<P> H.B. Warner, who was cast as the drugstore owner Mr. Gower, actually studied medicine before going into acting . He was also in some of Capra's other films, including Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Lost Horizon, You Can't Take It with You, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington . In the silent era, he had played the role of Jesus Christ in Cecil B. DeMille's The King of Kings (1927). The name Gower came from Capra's employer Columbia Pictures, which had been located on Gower Street for many years . Also on Gower Street was a drugstore that was a favorite for the studio's employees . </P> <P> Charles Williams, who was cast as Eustace Bailey, and Mary Treen, who was cast as Matilda "Tilly" Bailey, were both B - list actors, as they both had appeared in 90 films each before filming It's a Wonderful Life . </P> <P> Jimmy the raven (Uncle Billy's pet) appeared in You Can't Take It with You and each subsequent Capra film . </P> <P> The original story "The Greatest Gift" was written by Philip Van Doren Stern in November 1939 . After being unsuccessful in getting the story published, he decided to make it into a Christmas card, and mailed 200 copies to family and friends in December 1943 . The story came to the attention of RKO producer David Hempstead, who showed it to Cary Grant's Hollywood agent, and in April 1944, RKO Pictures bought the rights to the story for $10,000, hoping to turn the story into a vehicle for Grant . RKO created three unsatisfactory scripts before shelving the planned movie, and Grant went on to make another Christmas movie staple, The Bishop's Wife . </P>

It's a wonderful life show me the way