Daily Dialogue — November 27, 2011

“A toast to my big brother George: The richest man in town.”

— Harry Bailey (Todd Karns), It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), screenplay by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett and Frank Capra, story by Philip Van Doren Stern

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is toasts.

Trivia: James Stewart cited George Bailey as being his favorite character. The part was originally developed at another studio with Cary Grant earmarked for the role. When Frank Capra inherited the project, he rewrote it to suit Stewart.

Dialogue On Dialogue: Here is a case where a toast lays out a central theme of the movie as George Bailey is the richest man in Bedford Falls.