George Bailey's nightmare.
Gambling, alcohol, pool, pawnbrokers, dancing, and floozies!
A nightmare worthy of the iron heart of Rudolph Giuliani. . .
Frank Capra was a phony. While obviously a technical master within a factory system humming on all cylinders -- and the director of many interesting and speedy movies before he became classical Hollywood's Social Artist of the Day (
American Madness,
The Miracle Woman,
Forbidden,
Platinum Blonde, and the very special
Bitter Tea of General Yen) -- Capra-the-Award Winner (and that happened fast) played it safe, took the road most traveled by while adding nothing new to it, and became increasingly sexless, reactionary, anti-romantic, witless, and
slow, with every Oscar. (Also, his "Know Your Enemy" entry on Japan must be seen to be believed, worth sharing company with
The Eternal Jew and
Jew Süss.)
A different sort of nightmare. Produced by the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, here's a view of 1946 a lot closer to the daily concerns of the daily American, for all its technical messiness.
