The 1946 Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” has two St. Louis links. Frank Faylen, who portrayed cab driver Ernie Bishop, and Mary Treen, who played bank clerk Cousin Tilly, were from St. Louis. Both are St. Louis natives.
Frank Faylen was born in St. Louis on December 8, 1905, and his family had him in their plays. After attending St. Joseph's Preparatory College in Kirkwood, Missouri, Faylen returned to theater.
Ernie Bishop, George Bailey's chauffeur and cab driver, is played by Faylen. He frequently drives George about Bedford Falls.
Mary Treen was born in St. Louis on March 27, 1907. Early life was difficult for Mary Louise Summers, who lost her father young. Later in life, she moved to California significantly. She portrayed Cousin Tilly in “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
Cousin Tilly is briefly referenced during George and Mary's honeymoon.
George Bailey (James Stewart) wanted to leave Bedford Falls, New York, his hometown and travel the globe. His pals knew he wanted to travel when he was young and go to college. He saved for a global trip since high school.
Instead, he stays to run his father's firm following his death. George settles in Bedford Falls with his boyhood lover, Mary Hatch, who always adored him.
Mary, what do you want? Want the moon? “Just say the word, and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down,” says George Bailey from “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
When George's Uncle Billy loses the $8,000 he was meant to deposit, Henry Potter, the town's meanest and wealthiest man, gets it. George is panicking because his father's firm might close and he could be arrested for embezzlement.