10 Secrets From 'It's a Wonderful Life'

"It’s a Wonderful Life" is regarded as an all-time classic. The 1964 holiday film starring Jimmy Stewart remains a beloved icon to young and old alike and has become traditional viewing during the festive season.

"It’s a Wonderful Life" continues to captivate audiences and drawing more attention to it is Jeremy Arnold, a film historian who recently shared some fun facts about the film. Here are 10 of them, according to Fox News:

1. "It’s a Wonderful Life" had a different title: It was a writer named Philip Van Doren who, in 1938, came up with a basic storyline that would form the basis of "It’s a Wonderful Life," but at the time he called the story "The Greatest Gift."

"Then he [turned] it into a short story in 1943," explained Arnold. "He couldn’t sell it to anyone, so he printed up a few dozen copies himself as a little pamphlet, and he sent it out as his Christmas card that year."

2. An agent made serious money out of the story: One of Van Doren's cards was picked up by an agent who sold the story to RKO for $10,000. "RKO tried to turn it into a screenplay and they went through several writers, but no one could really do it. They gave it up and they sold it to Frank Capra," Arnold said.

3. Frank Capra was drawn to the film's dark undertones: At the time Frank Capra had been making World War II training documentaries but after the war he turned his attention to Hollywood features. He was drawn to the story of "It’s a Wonderful Life."

"The darkness of the story was something he thought was appropriate and interested him to explore," Arnold said. "His experience witnessing a lot of the horrors of the war had transformed him, too. Ironically, we remember the film for its lightness and joy, but it was this darkness that attracted Capra to it."

4. The film changed James Stewart's career: "It's a Wonderful Life" defined James Stewart’s career and launched a new phase that saw him play darker and more obsessive characters.

"He made a series of Western shorts for Anthony Mann a few years later, where he’s practically psychotic," Arnold said. "He starred in 'Vertigo' where he is extremely disturbed psychologically. 'It’s a Wonderful Life' is probably the film where he explores that side of his character to such a degree."

5. Cary Grant was originally singled out to play the role of George Bailey:When it came to casting the role of George Bailey, the studio and Capra had conflicting ideas. Capra wanted Stewart to play the character but the studio was set on Cary Grant playing the role.

"I think the reason Capra thought of him was that when they made 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,' that movie also has glimmers of this personality we see in George Bailey," said Arnold. "There are some scenes in that movie where James Stewart goes kind of crazy. It’s a little messily unhinged, not to the degree here or in 'Vertigo,' but there was a hint of it there and Capra noticed it."

6. "It’s a Wonderful Life" paved the way for special effects: Recreating snow in movies was a challenging task for filmmakers who originally used painted cornflakes. The issue was that the noise they made when actors stood on them was disruptive. The special effects team of "It's a Wonderful Life" came up with a revolutionary new idea.

"They created a new way of doing snow, which combined water, sulfite, flakes of soap and I believe sugar," said Arnold. "They found a way to create realistic-looking snow that did not crunch when you stepped on it."

7. The film was shot during a heatwave: "It’s a Wonderful Life" is synonymous with wintery Christmas so it is strange to think the movie was shot during a heatwave. At one point, Capra had to shut down filming for a day during that summer of 1946.

8. "It’s a Wonderful Life" was not an instant success: Several things worked against "It’s a Wonderful Life" when it made its lukewarm premiere in theaters.

"The advertising did not stress the Christmas element very much," said Arnold. "Instead, it portrayed the film more as a purely warm romance." The "bleaker side" of the film turned possible audiences off. Adding to this was the inclement weather during the movie's release, which caused box office numbers across the board to drop. The reviews were also mediocre, adding to producers' woes.

9. The film was rediscovered years later: After its premiere, "It’s a Wonderful Life" was soon forgotten. Years later it made a comeback.

"The film fell into public domain in the early 1970s I believe due to a clerical error," explained Arnold. "The copyright was not renewed, so that meant any TV station, if they could get their hands on a print, or a copy of it, they could show it as many times as they wanted without having to pay anyone. " Arnold said that over the next 20 years, various channels screened the film each year in December. Then Republic reacquired the rights to the short story and they renewed the rights to the music.

"All the multitudes of television airings stopped, and for quite a number of years now, the only place you can see it on TV every year is on NBC at Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s never been on Turner Classic Movies, simply because they don’t have the rights to air it," Arnold said.

10. There is no relation between "Sesame Street" and the movie’s Bert and Ernie: For years people have said the similarities between the characters Bert and Ernie in "It’s a Wonderful Life" and the two puppets of the same names in "Sesame Street" was no coincidence- but it is.

"That’s a rumor that has been dispelled by the makers of 'Sesame Street' many times," Arnold said. "One of the Hensons clearly said no and it’s just a coincidence."