Clarence Odbody

Clarence Odbody, also spelled Clarence Oddbody, (born May 1653) is a guardian angel character in Frank Capra's 1946 film ''It's a Wonderful Life'', where he was portrayed by Henry Travers, and in the 1990 sequel, ''Clarence'', where he was played by Robert Carradine.

Odbody is loosely based on "a stranger" in Philip Van Doren Stern's 1943 short story ''The Greatest Gift''.

In 1977's ''It Happened One Christmas'', a remake of the 1946 film, a gender-reversed Clarence appeared as Clara Oddbody, played by Cloris Leachman. The 1986 musical '' A Wonderful Life'' features Odbody, who was played by David Hyde Pierce in its 2005 rendition.

In the 1946 film Odbody is the implied subject when, in the well-known quote, Zuzu Bailey (played by Karolyn Grimes) says "Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings."

Biography

In ''It's a Wonderful Life''

On Christmas Eve, 1945, George Bailey, a banker in the town of Bedford Falls facing financial ruin and disgrace, is contemplating committing suicide by jumping off a bridge into an icy river because the payout on his $15,000 life insurance policy would solve the problems confronting his business and family. Two celestial beings observe this, and decide to send an angel to save George. For this task, the only available angel is Clarence Odbody, an AS2 (Angel Second Class), who after 200 years has yet to win his wings. To prepare for this assignment, Clarence is shown several scenes from George's life that show some of his selfless acts. Sent to Earth, Clarence finds George standing on a bridge about to leap into the river. Before George can jump off, Clarence jumps in the water, which prompts George to dive in to rescue him.

Clarence introduces himself as they are drying out in the tollhouse keeper's shack (whereupon the tollboy flees in fright). George expresses a wish that he had never been born, and Clarence grants his wish to show George what the world would be like had George never existed. George discovers that his war-hero brother, Harry, had drowned in a frozen lake as a child, as George was not there to save him, and as a result, the soldiers Harry saved from two kamikaze planes died too. He sees that his old boss Emil Gower, the town druggist, served twenty years in prison for manslaughter since George was not around to prevent him from accidentally poisoning a child's prescription. George finds his wife Mary Hatch unmarried and childless. He sees that the town has been renamed "Pottersville" in honor of the wealthy but heartless Henry F. Potter, who appears to have taken over the town, turning it into a sleazy and dangerous place filled with whiskey joints, crime, pawnshops, violence, seedy entertainment establishments, and unhappy people with meaningless, amoral lives.

As George comes to realize the disaster that would befall all those he loves if he had not lived, he desperately desires to return to his life, even though it means he would be going to jail. George is then restored to his previous life, a life which he now enthusiastically embraces. He returns to his home, where all his family and friends are gathering to give George whatever is needed to make up for what Mr. Potter stole, culminating in an advance of $25,000 from his wealthy industrialist friend Sam Wainwright."AFI's Top 10", American Film Institute
/ref> Clarence gives George his copy of '' The Adventures of Tom Sawyer''. A bell on the family Christmas Tree rings, signifying that Clarence has finally won his wings.

In ''Clarence''

In the 1990 film ''Clarence'', in December 1989, Clarence again comes to Earth to assist a human, Rachel Logan, who is in need of his care. Asked to help her by a fellow angel, Logan's deceased husband, he assists her to again appreciate life and her children, and saves her from suicide by bringing her to heaven for a brief visit with her husband. During his time on Earth he also shows that he has the power to take on the looks of a human, in this case, Rachel's son Brent, whom he portrays so the boy doesn't get expelled from high school.

Quotes

* "Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives, and when he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?"
* "You see, George, you've really had a wonderful life. Don't you see what a mistake it would be to throw it away?"
* In the 1946 film Clarence tells Nick the bartender that his age is "two hundred and ninety three, uhh, next May".Dirks, Tim. ''It's A Wonderful Life'' (1946), American Movie Classics
/ref> In ''Clarence'', he reveals that he was born in Boston.
* After George Bailey's life is restored to him in the 1946 film, he runs through Bedford Falls and passes the Bijou movie theater. The theater marquee shows that the film that was playing on Christmas Eve in 1945 was ''The Bells of St. Mary's'', in which Henry Travers co-starred as Horace P. Bogardus.

2011 novel

''The Last Temptation of Clarence Odbody'' is a 2011 novel written by John Pierson which imagines the future lives of various ''It's a Wonderful Life'' characters if George had not survived his jump into the river.''The Last Temptation of Clarence Odbody''
amazon.com, Retrieved: May 6, 2012.

See also

* List of films about angels

References

External links

Reel Classics.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odbody, Clarence
Drama film characters
Fantasy film characters
Fictional angels
Film characters introduced in 1946
Male characters in film
Christmas characters