at one end of the room an orchestra is playing. george wends his way through the dancing couples toward a supper table. he and harry are carrying plates and pies.
the crowd watching george and mary dancing. they move backwards until finally they reach the edge of the floor and fall into the pool below.
george and mary. the night is warm with a bright moon. george is dressed in jersey sweater and oversize football pants that keep wanting to come down. mary is in an old white bath robe. each is carrying their wet clothes tied into a bundle that leaves a trail of dripping water. as they near the camera we hear them singing:
george, visibly shaken, is busy with his bag, his papers. he is worried about the outcome of the meeting. dissolving the building and loan will alter his plans. uncle billy follows him around, chattering.
cousin eustace is taking a photograph of the family group assembled on the porch. flash bulbs go off, and the group breaks up. the crowd enters the front door of the house, leaving george and uncle billy on the porch.
george is standing at the garden gate. he takes some travel folders from his pocket, looks at them and throws them away. he is obviously disturbed about the latest turn of events. his mother comes out of the house and kisses him.
mary is running down the stairs.
george is struggling with the gate – he finally kicks it open and starts slowly up the path toward mary.
mrs. hatch, in a bathrobe, and with her hair in curlers, is leaning over the banister as she calls:
mary comes into the hall.
sam is seated at his desk, while a couple of his friends are nearby, with highballs in their hands.
george, followed by the still-silent people, comes in. uncle billy is standing in the doorway to his private office, taking a drink from a bottle. he motions to george to join him.
more people have crowded around the counter. their muttering stops and they stand silent and grim. there is panic in their faces.
george is approaching the front door of the house, on which a sign is hanging: "bridal suite." ernie looks out through the curtain covering the broken glass of the front door.
in front of one of the miserable shacks that line the street are two vehicles. one of them is george bailey's rickety car, and the other is an even more rickety truck piled high with household goods. the martini family is moving. the family consists of martini, his wife and four kid of various ages, from two to ten. george and mary are helping the martinis move. about a dozen neighbors crowd around. martini and george, assisted by three of the martini children, are carrying out the last of the furniture. as they emerge from the house, one of the neighbors, schultz, calls out:
george and mary are on the porch of the new house, with the martinis lined up before them.
gower and uncle billy are conducting a bond rally from the top of an army tank.
uncle billy running across the street in the direction of the building and loan.
george comes out of the bank into the falling snow. he crosses the street, tugs at the door of his old car, finally steps over the door, and drives off.
an attractive little roadside tavern, with the name "martini's" in neon lights on the front wall.
camera shooting down from george's angle to the water, dotted with floating ice, passing under the bridge.
from above george a body hurtles past and lands in the water with a loud splash. george looks down, horrified.
george looks around, as though to get his bearings.
the cab is parked. george gets out and looks at the house.
the police car has pulled up beside the cab, and bert and ernie stand watching george's actions.
george stands a moment, stunned. then he turns and runs out to the sidewalk, until his face fills the screen. his features are distorted by the emotional chaos within him. we see clarence leaning on the mail box at the curb, holding his volume of "tom sawyer" in his hand.