It's A Wonderful Life

James Stewart on the Northern Rock crisis ... A tale for our times?

GEORGE: Hey what's going on, Uncle Billy? What's happened? All those people out there-

UNCLE BILLY: This is a pickle, George. All I know is the bank called our loan an hour ago. I had to hand over all our cash.

GEORGE: Holy mackerel!

UNCLE BILLY: Whole town's gone crazy- the bank's in the same spot we are!

GEORGE: Our charter too-

UNCLE BILLY: -What about our charter?

GEORGE: Our charter says we have to stay open till six pm. The state can take away our license if we don't!

UNCLE BILLY: How can we stay open till six without any money? George, where're you goin'??

GEORGE: Out to talk to those people. C'mon!

SFX: DOOR OPENS/CROWD NOISE

CROWD: (ad-libs)George, where's our money?

GEORGE: Now listen, folks! Just a minute, please!!

TOM: How about our money, George? Where's our money?

GEORGE: Wait a minute, now! Listen to me! Now you're thinking of this place all wrong. Your money's not here!

CROWD: (ad-libs) What?

GEORGE: Your money's in people's houses! In the Kennedy house, and the Mclarin house, and your house, and a hundred others. Now what are you going to do -- Foreclose on them?!?

TOM: I got two hundred and forty dollars in shares. Now lemme have it!

GEORGE: All right, all right Charlie. You'll get your money in sixty days.

TOM/CROWD: (ad-libs) Sixty days?!?

GEORGE: Now look that's what you agreed on when you bought your shares.

RANDALL: (coming up to mike) I got my money! Old Man Potter's taken over the bank!! He'll pay you fifty cents on every dollar!!!

CROWD: (ad-libs) Fifty cents on the dollar?!?

TOM: (to CROWD) Let's take our shares to Potter! Half is better than nothing!!!

GEORGE: Wait a minute, wait a minute, please folks! I beg of you not to do this. If Potter gets hold of your shares he'll be owning this building and loan. He's got the bank. He's got the bus line. He's got the department stores. And now he's after us because he wants to keep you living in his shacks and paying the kind of rent he decides to charge. Now, we can get through this thing all right, but we've got to stick together! We've got to have faith in each other!

MRS. THOMPSON: My husband's out of work! We need money!

ANGRY MAN: I got doctor bills to pay!

WORRIED WOMAN: I can't feed my kids on faith!

CROWD: (ad-libbing) Me too! What about that George!?!

MARY: How much do you need? We've still got some money!

GEORGE: Hey Mary!

MARY: Here it is, George! You told me to hold on to it. Would have made a nice honeymoon -- bought furniture, too!

GEORGE: Wait a minute, folks! Listen, I got two thousand dollars! All right, Charlie, how much do you need?

TOM: (doggedly) Two hundred and forty dollars.

GEORGE: (pleading) Now, Tom, just enough to tide you over!

TOM: I said two hundred and forty dollars!

GEORGE: Okay, okay. Uncle Billy give Tom, two hundred and forty dollars. All right Ed, how much just to get by?

ED: Twenty dollars, I suppose.

GEORGE: Now you're talking! Mrs. Thompson, how about you?

MRS. THOMPSON: Twenty dollars will do me.

GEORGE: (counting it out) Good, twenty dollars. Uncle Billy? Pay it back when you can now. All right, all right who's next?

MFX: EXCITED

UNCLE BILLY (excitedly): Look at the clock! Look!!!

GEORGE: (counting) Five seconds... four seconds... three... two... one... six o'clock, we made it! Lock that door Eustace, quick! Boy, we're still in business, Uncle Billy! We even got two bucks left!!

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Source: Generic Radio Workshop Script Library