The Greatest Gift

I can’t believe I’d never read the short story that “It’s a Wonderful Life” is based on! Obviously, a lot is different in the movie, but the core theme remains the same. I loved that this edition includes the background of the author coming up with the whole idea in a dream, and the director Frank Capra happening to get a hold of one of 200 copies that was sent out as a Christmas card in 1943. We truly never know how many lives we’ve touched.

George Pratt is contemplating suicide, when a stranger appears and starts to talk him out of it. When George lets slip that he wishes he'd never been born, getting his wish may just change his perspective on how great a gift life is.

This is a short story that won't take you long to read, but if you slow yourself down may make you think about some of the ways in which your live has touched others', making the world a different place than it would be without you. Knowing that it inspired "It's a Wonderful Life" made me have rather different expectations for the story - I expected it to be longer and more fleshed out. But this is truly a short story, a compacted scene from the movie that is powerful in its own way for being more focused.

Husband, father, and small-town bank clerk George Pratt feels that while other men out there are leading exciting lives, his own work is dull and his life is pretty useless. Just when he's contemplating suicide on Christmas Eve, a mysterious stranger comes and stops George in The Greatest Gift: A Christmas Tale by Philip Van Doren Stern.

It's been years now since I first heard of this short story upon which the classic movie It's a Wonderful Life is based. I'm not sure why it didn't occur to me before to actually look up and read this original tale. But I do know it can be something of a letdown when you've got a beloved story embedded in your soul and then you check out another version of it, and it isn't the same.

Well. Although I can show more say that I do prefer the fuller development of the plot and characters in the classic motion picture that's one of my all-time favorite films, I'm pleased that I didn't picture George Pratt here as George Bailey, or the mysterious stranger as Clarence Odbody, George Bailey's guardian angel. For the most part, I enjoyed this short fantasy fiction tale for what it is: a short fantasy fiction tale. Not just a precursor to a movie.

And what George Pratt learns about the life he's been given is truly an uplifting and timeless message. show less

Double Review for "Wonderful Memories of It's A Wonderful Life" and "The Greatest Gift."

A fan of this heartwarming movie that only grows into an even bigger worldwide love every year, I picked up the first as an audio to listen to during this season. It gave me all the information about it that I never knew about. How the first story was written as a Christmas Card, the process of it becoming a movie, behind the scene adorable pieces, and how RKO made the snow we use in movies still today.

During the middle of this listen, I ordered my own copy of "The Greatest Gift," the short story the movie is based on. It did not disappoint and warmed my heart with the reading of its genesis, too.

In April 1943, Philip Van Doren Stern wrote this Christmas tale that will become the famous “It’s a Wonderful Life” movie. Originally deemed as a fantasy, it was rejected by multiple magazines. By Christmas time, Stern decided to print 200 of these 24-pages pamphlet and send them out as Christmas cards. As luck would have it, Frank Capra read this little uplifting tale and spent the most money ever on a Christmas card - $50K for the movie rights. :) With both Capra and Jimmy Stewart returning from the War, it was just the kind of project that the world needed. By December 1946, a new Christmas classic was born.

This is a high quality gift book published at the 50th year anniversary with illustrations inspired by the original show more artwork and the bonus “Afterword” provided by Stern’s daughter, Marguerite Stern Robinson. Not surprisingly, this book has a simpler tale than the movie – same theme, more concise, with the same heart and the same message that all lives matter. I’d be lying if I don’t admit I like the movie better – a richer, more velvety tale. With the added materials, this is a pleasant little read, just what I needed after the previous book. show less

This is a short story that no publisher wanted. So, it was privately printed in 1943 and distributed as a Christmas card to a select group of friends. Somehow a copy found its way into the hands of a Hollywood producer and the author was stunned to get a telegram saying the movie rights had been sold! It took three screenwriters and a director and lead actor who believed in the story to eventually produce It’s a Wonderful Life (directed by Frank Capra and starring Jimmy Stewart).

To mark the 50th anniversary of the release of the movie, Stern’s daughter had the story published in a deluxe edition, complete with wonderful illustrations by Scott McKowen. The Afterword, wherein Marguerite Stern Robinson explains how her father’s show more short story became the iconic movie, is a great companion to the familiar story of one man’s realization that his life really does matter. show less

This book was the basis for the movie, It's A Wonderful Life starring James Stewart and Donna Reed. The book was sent as a pamphlet Christmas card by the author to friends. It is very similar but not exactly the same as the plot in the movie.
The short story is wonderful, but I like the expanded version of the movie better. I really enjoyed the afterword by the author's daughter. It really brought the book and the subsequent following due to the movie to life.
This is a perfect holiday read.