This was Irving Thalberg's last project while head of production at MGM. At the time of his death in 1936, the film was in the planning stages, but his widow, Norma Shearer, took special interest in the film and stuck with it to its completion in 1938.
This was reported to have been the first time a film crew was allowed to film on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles.
As for the charming little town of Bedford Falls (the home town of Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed), in "It's a Wonderful Life", alas, it was a temporary town set built for the movie in the San Fernando Valley. The area was part of RKO's movie ranch at the time. The "Bedford Falls" set was torn down soon after the filming ended in 1946, and the area was sold to developers in the early 1950's and built in with nondescript track homes. The land is in the city of Encino, just west of the San Diego (405) Freeway, on Burbank Blvd, between Louise Avenue and the Balboa Sports Center park. But all you'll find there now are modern residential homes.
There is a key scene in that film where Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed are dancing the Charleston at the "Bedford Falls High School" prom, when suddenly the gym floor slides open, plunging the dancers into a swimming pool. (Later, when walking home, wearing a bathrobe, Donna gets stuck in the bushes without any clothes on.) That dance scene was filmed using an actual covered swimming pool in the gym at Beverly Hills High School (241 Moreno Drive) near Century City. The gym is located on the south side of the campus, near the high school's track.
You'll remember from the classic film, that George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) defies the man who owns most of Bedford Falls (the dastardly 'Mr. Potter') and uses his father's savings & loan to help build affordable housing for working families. The bright new neighborhood is called Bailey Park, in honor of George's late father. In the movie, we see Mr. Martini's family move into the first model home, with much celebrating. Later, during George's world-changing angelic encounter, Bailey Park ceases to exist, because he wasn't there to build it. (The neighborhood returns when Clarence restores his past.) Well, that model home was just that - a real model home - but it was far away from the rest of "Bedford Falls" (see above). Frank Capra, in an interview year later, couldn't even remember where he filmed the scene, only that it was out in the middle of nowhere at the time. Well, today it's actually in the city of La Ca?ada Flintridge, CA (the home of Descanso Gardens), just northwest of