John Wayne Movie: ****Trouble Along the Way (1953)

 This is a very cute movie with with the relationship between father Steve Williams (John Wayne) and his daughter Carol (Sherry Jackson).  Enter a third party, social worker Alice Singleton (Donna Reed) who is investigating at the insistence of the ex-wife (Marie Windsor) who has been away for five years.  At the same time Williams is hired to coach football by Father Burke (Charles Coburn) for Saint Anthony's.  They have never been good at football, but need to do something as they school is facing closure if they can't make some money.  Williams turns the team around by having an older group of freshman play who are really coal miners or down on their luck otherwise.  He recruits a player who played a professional game in Canada.  This all turns around on him after his first game and his ex reports the players.  It also seems he will lose his daughter to his ex-wife.  The court hearing doesn't turn out as expected, and everything is up in the air in the end.  Except perhaps a budding relationship between the social worker and the father.

Christmas Movie Review: *****It's a Wonderful Life:

This is a movie for annual consumption.  I watch it every year.  This year as i watched I realized something I had never noticed before.  This movie is about the power of prayer.  It starts with the petitions of people of Bedford Falls to Heavenly Father on behalf of George Bailey (James Stewart), the manager of the Savings and Loan.  He is in trouble as they have misplaced $8000 and the bank examiner is visiting.  The miserly and mean Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore) has sworn out a warrant for his arrest, while he knows where the money is as it fell into his hands by accident, and instead of doing the right thing is trying to destroy the Savings and Loan so he can control the entire town.  My favorite part is when George's brother calls him the richest man in town.  It is very emotional. is the richest man in the world.  That line chokes me up for some reason. . 
On another level this movie is about those whose live circumstance may bring them to the brink of suicide, and about those who love them intervening, rather than letting it happen.  His wife (Donna Reed) intervenes rather than being passive, and many of George's friends also intervene.  And of course Clarence, (Henry Travers) the angel intervenes.  This is a Frank Capra, and on of the best Christmas movies ever made.  Nominated for five Oscar awards, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Movie.  Stewart should have won.