WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Watching the# classic Christmas movie "It's## A Wonderful Life" is a beloved tradition# for millions.

Its director, Frank Capra,## always said his film was in part about# the beauty of life in small-town America.

One little town in Rhode Island believes it# was the inspiration for this holiday favorite.

Pamela Watts of Ocean State Media has that story.# It's part of our arts and culture series, Canvas.

JIMMY STEWART, Actor: Yes!

Hello,# Bedford Falls!

Merry Christmas!

PAMELA WATTS: The Christmas classic "It's# A Wonderful Life," starring Jimmy Stewart,## was filmed on a Hollywood set.

Seneca Falls,## New York, boasts it's the model# for the beloved movie small town.

ACTOR: Hey, George, don't# take any plugged nickels.

PAMELA WATTS: But whole the popcorn.

Could# Little Compton have also played a big role?

Town historian and native Marjory O'Toole## says clues of the connection are# sprinkled throughout the film.

Is it kind of a given that people# in Little Compton do believe that## they are really a part of "It's# A Wonderful Life," the movie?

MARJORY O'TOOLE, Little Compton Historical# Society: Oh, we're 100 percent in on that.

PAMELA WATTS: That certainty began here.# Hollywood husband and wife scriptwriting## team of Frances Goodrich and Albert# Hackett, who created the screenplay,## often vacationed at the Goodrich family cottage.

MARJORY O'TOOLE: Frances and Albert summered# on Bailey's Ledge in Little Compton,## on the Bailey family farm.

And so I think the fact# that they named their incredibly sympathetic main## character George Bailey is an absolute tie to this# summer home, summer community that they loved.

PAMELA WATTS: Need more proof?

In the church# cemetery on Little Compton's town common,## here lies George Bailey and nearby Mary Bailey.

JIMMY STEWART: Hey, Mary.

(SINGING) PAMELA WATTS: Go.. MARJORY O'TOOLE: The folks in Seneca Falls may# argue this, but Little Compton sits in between## two cities, New Bedford and Fall River.# And so I think the fact that the town in## the movie is called Bedford Falls is a direct# combination of the names of those two cities.

PAMELA WATTS: That may all seem a# coincidence until this scene in the movie.

ACTOR: You had me worried, one of# the oldest trees in Pottersville.

JIMMY STEWART: Pottersville?

PAMELA WATTS: There's actually a# Pottersville neigh.. MARJORY O'TOOLE: Today, it's a perfectly# beautiful little neighborhood in Little## Compton.

But 100 years ago, Pottersville was one# of the poorer neighborhoods in Little Compton,## where working-class people# would have lived and worked.

PAMELA WATTS: Senior digital producer Dan# Medeiros of The Herald News in South Coast,## Massachusetts, has traced# another local tie to the movie.

DAN MEDEIROS, Herald News: I found that someone# from "It's A Wonderful Life" was born in Fall## River.

And I thought, well, who could that be?# I know I have seen the movie a million times.

PAMELA WATTS: Don't blink.

The photo of the# pharmacist's deceased son is the headshot of actor## Glen Vernon.

Medeiros discovered Vernon wasn't# even credited in the movie, but he got paid.

DAN MEDEIROS: That actor from Fall# River was a part of it, a very,## very small part, but he is a part nonetheless.

PAMELA WATTS: At first, Vernon didn't# mention he was in "It's A Wonderful## Life," which flopped at the box office,# winning only one Oscar for special effects.

All the snow in the movie was made of soap# flakes, sugar, water, and fire extinguisher foam.

As for Vernon, was he ever like, I'm# the guy from "It's A Wonderful Life"?

DAN MEDEIROS: Well, kind of, yes.

He# would add that to his credit.

He would## become like a background actor or just# like bit parts.

He was in "Lassie."

He## was in an episode of "Columbo."

He's# in the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's."

PAMELA WATTS: Meantime, Goodrich and Hackett# would go on to write other screenplays,## including the "Thin Man" detective movies,## the characters Nick and Nora based on their# own witty and close marriage.

Eventually,## the couple won a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award# for their stage play "The Diary of Anne Frank."

And back in Little Compton... ACTRESS: Every time a bell# rings, an angel gets his wings.

PAMELA WATTS: Even if you're skeptical# about Little Compton being this## prototype for the story, is it a# wonderful life in Little Compton?

MARJORY O'TOOLE: Oh, it's always a# wonderful life in Little Compton.

ACTOR: To my big brother# George, the richest man in town.

(CHEERING) MARJORY O'TOOLE: Every time I watch the movie,# I keep my eyes open for additional con.. (SINGING) PAMELA WATTS: For the "PBS News Hour," I'm# Pamela Watts in Little Compton, Rhode Island.