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Mar 19, 2020 · Popular American actress and producer, Donna Reed's daughter pulled the lid off her late mother's life in a no hold barred interview that featured the late icon.
- Joe Akins
Jan 27, 2021 · Mary Owen, who presented screenings of "It's a Wonderful Life" at FilmScene, shares her memories of her mother and the film. She moved to Iowa City in late 2020, just before Gov. Kim Reynolds declared Jan. 27 "Donna Reed Day".
- Iowa City Press-Citizen
- It's A Wonderful Life All Began with A Christmas Card.
- Cary Grant Was Set to Star in It's A Wonderful Life.
- Dorothy Parker Worked on The Script For It's A Wonderful Life.
- It's A Wonderful Life Marked Donna Reed's First Starring role.
- Mary Owen Is Not Named After Mary Bailey.
- Beulah Bondi Was A Pro at Playing Jimmy Stewart's Mom.
- It's A Wonderful Life Bombed at The Box Office.
- A Copyright Lapse Aided It's A Wonderful Life's Popularity.
- The Rock That Broke The Window of The Granville House Was All Real.
- It Took Two Months to Build It's A Wonderful Life's Bedford Falls.
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After years of unsuccessfully trying to shop his short story, The Greatest Gift, to publishers, Philip Van Doren Stern decided to give the gift of words to his closest friends for the holidays when he printed up 200 copies of the story and sent them out as a 21-page Christmas card. David Hempstead, a producer at RKO Pictures, ended up getting a hol...
When RKO purchased the rights, they did so with the plan of having Cary Grantin the lead. But, as happens so often in Hollywood, the project went through some ups and downs in the development process. In 1945, after a number of rewrites, RKO sold the movie rights to Frank Capra, who quickly recruited Jimmy Stewart to play George Bailey.
By the time It’s a Wonderful Life made it into theaters, the story was much different from Stern’s original tale. That’s because more than a half-dozen people contributed to the screenplay, including some of the most acclaimed writers of the time—Dorothy Parker, Dalton Trumbo, Marc Connelly, and Clifford Odets among them.
Though Donna Reed was hardly a newcomer when It’s a Wonderful Life rolled around, having appeared in nearly 20 projects previously, the film did mark her first starring role. It’s difficult to imagine anyone else in the role today, but Reed had some serious competition from Jean Arthur. “[Frank Capra] had seen mom in They Were Expendableand liked h...
Before you ask whether Owen was named after her mom’s much beloved It’s a Wonderful Life character, “The answer is no,” says Owen. “I was named after my great grandmother, Mary Mullenger.”
Beulah Bondi, who plays Mrs. Bailey, didn’t need a lot of rehearsal to play Jimmy Stewart’s mom. She had done it three times previously—in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Of Human Hearts, and Vivacious Lady—and once later on The Jimmy Stewart Show: The Identity Crisis.
Though it has become a quintessential American classic, It’s a Wonderful Life was not an immediate hit with audiences. In fact, it put Capra $525,000 in the hole, which left him scrambling to finance his production company’s next picture, State of the Union.
Though it didn’t make much of a dent at the box office, It’s a Wonderful Life found a whole new life on television—particularly when its copyright lapsed in 1974, making it available royalty-free to anyone who wanted to show it for the next 20 years. (Which would explain why it was on television all the time during the holiday season.) The free-for...
Though Capra had a stuntman at the ready in order to shoot out the window of the Granville House in a scene that required Donna Reed to throw a rock through it, it was all a waste of money. “Mom threw the rock herself that broke the window in the Granville House,” Owen says. “On the first try.”
Shot on a budget of $3.7 million (which was a lot by mid-1940s standards), Bedford Falls—which covered a full four acres of RKO’s Encino Ranch—was one of the most elaborate movie setsever built up to that time, with 75 stores and buildings, 20 fully-grown oak trees, factories, residential areas, and a 300-yard-long Main Street.
Mary Owen is the daughter of Donna Reed, who played Mary Bailey in the classic film It's a Wonderful Life. She shares some behind-the-scenes stories and facts about the movie and its making, based on her mom's memories and her own love for the film.
Nov 12, 2021 · The celebration of Iowa icon Donna Reed’s centennial continues at FilmScene with a series of the actress’s films presented by her daughter, Mary Owen.
Nikki recently visited with Donna's daughter, Mary Owen, about their family relationship and her experience of growing up in a family with famous parents. They also discuss From Here to Eternity, It's a Wonderful Life, The Donna Reed Show, and how the world has changed. Watch their visit.
Feb 1, 2021 · Mary tells us about what it was like growing up with Donna Reed as her mother, her ties to Iowa, and what it feels like to be home!You can support the legacy...
- 5 min
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- Iowa Hall of Pride
Dec 25, 2022 · Mary Owen made a shocking discovery about her mother 17 years after the Hollywood star died. It was 2003 when the daughter of Donna Reed and Tony Owen discovered several shoe boxes filled...
