‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Day in L.A.

The city of Los Angeles decided the upcoming 65^th anniversary of the holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life needed official recognition. The city has proclaimed Dec.3, 2011 to be It’s a Wonderful Life Day to celebrate the film’s release on Dec. 20, 1946.

Despite it’s current popularity, the beloved film starring James Stewart and Donna Reed was considered a commercial failure having cost US$ 3.7 million but only earning US$ 3.3 million in it’s original box office run. Adding insult to injury the film won none of the five Academy Awards it was nominated for.

However, the film’s appeal could not be denied and 65 years later the American Film Institute ranks it number one as the “Most Powerful Movie of All Time”. In 2004, the BBC TV listings magazine Radio Times conducted a poll into the “Best Film Never to Have Won an Oscar” – It’s a Wonderful Life came second only to The Shawshank Redemption. You can’t argue with the fans!