It started with me sending Denro this picture of an album I saw on display at Newbury Comics. The late and very great Joe Sinnott, Bing’s #1 fan, would have been pleased to see a new Crosby record in 2025.
The topic quickly switched to something else from long ago, when Denro replied that he had just purchased a new record he spotted at a Barnes & Noble.
It’s a soundtrack of It’s a Wonderful Life that I heretofore didn’t know existed. Denro said the album was originally released as a CD that is no longer available.
https://www.kritzerland.com/wonderful_life.htm
The CD information at that link includes this warning…
Do not be fooled by any other CDs that purport to be the original soundtrack for this film – they are all bootlegs and contain dialogue, sound effects and music right off the film itself. This is the first release of the real deal.
… a warning that is easily confirmed.
The album Denro bought is also available as a new CD release.
https://lalalandrecords.com/its-a-wonderful-life-75th-anniversary-remastered-limited-edition/
The soundtrack is on Amazon as an MP3 for $9, so I bought that. I would have sprung for a CD copy, but the liner notes are available on the Kritzerland page.
This music cue is called “Love Sequence”. It reminds me of the music that Tiomkin composed for Capra’s Lost Horizon, produced ten years before It’s a Wonderful Life.
My favorite aspect of It’s a Wonderful Life is the contrast that’s drawn between Mary and Violet, who I see as the most interesting character in the movie. It’s easy to infer what Violet originally had in mind for her evening’s fun, before her attempt at seducing George, and it’s certainly intended for mature audiences. “We’ll wait for you, baby.”
I like Violet establishing her character in Mr. Gower’s store. ‘You like every boy.” BTW, the beautiful child actress who plays Mary looks exactly like Donna Reed as a child, IMHO.
The naughtiest Violet scene by far to me is when Vi swishes past George, Bert and Ernie in the cab. George: “Say, that’s some dress!’ Vi: “Oh, this old thing? I only wear it when I don’t care how I look.” It took me a few years to get the meaning of “How would you like to…? YES!”and Bert’s classic line: “I think I’ll head home. See what the wife’s doing.”
And of course, Amazon only sells that bad soundtrack. I’d get the good one but I don’t’ have PayPal. Had big problems with it years ago.