Question about It's a Wonderful Life - Spoilers

Cafe Society
1

With the holiday season, It’s a Wonderful Life was playing the other weekend. I managed to turn it on, and since I think I may have watched it once a long time ago, I decided to watch it again.

One question about the end.

So the plot is driven by George running a “Building and Loan”, and his uncle misplacing $8000 by accidentally handing it to Mr. Potter rather than depositing it, and then being clueless enough to not realize where he lost it. :smack: Fine. So the auditor shows up, and $8000 is missing, and it looks like George is going to be arrested for stealing or something.

So Mary tells the town, and they all show up and start throwing money in a bucket, and his friend wires a telegram that he’ll lend up to $50,000 or some such, and suddenly everything is good.

But wait - how does that get him off the hook? Accusations have been made of him stealing/mishandling the money. Having all his friends handing in money may cover the debt, but how does that address the auditor’s questions about his money handling? See, $8000 still went missing - having a different $8000 given to him doesn’t absolve him of that question about his fiscal responsibility. :confused:

2

He’s making up the loss on his own responsibility. It avoids the major charges, and though he could be reprimanded for how the money was handled, it would not mean jail.

3

I just watched this movie again on Saturday. Our DVD was scratched though, so I had to go out and buy a new one, but they only had the Blu-Ray Collector’s edition… it came with a bell Christmas tree ornament :).

But anyway, once George had the money to make good on the $8000, the DA tore up the arrest warrant. Probably the bank examiner would still have a few questions, after he finished singing “Auld Lang Syne.”

4

Hopefully, the bank examiner does investigate, following through that Uncle Billy had the money until he got to the bank. Then, knowing the [del]savings & loan[/del] building & loan wasn’t exactly one of Potter’s/the bank’s favorite customers :stuck_out_tongue: start leaning on the bank staff until someone squeals that Potter is a damned thief and a warrant is issued for his arrest. :wink: Yes, I know it’s a lot more likely that Potter will suddenly “find” the money, so he won’t be arrested either.

5

As I remember, the bank examiner puts his own money in the pot, so I doubt that he’s going to pursue the charges.

Still, I thought that they should have tracked how much was contributed by each person, because at the end with Sam Wainright’s line of credit, they have much more money than was needed.

Or they could have gone for the SNL ending.

6

Actually, Uncle Billy eventually remembered what he did with the money, and they all went down to Potter’s office and Charlestoned the ever-loving shit out of him.

Cite.

7

This was my take on the matter the last time we discussed this in December 2007:

The missing $8,000 will lead to an investigation, not to anybody’s immediate arrest. In real life, things would move about a thousand times more slowly than they did in the movie.

We aren’t told whether Mr. Bank Examiner, who wants to get back to his family in Elmira, is (a) a private auditor hired by the Building & Loan Board of Directors; (b) a state savings and loan examiner, working for whatever agency regulates state-chartered S&L’s in the home state of Bedford Falls; or (c) an examiner for the Federal Savings & Loan Insurance Corporation, which insured S&L deposits and added some minimal oversight. The most likely possibility is (b).

So the state examiner finds $8,000 missing, and seems suspicious because he’s naturally grumpy, and because George accepted a collect call from a strumpet, and maybe because Potter is whispering in his ear. It’s time to start taking depositions—after the New Year, of course. What is George’s explanation for the missing money? Do George and Uncle Billy tell the same story? What are the S&L’s controls? Has this happened before? What is George’s reputation in the community? Is there evidence of him living beyond his means?

At that point, if the examiner has evidence of fraud, he can refer the matter to the state Attorney General for prosecution, and George will be arrested. He may be empowered to take regulatory action—to freeze the S&L assets, or suspend George from management, or so forth. But regulators tread carefully in such matters because too much bad publicity will cause a run on the S&L.

If the story of accidental loss checks out—as obviously, it will—there still might be consequences, although prosecution isn’t likely to be one of them unless management has been grossly and chronically negligent. The examiner might mandate new internal controls, or (again) recommend changes in management, or simply refer the matter to the Board of Directors for appropriate action. The problem will be documented and conceivably the documentation could provide grist for a civil lawsuit by Potter or some disgruntled stakeholder in the Building & Loan. Having the community replace the lost money won’t necessarily forestall any of these consequences, although it would provide evidence that the lost money was a one-off and not a symptom of chronic negligence.

Finally, remember that Potter has been scheming to get control of the Building & Loan for years, and he can do so at any time by vote of the Board of Directors. If George even falls under suspicion, and loses the trust of the community, such a vote is more likely. The mass donation demonstrates that George is still in good favor, and that’s the real point of the weepy sing-along at the end.

8

The DA’s a politician and George Bailey has a lot of supporters. As long as the loss is made good, there’s no way in hell he’s pissing off that many voters and a rich man like Sam Wainwright.

9

So, Potter just gets $8000.00 for Christmas? Nice.

10

See, I would hope there is an investigation, and they grill Uncle Billy pretty hard until he remembers having the cash in hand while filling out the forms, smirking at Mr. Potter over the newspaper headlines, then handing in the deposit forms without the deposit. That would seriously narrow down the window of loss from anywhere in town.

Next, have depositions from bank staff, including Mr Potter and Potter’s assistant. I think that guy might just have something to say on the record under oath.

“Well, you see, after that conversation with Mr. Billy, Mr. Potter returned to his office, where I witnessed him uncover a stack of cash in his newspaper, then roll over to the door and peek out. Then he stuffed the cash in his drawer. Subsequently later that day I observed Mr. George show up to discuss something with Mr. Potter, and left in a hurry with Mr. Potter calling the police and threatening to have him arrested. Something about missing money.”

Of course, the assistant guy might find himself in a bit of a crunch like that - his job security against his legal responsibilities.

And yes, the ultimate outcome probably should be policies affecting Uncle Billy’s role in handling money.

11

Nah, they bring in Jimmy Cagney to slap the sap around and make him cough up the dough; yeah, the dough. Then Cagney and the dame with the gams go on the lam with the money, leaving George holding the bag.

12

I think it was more than the fact he made up the $8,000. It was the fact that most of the money was covered by the same people he allegedly defrauded- basically, he’s got dozens of character witnesses who support him even though it’s their money on the line.

Of course I can see how if were a friend of George, one he’s done a favor for especially and who trusted him absolutely, that I might be willing to give $50 (~$800 in 2011) towards getting him off the hook. However, this being just after the Depression and when money is still tight, a couple of things:

1- I would like a receipt, please.

Don’t just take it and drop it in a boot or whatever; then it’s my word against yours against George’s how much was mine (and we all know George is a crook… oh, wait, sorry)

2- It’s a loan, not a gift.

Oh, I understand if you can’t get it back to me immediately or even in the foreseeable future, but I think a written agreement that if one day you’re able to you’ll pay me back is quite reasonable.

This also protects us both. When George gets the credit line of up to several times the amount of the missing money is when people will probably say “That’s settled, I’ll take mine back please”, and here’s where you’ll have the Mr. Haney types stepping in with “Oh, well you know I love George like he was a brother… so I put in $200”, and even though everyone there had heard the money he put into the boot jingle, it’s his word against anyone else’s.

13

I had another question somewhat related. What exactly is the relationship between the Building & Loan the the Bank? It sort of seemed like the B&L was some sort of subsidiary of the bank. I think it is men from the bank that are voting to keep the B&L as an ongoing entity. If so, why are the lending practices so different? Apparently the B&L was not very profitable, but the bank probably was. Also, why is the $8000 to be deposited into an account at the bank?
As I type this, I realize how profoundly ignorant my question really is, and I guess it essentially boils down to what is the difference between a “Building and Loan” and a “bank”?

14

IIRC, that was the Building and Loan Board of Directors and Potter was trying to get them to vote against continuing the practices which resulted in Bailey Park.

The former is geared toward mortgages and other property lending while the latter is geared toward savings accounts.

15

My understanding is a Building in Loan is closer to a Credit Union than a bank. People pay their mortgages to the B&L, which allows the B&L to loan other people money to buy houses of their own. Their payments get loaned to other people, etc.

16

The men who voted to keep the B&L opened were the Board of Directors. They were probably prominent business men of the community. George’s father put Potter on the board because he thought it would keep him from trying to drive it out of business.
The B&L was like a bank but it only invested in residential real estate loans while the Bank invested in anything it thought would give a good return.
The money is stored at the Bank for the same reason any other business would. The bank has a secure vault and pays people to keep track of the money.
There is a run on the bank at the same time as the B&L but Potter is rich enough to guarantee the bank’s deposits which stops the run and allows the bank to continue in exchange for control of the bank. Potter makes a similar offer to George but he refuses.

17

It was a Savings and Loan:

It is an independent investment organization that is made up of members who pool their money and use it to lend to other people, typically for home loans and mortgages. The members run their organization with a Board of Directors. If you invest your money into the S&L, you become a member.

18

I’m resuming my uber-nerdy movie blog and my newest post is about the film. 2012 Resolution: Write more often (crosses fingers)

19

On this point though, we see many times when George helped the townfolk (out of his own pocket) never asking for either a receipt or to be paid back, and that’s what’s coming back to him at the end. He kept scrupulous records with the B&L’s money, and the town loved what he did for them through the B&L, but he also did a lot as an individual and I think the people throwing money in the punchbowl were throwing it for him as a man rather than to protect the B&L as an institution (though many certainly cared about that too). The people that we actually see putting money in (Martini, Gower, Annie etc) often specifically say that it’s money that they don’t expect back: Martini broke the jukebox, Annie makes a joke about how she now won’t be able to get a hypothetical divorce, Gower sees George as a son and would do anything for him. Keeping records probably would have been smart, but one of the running themes in the movie is that no one in town except Potter is very smart when it comes to financial transactions least of all George. What’s special is how George is able through some combination of moral strength and being in the right place at the right time, to turn that lack of money smarts into a thriving community-building institution.

20

No. Every time he helps the townsfolk out, he makes it clear that it’s a loan. And he writes it down, very clearly showing that he keeps records. What sets him apart from Potter is just that he doesn’t try to make excess money off of the whole thing, and the fact that he participates in the community.

What makes George different is not his lack of financial knowledge. If so, then we can’t praise him. If he’s only not doing what Potter does because he doesn’t know how, he’s hardly a guy worth celebrating.

This is why him rejecting Potter’s offer is such an important part of the movie. Up until then, it might have been his stupidity keeping him away from the good life. But, from that point, he clearly rejected it.