IT’S A WONDERFUL (BROOKLYN) LIFE (1946)
Brownstone Detectives investigates the history of our clients’ homes.
The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations.
Do you know the history of YOUR house?
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Do you know there exists a connection between the enduring 1946 Christmas movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” and a certain brownstone in Brooklyn Heights?
Many do not know this, but No. 88 Remsen Street was once the home of Philip Van Doren Stern, who wrote The Greatest Gift, a short story that was inspired by a dream that was reminiscent of the 1843 Charles Dickens novella A Christmas Carol.
He began writing the story in 1939 and finished it in 1943, but was unable to find a publisher for it. He sent 200 printed copies to friends as Christmas cards in December 1943.
His daughter, Marguerite Stern Robinson, recalled “I was in the third grade and remember delivering a few of these cards to my teachers and my friends … My father, who was himself from a mixed religious background, explained to me that while this story takes place at Christmas time, and that we were sending it as a Christmas card to our friends, it is a universal story for all people in all times.”
The story was published as a book in December 1944. Stern also sold it to Reader’s Scope magazine, which published it in its December 1944 issue, and to the magazine Good Housekeeping, which published it under the title “The Man Who Was Never Born” in its January 1945 issue (published in December 1944).
One of those pamphlets came to the attention of RKO Pictures producer David Hempstead, who showed it to actor Cary Grant, who became interested in playing the lead role. RKO purchased the motion picture rights for $10,000 in April 1944.
After several screenwriters worked on adaptations, RKO sold the rights to the story in 1945 to Frank Capra’s production company, Liberty Films, for the same $10,000.
And in 1946, while Van Doren Stern was living at No 88 Remsen Street, Capra adapted the story into It’s a Wonderful Life, which was released in December.
James Stewart, who played George Bailey in the film, wrote to Van Doren Stern that December, calling the story “an inspiration to everyone concerned with the picture…the fundamental story was so sound and right.”
And so there you have it.
Now, when you are passing No. 88 Remsen Street this year around Christmas time and you see the Christmas tree in the parlor window, just listen for the tinkling of a little bell…that’s Clarence getting his wings…
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Brownstone Detectives is an historic property research agency. Our mission is to document and save the histories of our clients’ homes. From our research, we produce our celebrated House History Books and House History Reports. Contact us today to begin discovering the history of your home.
