It Happened One Christmas
It Happened One Christmas is a 1977 American made-for-television Christmas fantasy-comedy-drama film directed by Donald Wrye, starring Marlo Thomas, Wayne Rogers, Orson Welles, and Cloris Leachman. It originally premiered as The ABC Sunday Night Movie on December 11, 1977.
Plot
The film, a gender-reversed version of the 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life, centers on Mary Bailey Hatch, a young woman who dreams of seeing the world but is forced by circumstances to remain in her small hometown as head of the family's Building & Loan business. On a Christmas Eve, in a moment of financial crisis, a severely depressed Mary contemplates suicide, but is rescued by her guardian angel, Clara Oddbody. Clara shows Mary the positive effect that she has had on everyone she has met throughout her life.Production
Lionel Chetwynd's teleplay, directed by Donald Wrye, varies little from the original screenplay, even using most of the original dialogue. Thomas served as executive producer for the project.Revisions in the script include fleshing out and exploring some of the characters who are citizens of Bedford Falls to a greater extent than in the original. When George, Harry, and the Hatchs' friends, Bert and Ernie, go off to fight in the World War II, each sends letters to Mary describing their experiences. All four characters are shown in uniform, interspersed with actual war footage. Another brief scene depicts George, wounded in battle and discharged, attempting to readjust to civilian life after the war has ended. The characters of Ma Bailey, Violet Bick, and Sam Wainwright are practically reduced to bit parts, in contrast to the more full-bodied performances interpreted by Beulah Bondi, Gloria Grahame, and Frank Albertson, respectively, in the 1946 film.
The musical score is by Stephen Lawrence and the cinematography by Conrad Hall.