Donna Reed’s Daughter Reveals Jimmy Stewart’s Shocking ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Betrayal: ‘He Never Apologized’ (Exclusive)

Donna Reed’s daughter, Mary Ann Owen, has learned to expect that, come the holidays, the phone will ring with another request to talk about Frank Capra’s 1946 tale of George Bailey and Bedford Falls, It’s a Wonderful Life. For Owen, whose mother played Mary Bailey, the annual tradition of talking about the film hasn’t grown old.

“I only do it mostly at Christmas time,” she said. “And it’s incredible to see how audiences have changed over the years. There are so many kids now in their twenties—the majority of the audience now—and that’s just incredible. Then you’ve got older people bringing their children and little kids. It’s a whole ritual now. I enjoy it.”

She admits she once thought younger viewers wouldn’t embrace it unless they’d been “forced” to watch with their parents, but the movie’s emotional arc seems to transcend generations. “Somehow, I think the movie’s almost like going to church for people who probably don’t go to church,” she said. “It really takes you on quite a path. It’s funny, but also… that ending—it’s happy-sad. If you don’t cry at that ending, boy, there’s something wrong.”

Why ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ was so groundbreaking

She’s right. For years, when the movie was in the public domain and aired constantly on multiple stations, you could tune in anywhere in the film, watch the final scenes and find yourself in tears again. “If you really pay attention,” Owen added, “there are Black people in the background in that group at the end… It’s subtle, but important. Unless you’re looking for it, you might not necessarily see that.” For a film made in the 1940s, these moments were quietly progressive, reflecting a step toward inclusion in an era when Black actors were often overlooked or relegated to stereotypes. “But it’s a nearly flawless movie. It really is so good.”

Insecurity on the set of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’

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Behind the scenes, though, her mother’s experience making the movie wasn’t as idyllic, especially in the aftermath when the film originally failed to connect with the audience at the box office. “Capra and Jimmy Stewart had this whole success together before World War II with Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and all of that,” she noted. “Everyone participated in the war effort, but especially those two and they were gone from Hollywood for four or five years. There was a lot of insecurity on the set because Jimmy Stewart wasn’t sure if he wanted to act anymore. He thought it was too frivolous, but Lionel Barrymore and others talked him into it.”

Why Donna Reed was blamed for the movie’s box office failure

“Again, there was this insecurity on the set,” she adds, “and mom was really not that well known. I mean, she was only 25 and I think she signed her MGM contract at 21. Jimmy Stewart didn’t understand why the movie didn’t do well, but that’s why they never did another movie together. He blamed her because she wasn’t as well-known. She was quite happy when it came out. I mean, she passed away in ’86, but by the early ‘80s it was on constantly. We always watched at Christmas and she was so happy that it was so popular.”

For anyone wondering if Stewart ever acknowledged or apologized for his response, the answer is no. “He came to her funeral,” Mary Ann said, “so I have to cut him some slack. I’m sure he realized later that he’d been wrong. But he never apologized, never said anything. And believe me, my mother never said a word. She was quiet about it. But I don’t have to be.”