<P> Both James Stewart (from Indiana, Pennsylvania) and Donna Reed (from Denison, Iowa) came from small towns . Stewart's father ran a small hardware store where James worked for years . Reed demonstrated her rural roots by winning an impromptu bet with Lionel Barrymore when he challenged her to milk a cow on set . </P> <P> It's a Wonderful Life was shot at RKO Radio Pictures Studio in Culver City, California, and the 89 acre RKO movie ranch in Encino, where "Bedford Falls" consisted of Art Director Max Ree's Oscar - winning sets originally designed for the 1931 epic film Cimarron that covered 4 acres (1.6 ha), assembled from three separate parts, with a main street stretching 300 yards (three city blocks), with 75 stores and buildings, and a residential neighborhood . For It's a Wonderful Life Capra built a working bank set, added a tree - lined center parkway, and planted 20 full grown oak trees to existing sets . </P> <P> Pigeons, cats, and dogs were allowed to roam the mammoth set to give the "town" a lived - in feel . Due to the requirement to film in an "alternate universe" setting as well as during different seasons, the set was extremely adaptable . RKO created "chemical snow" for the film to avoid the need for dubbed dialogue when actors walked across an earlier movie snow that was made of crushed cornflakes . Filming started on April 15, 1946 and ended on July 27, 1946, exactly on deadline for the 90 - day principal photography schedule . </P> <P> RKO's movie ranch in Encino, a filming location of Bedford Falls, was razed in 1954 . There are only two surviving locations from the film . The first is the swimming pool that was unveiled during the famous dance scene where George courts Mary . It is located in the gymnasium at Beverly Hills High School and is still in operation as of 2013 . The second is the "Martini home" in La Cañada Flintridge, California . </P>

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