The Greatest Gift facts for kids

The Greatest Gift is a short story written by Philip Van Doren Stern in 1943. It was inspired by the famous book A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. This story later became the basis for the well-known movie It's a Wonderful Life, released in 1946.

Philip Van Doren Stern first printed the story himself as a small booklet in 1943. It was then officially published as a book in 1944. The movie based on this story was nominated for five Oscars. It is also recognized by the American Film Institute as one of the 100 best American films ever made. It was ranked number 11 on their list of greatest movies in 1998. It was also named the most inspiring American film of all time.

What Happens in the Story?

This section tells you about the main events in The Greatest Gift.

George Pratt's Christmas Eve Wish

The story begins on Christmas Eve with a man named George Pratt. He feels very unhappy with his life. George stands on a bridge, thinking about jumping off. A strange man approaches him. This man is dressed oddly but is very polite. He carries a bag.

The man starts talking to George. George tells him that he wishes he had never been born. The strange man tells George that his wish has come true. He says George was never born at all. The man gives George his bag. He tells George to pretend to be a door-to-door brush salesman if anyone talks to him.

A World Without George

George returns to his hometown. He quickly discovers that no one knows who he is. His friends have taken different paths in life. Many of their lives are worse because George was not there. For example, George's younger brother had drowned. George had saved him in the original timeline. But without George, his brother died.

George finds the woman he knows as his wife. She is now married to someone else. He tries to give her a free brush. But her husband makes him leave their house. Their son pretends to shoot George with a toy gun. He shouts, "You're dead. Why won't you die?"

Learning a Valuable Lesson

George goes back to the bridge and finds the strange man. He asks the man questions. The man explains that George already had the greatest gift of all: the gift of life. George understands this important lesson. He begs the man to give him his life back. The man agrees.

George returns home. He finds everything is back to normal. He hugs his wife. He tells her he thought he had lost her. She is confused by what he says. As he is about to explain, his hand touches a brush on the sofa. George knows it is the same brush he had tried to give her earlier.

Who are the Characters?

Here are the main characters in The Greatest Gift:

• George Pratt: The main character who wishes he had never been born.
• The Stranger: A mysterious man who grants George's wish. He is never fully identified.
• Mary Thatcher: George's wife in his original life.
• James 'Jim' Silva: The owner of a real estate company. He sells the bank in the timeline where George was never born.
• Arthur 'Art' Jenkins: Mary's husband in the timeline where George was never born.
• Pa Pratt: George's father.
• Ma Pratt: George's mother.
• Harry Pratt: George's brother. George saved his life in the original story.
• Brownie: Pa and Ma's bulldog.
• Marty Jenkins: Arthur's brother. He is a thief who stole money from the bank in the alternate timeline.
• Hank Biddle: The owner of a maple tree. George crashed his car into this tree in the original story.

How the Story Was Made

This section explains how The Greatest Gift came to be.

Writing and Publishing the Story

Philip Van Doren Stern finished his 4,100-word short story in 1943. He had been working on it since November 1939. He could not find a publisher for his story. So, in December 1943, he printed 200 copies himself. He sent these 21-page booklets to his friends as Christmas presents.

The story caught the attention of David Hempstead, a producer at RKO Pictures. He showed it to the actor Cary Grant. Grant was interested in playing the main role. RKO bought the rights to make the story into a movie for $10,000 in April 1944. Several writers worked on movie versions. Then, in 1945, RKO sold the rights to Frank Capra's movie company for the same $10,000. Capra then turned it into the movie It's a Wonderful Life.

The story was first published as a book in December 1944. It included drawings by Rafaello Busoni. Stern also sold the story to Reader's Scope magazine. They published it in their December 1944 issue. It was also published in Good Housekeeping magazine. They called it The Man Who Was Never Born in their January 1945 issue. This issue came out in December 1944.

Copyright Information

According to the American Film Institute and Turner Classic Movies, Stern did not officially copyright the story until 1945. This was when he sold the movie rights. Stern renewed the copyright in 1971. This was 28 years after the first booklets were printed in December 1943. Republic Pictures has used this later copyright on the original story. This helps them keep an indirect copyright on It's a Wonderful Life. The movie's own copyright had ended in 1975.

The Movie Version

This section talks about how The Greatest Gift became the movie It's a Wonderful Life.

From Story to Screenplay

Frank Capra, a famous director, read "The Greatest Gift." He immediately saw that it would make a great movie. In 1945, RKO, which wanted to sell the project, sold the rights to Capra's company, Liberty Films. They sold it for $10,000. They also gave him three script ideas for free. Capra later said the script was bought for $50,000.

Capra worked with writers Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. Other writers like Jo Swerling, Michael Wilson, and Dorothy Parker helped make the script even better. They turned the story into a screenplay that Capra renamed It's a Wonderful Life. The script changed many times before and during filming. The final screenplay credit went to Goodrich, Hackett, and Capra. Jo Swerling was credited for "additional scenes."

Characters in the Film

In the movie, the main character was renamed George Bailey. He was played by James Stewart. The strange man from the story became an angel named Clarence Odbody. He was played by Henry Travers. George's wife was renamed Mary Hatch and played by Donna Reed.

Some characters in the movie kept names from the story. However, their personalities or roles were often different. For example, Mr. Potter owned a photography studio in the story. But in the movie, he was a mean banker. In the movie, if George was never born, Mary never gets married. But in the story, she marries a man named Art Jenkins.