Daily Dialogue — June 26, 2016

George Bailey: I’m shakin’ the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and I’m gonna see the world. Italy, Greece, the Parthenon, the Colosseum. Then, I’m comin’ back here to go to college and see what they know. And then I’m gonna build things. I’m gonna build airfields, I’m gonna build skyscrapers a hundred stories high, I’m gonna build bridges a mile long…

Mary picks up a rock.

George Bailey: What, are you gonna throw a rock?

Mary flings a rock toward the old house, breaking a window.

George Bailey: Hey, that’s pretty good. What’d you wish, Mary?

She gives him a look, then starts to sing, and walk away.

Mary Hatch: “Buffalo gals can’t you come out tonight…”

— It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), screenplay by Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett and Frank Capra, additional scenes by Jo Swerling, story by Philip Van Doren Stern, uncredited Michael Wilson

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: First Date.

Trivia: For the scene that required Donna Reed to throw a rock into the window of the Granville House, Frank Capra hired a marksman to shoot it out for her on cue. To everyone’s amazement, Donna Reed broke the window with true aim and heft without the assistance of the hired marksman. Reed had played baseball in high school and had a strong throwing arm.

Dialogue On Dialogue: This is a great scene in that we hear quite clearly what George wants — “To see the world” — yet also learn what Mary wants — a fellow named George Bailey. Quite a first date!