In a key scene in the classic Frank Capra film “It’s a Wonderful Life,” George Bailey (played by a noble, sincere James Stewart), faced with a run on his family-owned bank instigated by the evil, grasping Old Man Potter (played by a sneering Lionel Barrymore), tries to convince his friends and neighbors that their money is safe, even though he cannot meet their demands of mass withdrawals. He tries to explain that “the money isn’t here in the safe,” but has allowed the citizens of Bedford Falls to build homes and finance their needs at a reasonable price. If Potter is allowed to take over the bank, he warns, “There will never be another decent home built in this town.”
At first, he gets nowhere. The deposits are not insured and those who have mobbed the bank, although they like George personally, are terrified the bank will run out of money and they will be left with nothing. George, pleading with them to listen, is forced to pay out cash to a couple of the depositors who remain unmoved. But soon his pleas begin to sway the men and women he has known all his life and who have been doing business with the bank since his father began it. The demand for withdrawals ceases, the bank is saved, and Potter is foiled.
In the end, there was only one thing that could have convinced the frightened, skeptical townsfolk to change their minds.
