I’m watching “It’s A Wonderful Life,” Frank Capra’s ultimate ethics movie. Don’t forget to review its ethics dilemmas, conflicts and conundrums with the handy
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Ethics Alarms 
Right now, I’m thinking of that “Dallas” special where an angel (Joel Grey… and actually a demon!) lets a depressed J.R. Ewing see what things would have been like if he had never been born. The final result is J.R. blowing his brains out!
Why are you thinking about this?
It’s sort of the ANTI-Capra. It should have been entitled “It’s a Real Stinkin’ Life”!
I actually saw that episode when it airs. It was kind of the antithesis of all the IAWL rip-offs that often air during the holiday season.
Do “Birth of a Nation” next!!!
My two favorite B & W films; Metropolis, and Bicycle Thieves. The ending of Bicycle Thieves had me in tears. Oh, almost forgot Nosferatu.
Silent favorites? “Birth of a Nation”, “Metropolis” and anything with Buster Keaton or Douglas Fairbanks.
I watch It’s a Wonderful Life every year. Speaking of, check this out:
Dennis Miller gets himself in the damnedest shows. I guess from Dana
Carvey to Bill O’Reilly was the logical step!
Even better than the first time I read it. Jack, this is one of your finest pieces, I think you should just automatically put it up on re-post every year, no need to think twice about it or offer excuses for it.
Terrific primer for ethics, not to mention a hoot to read.
I have to disagree about Mary & Sam, though. I never got the impression they were sweethearts (other than in Mrs. Hatch’s mind anyway!).
When Mrs. Bailey tried to get George to go see Mary, he told her that Sam was crazy about Mary, but Mrs. Bailey pointed out that Mary was not crazy about Sam. I interpreted that to mean that Sam would have liked for Mary to be his girlfriend, but she considered him to only be a friend. Not an uncommon scenario in the movies or in real life.
So, I don’t believe George stole Sam’s girlfriend. But, you’re right in that they shouldn’t have made fun of him behind his back. He was a friend, even if George was jealous of his success and Mary never seriously considered him as a beau.
Well, who knows what Sam was thinking. He does say, “You’re not trying to steal my girl,” but he also thinks saying “Hee-Haw” is charming….I’d say he was an idiot, but he’s done OK for himself, and is a better friend to George than George was to him.
On that we definitely agree, since Sam came through for him in the end.