美国国家公共电台 NPR New York Village Says It's The Model For 'It's A Wonderful Life' Town

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: 

You know, movie lines have a way of rattling¹ around in your head. Movies like "Caddyshack" or "Airplane!" "Stop Calling Me Shirley..."

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: 

Shirley (laughter). Sorry.

INSKEEP: From the Frank Capra film "It's A Wonderful Life," there are many such lines.

MARTIN: Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.

INSKEEP: Or the Jimmy Stewart line, Mary, I want to live.

MARTIN: This is the 70th anniversary of the film about George Bailey and his guardian² angel. This morning, we traveled to Seneca Falls in upstate New York.

INSKEEP: People there believe their town inspired the movie and a holiday festival begins there today. Here's North Country Public Radio's Brian Mann.

BRIAN MANN, BYLINE³: Karolyn Grimes says the first time she came to Seneca Falls, she knew this was the place, the model for the fictional⁴ Bedford Falls.

KAROLYN GRIMES: I really believe this is what inspired Capra. It's got the canal. It's got names of the streets. It's got the Victorian houses. I mean, it's got it all.

MANN: When Grimes was 6 years old, director Frank Capra cast her in the role of Zuzu, George Bailey's little girl.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE")

GRIMES: (As Zuzu Bailey) Every time the bell rings, an angel gets his wings.

JIMMY STEWART: (As George Bailey) That's right. That's right. That a boy, Clarence.

MANN: Grimes says making the film was a joy. She loved the big Christmas tree and chasing around with the other kid actors, and she loved climbing on Jimmy Stewart.

GRIMES: He was 6 feet 4. I'm in his arms or on his back, and it was just really incredible to feel like you were in the sky kind of.

MANN: Grimes came back to Seneca Falls for this weekend's festival, and you can see why people here think the town is the model for the struggling mill town in the movie.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE")

STEWART: (As George Bailey) Merry Christmas, movie house. Merry Christmas, emporium.

MANN: When Jimmy Stewart runs down Bedford Falls' main street, it could be this main street - the little shops, the brick facades⁵, the snow. Local historian Chris Podzuweit says it's no accident. Capra visited Seneca Falls in the 1940s.

CHRIS PODZUWEIT: We even know he had his haircut here. It was the barber's 15 minutes of fame.

MANN: Podzuweit says the barber talked about Frank Capra walking through town, checking out local landmarks⁶. There are other clues. Capra's film includes mentions of geography that fits Seneca Falls perfectly⁷, including the nearby cities of Rochester and Buffalo⁸. There's also that famous bridge from the movie, the one where George Bailey goes on Christmas Eve where he thinks about taking his own life.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE")

STEWART: (As George Bailey) Help me, Clarence, please. Please. I want to live again. I want to live again.

MANN: Seneca Falls has a nearly identical steel bridge downtown with big metal girders stretching across the canal. Standing⁹ here on a raw, blustery December day, it is the spitting image of the one George stands on. Fran Caraccilo is a local guy who got hooked on this idea that there's a real connection between his town and the town in the movie.

FRAN CARACCILO: It's still nothing but a circumstantial case, but I think it's a very good circumstantial case.

MANN: Caraccilo opened a museum devoted¹⁰ to the film, and he's one of the founders¹¹ of this weekend's festival. The actress Karolyn Grimes says she thinks Capra had a reason for never naming Seneca Falls as his inspiration.

GRIMES: I don't think Capra wanted it mentioned. I think Capra wanted everyone to identify with their own community.

MANN: But for this weekend, Seneca Falls is Bedford Falls. As part of the festival, people here will recreate in loving detailed¹² the gala dinner held at the film's premiere in Los Angeles 70 years ago. Back then, Karolyn Grimes and the other child actors from the film were too young to attend. Now, they're the guests of honor. For NPR News, I'm Brian Mann.

1 rattling   

adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词

参考例句：

• This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
• At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时，一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来，把窗玻璃震得当当地响。

2 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

5 facades   

n.（房屋的）正面( facade的名词复数 )；假象，外观

参考例句：

• Terraces of asphalt are placed by the building's south and west facades. 沥青露台位于建筑的南面和西面。 来自互联网
• Preserving historic buildings or keeping only their facades (or fronts) grew common. 保存历史建筑或是保持它们普通的正面增长。 来自互联网

6 landmarks   

n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址）

参考例句：

• The book stands out as one of the notable landmarks in the progress of modern science. 这部著作是现代科学发展史上著名的里程碑之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The baby was one of the big landmarks in our relationship. 孩子的出世是我们俩关系中的一个重要转折点。 来自辞典例句

7 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

8 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

11 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

12 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。