25. THE FILM’S ENDURING LEGACY SURPRISED CAPRA THE MOST.

Of the film’s classic status, Capra noted: “It’s the damnedest thing I’ve ever seen. The film has a life of its own now and I can look at it like I had nothing to do with it. I’m like a parent whose kid grows up to be president. I’m proud… but it’s the kid who did the work. I didn’t even think of it as a Christmas story when I first ran across it. I just liked the idea.”