12 Christmas Movies That Are Based On A True Story

Frank Capra's 1946 fantasy-drama "It's a Wonderful Life" is one of the quintessential holiday movies, thanks in part to annual December airings on television. The film delivers not only a heartwarming and life-affirming message about the value of each person's existence, but also a postcard-perfect snapshot of life in a small American town. For many years, the town of Seneca Falls, New York, has laid claim to the notion that they inspired Capra's vision for the film's idealized setting of Bedford Falls.

According to NPR, the town's historian, Chris Podzuweit, claimed that Capra visited the town in the 1940s and explored its many landmarks, including its main street and bridge, both of which resemble downtown Bedford Falls and the bridge where Jimmy Stewart's George Bailey has his darkest moment. The town has further linked its identity with that of Bedford Falls with an "It's a Wonderful Life" museum and annual festival devoted to the movie.

Some, like historian Jeanine Basinger, who curates the Frank Capra Archives at Wesleyan University, have questioned Seneca Falls' claim. "There is just not evidence to support it, but God bless them," she told the San Diego Union-Tribune. But others, like actress Karolyn Grimes, who played Zuzu Bailey in the film, are wholly on board with the idea. "It's got the canal, it's got the names of streets, it's got the Victorian houses – I mean, it's got it all," she told NPR.