20 Things You Didn't Know About It's A Wonderful Life

There was one unplanned moment within filming that ended up making it into the final cut. As Uncle Billy, inebriated, leaves the Bailey household, it sounds as if he’s stumbles over some trash cans on the sidewalk. What can be heard is actually a large tray of props dropped by an unseen stagehand, which was coincidentally timed right after Thomas Mitchell comes off screen. James Stewart began laughing and Mitchell improvised “I’m alright, I’m okay!”.

Because Frank Capra loved this accidental scene so much, he gave the crew member an extra $10 (equal to about $132 these days) for ‘improving the sound’.

Another case of improvisation on the spot was during the bank scene, which prior to filming had been extensively rehearsed by James Stewart and Ellen Corby. When Corby’s character was asked how much money she needed, the scripted reply was £17. At the last minute, Capra told Ellen to given Stewart an odd number, because it might be funnier. When she said “17.50” to James, he was caught off-guard and spontaneously kissed her, which wasn’t in the script. It was kept in the final film.