Mister Potter

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sprocketboy

sprocketboy

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Following a Family Tradition, I watched It's a Wonderful Life with me Mum on Amazon Prime tonight.


I noticed some strange things about the scene where Mister Potter offers George Bailey a Lucrative Job:


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QzX5cGKN6Eg" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>


For one thing, if you watch the full scene, you will see that Mister Potter has some weird silver paraphernalia on his desk. On one hand, I think all that silver stuff is used by fancy cigar smokers, but what is it with that silver skull, and that spoon that is suspended over a candle? Was Mister Potter nothing but a high-end Goth Junkie?


Also (and you can see this in the clip above), whenever they show the scene from behind Mister Potter (George Bailey's face), the two pencils on the desk are more or less parallel to each other. When they switch views to where Mister Potter's face is shown, one of the pencils is laying on top of the other, and both make about a 30-degree angle with each other.


Was this just a gaffe that Capra made in filming and editing, or was he trying to send a subtle message that George Bailey is on the straight-and-narrow, but Mister Potter is crooked? :huh:
 
sprocketboy said:
Following a Family Tradition, I watched It's a Wonderful Life with me Mum on Amazon Prime tonight.


I noticed some strange things about the scene where Mister Potter offers George Bailey a Lucrative Job:


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QzX5cGKN6Eg" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>


For one thing, if you watch the full scene, you will see that Mister Potter has some weird silver paraphernalia on his desk. On one hand, I think all that silver stuff is used by fancy cigar smokers, but what is it with that silver skull, and that spoon that is suspended over a candle? Was Mister Potter nothing but a high-end Goth Junkie?


Also (and you can see this in the clip above), whenever they show the scene from behind Mister Potter (George Bailey's face), the two pencils on the desk are more or less parallel to each other. When they switch views to where Mister Potter's face is shown, one of the pencils is laying on top of the other, and both make about a 30-degree angle with each other.


Was this just a gaffe that Capra made in filming and editing, or was he trying to send a subtle message that George Bailey is on the straight-and-narrow, but Mister Potter is crooked? :huh:
Click to expand...

This scene plays on the fears at the time that Potter was a member of a clandestine, anti-government organization.
 
bideau said:
Potter is code for Rockefeller.
Click to expand...


Hmmmm ... they do mention the Rockefellers by name in the "avoided bank run" scene, at the end when they close the B&L with two dollars left in the safe ... :huh:
 
I live the movie but on principle I've always had a problem with it.

If George was never born Potterville would be capitalist paradise with casinos, department stores, hotels etc. Bright lights.



Sent from my SM-S367VL using Tapatalk
 
johnlocke said:
I live the movie but on principle I've always had a problem with it.

If George was never born Potterville would be capitalist paradise with casinos, department stores, hotels etc. Bright lights.

Sent from my SM-S367VL using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


Violet would be the same girl either way.


Not that there's anything wrong with that ...
 
I missed this, but my big take away from this scene was how George turned down a job that paid the equivalent of 500K a year in today's dollars. Which one of you wants to go home and tell your wife you turned down something like that?
 
O.Z.O. said:
I missed this, but my big take away from this scene was how George turned down a job that paid the equivalent of 500K a year in today's dollars. Which one of you wants to go home and tell your wife you turned down something like that?
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It's extra dumb because even if working for Potter, he could have kept the Building and Loan secretly propped up with a small part of his take-home pay. Use the bad guy's resources against him.
 
OJ's Glove said:
It's extra dumb because even if working for Potter, he could have kept the Building and Loan secretly propped up with a small part of his take-home pay. Use the bad guy's resources against him.
Click to expand...


I've been reading Machiavelli, and his Prince would have been proud.:clap:
 
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