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It's
a Wonderful Life  Alfalfa mopes after being dumped by Mary (Donna Reed) Here's a trivia question for you: Which actor in this classic Holiday film played the character responsible for spitefully pushing the button that opened up a retractable gymnasium floor, revealing a swimming pool into which all the fully-clothed attendees wind up jumping? Alfalfa, of course. "It's a Wonderful Life" contains what is certainly Alfalfa's most well-known post-Rascals appearance. A generation of Little Rascals fans, before his complete filmography became more publicized thanks to sources such as the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), probably assumed that this was Alfalfa's only non-Rascals film role, since most of his other appearances were in films not generally broadcast on TV or widely available on video (with a few exceptions, of course, most notably The Defiant Ones).  Above and below: Our hero reacts to his flirtation with Mary (Donna Reed) being interrupted by Jimmy Stewart.  Volumes have been written about this classic film that has developed into a popular Holiday film and up until just recently was shown repeatedly between Thanksgiving and New Years on every conceivable network (in both "classic" black and white and the new colorized version). Alfalfa's appearance takes place early in the film in what soon evolved into the dance/ gymnasium/ swimming pool scene. He is first heard bragging off-screen to Mary (Donna Reed) about his athletic prowess (apparently not having learned his lesson from Pigskin Palooka) as George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) makes his way over to ask Mary Hatch to dance in order to humor Mary's older brother. Alfalfa [to Mary, who is not exactly listening with rapt attention]: ...the next thing I know, some guy came up and tripped me. That's why I came in fourth. If it hadn't been for that, that race would have been a cinch. I tried to find out who it was later, but I couldn't find out. Nobody'd ever...ever tell ya' who it was, 'cause they'd be scared. They know what kind of a guy I am. At this point, George approaches Mary, who is immediately smitten at spotting the man on whom she's had a crush since childhood. Alfalfa:
Now to get back to my story, see.. [George starts leading Mary to
the dance floor, and Mary hands her drink to Alfalfa] Hey, this
is my dance!
Above and below: Alfalfa is lured into some mischief...
Everyone has their favorite scene from this beloved film. Ours (other than the one Alfalfa is in, of course). is the scene where George, at his mother's urging, calls on Mary, just returned from school. While at Mary's house, Sam Wainwright, Mary's sort-of boyfriend, calls from New York. George and Mary listen together on the phone to hear what their mutual friend has to say, but both lose interest as they are drawn to each other slowly, almost imperceptibly. Keep an eye on Donna Reed in this scene; her largely wordless performance, as she is distractedly listening to the phone with her face inches from Stewart's, is astonishing.
Reed, who in our opinion was one of Hollywood's most overlooked talents and beauties, also appeared in The Human Comedy, the film adaptation of William Saroyan's novel in which Alfalfa appeared as Auggie, who leads his pals on an apricot-stealing mission.
Beulah Bondi, who played Jimmy Stewart's kindly mother in "It's a Wonderful Life" appeared nine years later as another matriarch (albeit much less kindly) in Track of the Cat, the film that featured Alfalfa as a centenarian Native American. Dick Elliott, who played Marianne Edwards' father in Alfalfa's third Little Rascals episode Sprucin' Up, appears in "Wonderful Life" as the porch-sitter who overhears George and Mary flirting on the street below and urges George to quit delaying the obvious and kiss Mary (a kiss that never takes place. Remember why? Answer below...) Elliott also appeared as a scoutmaster in Alfalfa's non-Rascals film Together Again, starring William Powell.
Two years after "Wonderful Life", Jimmy Stewart appeared in another film with Alfalfa called On Our Merry Way. Alfalfa had much more screen time with Stewart in this movie (as well as with Henry Fonda).
Answer to question above: George doesn't get a chance to kiss Mary because his brother drives up just at the same moment to tell George his father has suffered a stroke. |
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