Greetings from Bedford Falls

Every family has a favorite Christmas movie.

For some, it’s the claymation classic “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” or the heartwarming “Miracle on 34th Street.” Who wouldn’t get weepy after witnessing Ebenezer Scrooge’s change of heart or Charlie Brown’s pathetic twig of a tree?

At my house, holidays meant perky musicals – “White Christmas” – and animated classics, like “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” (The original “Grinch,” of course. Jim Carrey deserves a stake of holly through the heart for ruining that Dr. Seuss favorite.)

There may have even been a few screenings of “Ernest Saves Christmas.”

For most folks, however, the Big One will always be “It’s A Wonderful Life.”
It’s a simple but surprisingly effective story, about a desperate man who gets the ultimate second chance.

Jimmy Stewart sealed his status as movie icon with his portrayal of George Bailey, a carefree young man turned distraught husband and father.
Director Frank Capra won a Golden Globe for the 1946 film. And millions of American viewers made it a Christmas classic.

Central Coast residents can catch a local take on “It’s A Wonderful Life” this Wednesday at the Pewter Plough Playhouse in Cambria.

The theater company presents a radio play based on the movie as part of its Readers' Theatre program.

In lieu of tickets, audiences are asked to donate new, unwrapped toys or $5. The Cambria Fire Department will distribute the toys to needy children.

“It’s A Wonderful Life” starts at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Pewter Plough, 824 Main St. in Cambria’s West Village.
For more information, call 927-3877 or visit www.pewterploughplayhouse.org.

-- Sarah L.

** Image courtesy of Movieweb.com.