harry. he's on the telephone.
here you are.
it takes a lot of character to leave your home town and start all over again. he pulls some money from his pocket, and offers it to her.
here, now, you're broke, aren't you?
what do you want to do, hock your furs, and that hat? want to walk to new york? you know, they charge for meals and rent up there just the same as they do in bedford falls.
it's a loan. that's my business. building and loan. besides, you'll get a job. good luck to you.
say hello to new york for me.
now, let's hear from you.
what's the matter? merry christmas, vi.
oh, mr. carter, i'm sorry. i'll be right with you. uncle billy in?
unc.  what's going on? the bank examiner's here, and i.
yeah, yeah. he wants the accounts payable.
what's the matter with you?
eustace.
come here a minute.
did you see uncle billy with any cash last night?
now look, did you buy anything?
all right. all right. now we'll go over every step you took since you left the house.
and did you put the envelope in your pocket?
maybe – maybe! i don't want any maybe. uncle billy, we've got to find that money!
listen to me. do you have any secret hiding place here in the house? someplace you could have put it? someplace to hide the money?
listen to me! listen to me! think! think!
where's that money, you stupid, silly old fool? where's the money? do you realize what this means? it means bankruptcy and scandal, and prison!
that's what it means! one of us is going to jail! well, it's not going to be me!
what? what wreath?
no. i left it at the office.
yeah, just started.
left them at the office.
nothing's the matter. everything's all right.
must she keep playing that?
families! i don't want the families over here!
oh, yeah, another big red letter day for the baileys.
well, what's the matter with our car? isn't it good enough for you?
excuse you for what?
zuzu! what's the matter with zuzu?
what is it, a sore throat or what?
the doctor? was the doctor here?
is she running a temperature? what is it?
gosh, it's this old house. i don't know why we don't all have pneumonia. this drafty old barn! might as well be living in a refrigerator. why did we have to live here in the first place and stay around this measly, crummy old town?
wrong? everything's wrong! you call this a happy family? why did we have to have all these kids?
i don't know. ask your mother.
going up to see zuzu.
well, what happened to you?
wait now. where do you think you're going?
all right, all right. here, give daddy the flower. i'll give it a drink.
yeah, all right. now, i'll paste this together.
there it is, good as new.
now, will you do something for me?
will you try to get some sleep?
i know – i know, but you just go to sleep, and then you can dream about it, and it'll be a whole garden.
uh-huh.
is that zuzu's teacher?
let me speak to her.
hello. hello, mrs. welch? this is george bailey. i'm zuzu's father. say, what kind of a teacher are you anyway? what do you mean sending her home like that, halfnaked? do you realize she'll probably end up with pneumonia on account of you?
is this the sort of thing we pay taxes for – to have teachers like you? silly, stupid, careless people who send our kids home without any clothes on? you know, maybe my kids aren't the best-dressed kids; maybe they don't have any decent clothes.
aw, that stupid.
i'll hang her up!
wait a minute. hello? who is this? oh, mr. welch? okay, that's fine, mr. welch. gives me a chance to tell you what i really think of your wife.
will you get out and let me handle this? hello? hello? what? oh, you will, huh? okay, mr. welch, any time you think you're man enough.  hello? any.
oh.
how should i know? what do you think i am, a dictionary?
tommy, stop that! stop it!
janie, haven't you learned that silly tune yet? you've played it over and over again. now stop it! stop it!
i'm sorry, mary, janie. i'm sorry. i didn't mean.  you go on and practice. pete, i owe you an apology, too. i'm sorry. what do you want to know?
what's the matter with everybody? janie, go on. i told you to practice. now, go on, play!
mary.
i'm in trouble, mr. potter. i need help. through some sort of an accident my company's short in their accounts. the bank examiner's up there today. i've got to raise eight thousand dollars immediately.
the reporters?
please help me, mr. potter. help me, won't you please? can't you see what it means to my family? i'll pay you any sort of a bonus on the loan.  any interest. if you still want the building and loan, why i.
no, sir. there's nothing wrong with the books. i've just misplaced eight thousand dollars. i can't find it anywhere.
yes, sir.
no, sir. i didn't want the publicity. harry's homecoming tomorrow.
no, sir. no, sir. i haven't.
what?
i can't get hold of him. he's in europe.
they don't have that kind of money, mr. potter. you know that. you're the only one in town that can help me.
no, sir.
i have some life insurance, a fifteen thousand dollar policy.
five hundred dollars.
god.  god.  dear father in heaven, i'm not a praying man, but if you're up there and you can hear me, show me the way. i'm at the end of my rope. show me the way, god.
who was that?
oh – welch. that's what i get for praying.
where's my insurance policy? oh, here.
i'm all right.
i'm all right.
you what? to save me?
go through with what?
very funny.
yeah, i got a bust in the jaw in answer to a prayer a little bit ago.
how do you know my name?
what are you, a mind reader or something?
well, who are you, then?
odbody.  a-s-2. what's that a-s-2?
oh, brother. i wonder what martini put in those drinks?
hey, what's with you? what did you say just a minute ago? why'd you want to save me?
i wouldn't be a bit surprised.
yeah.  just things like that. now how'd you know that?
well, you look about like the kind of an angel i'd get. sort of a fallen angel, aren't you? what happened to your wings?
i don't know whether i like it very much being seen around with an angel without any wings.
sure, sure. how?
only one way you can help me. you don't happen to have eight thousand bucks on you?
oh, that's right, i keep forgetting. comes in pretty handy down here, bub.
i found it out a little late. i'm worth more dead than alive.
yeah, if it hadn't been for me, everybody'd be a lot better off. my wife, and my kids and my friends. look, little fellow, go off and haunt somebody else, will you?
aw, shut up, will you.
oh, i don't know. i guess you're right. i suppose it would have been better if i'd never been born at all.
i said i wish i'd never been born.
what did you say?
say something else in that ear.
well, that's the doggonedest thing.  i haven't heard anything out of that ear since i was a kid. must have been that jump in the cold water.
what do you know about that.  what's happened?
it's stopped snowing out, hasn't it? what's happened here? come on, soon as these clothes of ours are dry.
what do you know about that? stove's hotter than i thought. now, come on, get your clothes on, and we'll stroll up to my car and get.
oh, i'm sorry. i'll stroll. you fly.
you haven't got your wings. yeah, that's right.
well, this is where i left my car and it isn't here.
well, i had a car, and it was right here. i guess somebody moved it.
oh, say.  hey.  where's my car?
my car, my car. i'm the fellow that owns the car that ran into your tree.
what do you mean, what tree? this tree. here, i ran into it. cut a big gash in the side of it here.
pottersville? why, you mean bedford falls.
oh, i don't know. either i'm off my nut, or he is.  . or you are!
well, maybe i left the car up at martini's. well, come on, gabriel.
clarence! clarence!
that's all right. go on in. martini's a good friend of mine.
there's a place to sit down. sit down.
oh, hello, nick. hey, where's martini?
no, no, martini. your boss. where is he?
okay – all right. double bourbon, quick, huh?
nick – nick, just give him the same as mine. he's okay.
what's the matter with him. i never saw nick act like that before.
oh, yeah. hey, little fellow – you worry me. you got someplace to sleep?
you don't huh? well, you got any money?
no wonder you jumped in the river.
oh, that's right.
made what?
look, i think maybe you better not mention getting your wings around here.
a.  yeah, but.  you know.
he never grew up. he's.  how old are you, anyway, clarence?
look, nick. what's wrong?
well, nick, that's your name, isn't it?
mr. gower! mr. gower! this is george bailey! don't you know me?
hey, what is.  hey, nick, nick.  isn't that mr. gower, the druggist?
what do you mean, i wasn't there? i remember distinctly.
what the.  hey, what's going on around here? why, this ought to be martini's place.
look, who are you?
yeah, yeah, i know. you told me that. what else are you? what.  are you a hypnotist?
well then, why am i seeing all these strange things?
then if i wasn't born, who am i?
what do you mean, no identity? my name's george bailey.
what?
now wait a minute, here. wait a minute here. as, this is some sort of a funny dream i'm having here. so long, mister, i'm going home.
now shut up! cut it out! you're.  you're.  you're crazy! that's what i think.  you're screwy, and you're driving me crazy, too! i'm seeing things. i'm going home and see my wife and family. do you understand that? and i'm going home alone!
hey.  hey. where did the building and loan move to?
the bailey building and loan. it was up there.
hey, violet! hey, listen – that's violet bick!
i know that girl!
hey, ernie – ernie!
ernie, take me home. i'm off my nut!
aw, now, doggone it, ernie, don't you start pulling that stuff. you know where i live. three-twenty sycamore. now hurry up.
yeah – yeah – hurry up. zuzu's sick.
look here, ernie, straighten me out here. i've got some bad liquor or something. listen to me now. now, you are ernie bishop, and you live in bailey park with your wife and kid? that's right, isn't it?
seen your wife? i've been to your house a hundred times.
okay. just step on it. just get me home.
of course it's the place.
mary! mary! tommy! pete! janie! zuzu! where are you?
where are you? what have you done with them?
bert! thank heaven you're here!
bert, what's happened to this house? where's mary? where's my kids?
bert – ernie! what's the matter with you two guys? you were here on my wedding night. you, both of you, stood out here on the porch and sung to us, don't you remember?
bert, now listen to me. ernie, will you take me over to my mother's house? bert, listen! it's that fellow there – he says he's an angel – he's tried to hypnotize me.
mother.
mother, this is george. i thought sure you'd remember me.
oh, mother, mother, please help me. something terrible's happened to me. i don't know what it is. something's happened to everybody. please let me come in. keep me here until i get over it.
well, i know everybody you know. your brother-in-law, uncle billy.
well, sure i do.
today, over at the house.
i've heard of things like this. you've got me in some kind of a spell, or something. well, i'm going to get out of it. i'll get out of it. i know how, too. i.  the last man i talked to before all this stuff started happening to me was martini.
sure i know where he lives. he lives in bailey park.
oh, i'm not sure of anything anymore. all i know is this should be bailey park. but where are the houses?
that's a lie! harry bailey went to war! he got the congressional medal of honor! he saved the lives of every man on that transport.
clarence.
where's mary?
i don't know how you know these things, but tell me – where is she?
if you know where she is, tell me where my wife is.
please, clarence, tell me where she is.
where is she?
where's mary? where is she?
where is she?
mary!
mary!
mary! mary!
mary, it's george! don't you know me? what's happened to us?
mary, please! oh, don't do this to me. please, mary, help me. where's our kids? i need you, mary! help me, mary!
mary.  let me go! mary, don't run away!
tom! ed! charlie! that's my wife!
mary!
mary!
clarence! clarence! where are you?
clarence! clarence! help me, clarence. get me back. get me back. i don't care what happens to me. only get me back to my wife and kids. help me, clarence, please! please! i want to live again!
i want to live again. i want to live again. please, god, let me live again.
now get out of here, bert, or i'll hit you again! get out!
don't.  george?
bert, do you know me?
what did.
my mouth's bleeding, bert! my mouth's bleed.  zuzu's petals! zuzu's.  they're.  they're here, bert! what do you know about that? merry christmas!
mary! mary!
hello, bedford falls!
merry christmas!
merry christmas, movie house!
merry christmas, emporium!
merry christmas, you wonderful old building and loan!
merry christmas, mr. potter!
mary.  well, hello, mr. bank examiner!
i know. eight thousand dollars.
i'll bet it's a warrant for my arrest. isn't it wonderful? merry christmas!
reporters? where's mary? mary!
oh, look at this wonderful old drafty house! mary! mary!
have you seen my wife?
kids!
pete – kids – janie – tommy. i could eat you up!
where's your mother?
zuzu – zuzu. my little gingersnap! how do you feel?
not a smitch of temp.
mary! mary!
mary! let me touch you! oh, you're real!
you have no idea what's happened to me.
all right.
violet bick!
harry.  harry.
that's a christmas present from a very dear friend of mine.
that's right, that's right.
attaboy, clarence.