It's A Wonderful Life

It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas fantasy drama. It followsGeorge Bailey, a compassionate but deeply frustrated businessman who has continuously sacrificed his personal dreams for his community. On Christmas Eve, facing financial ruin, he contemplates suicide. His guardian angel, Clarence, intervenes by showing him what the world would have been like if he had never been born.

George Bailey (played by James Stewart) grows up in the small town of Bedford Falls. Though he dreams of traveling the world and building skyscrapers, his sense of duty keeps him tied to his hometown. He takes over his father's modest Building and Loan company, protecting the town's working-class citizens from the greedy, monopolistic banker, Mr. Potter. 

On Christmas Eve, a mix-up results in the loss of an $8,000 deposit, threatening to bankrupt the business and send George to prison. Feeling worthless and believing his family and friends would be better off with him dead, George goes to a bridge to end his life.

In heaven, prayers for George are heard, and a second-class angel named Clarence is dispatched to save him. To make George realize his own value, Clarence grants his wish to never have been born. George is plunged into an alternate reality ("Potterville") where:

• His loved ones' lives are vastly worse or tragic.
• The beautiful town of Bedford Falls has been corrupted into a bleak, crime-ridden slum.

Horrified by the bleak reality, George begs to be given his life back. He returns to the bridge and is overjoyed to find himself back in his own, difficult reality. He runs home, where his wife, Mary, and the entire community of Bedford Falls rally together, donating more than enough money to save him and his business. George realizes that his modest, self-sacrificing life has profoundly touched countless others, and that "no man is a failure who has friends".