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'It was probably the strongest picture I made': How Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life became a Christmas classic

Released in 1946, Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life was derided as an "over-sentimental" Christmas yarn, but its bold exploration of mental health issues resonates today.

James Stewart stars as George Bailey, a savings and loans manager who contemplates taking his own life until an angel shows him a vision of how much worse off his town and his loved ones would be if he had never been born. Mary Hatch Bailey (Donna Reed), George's childhood sweetheart and devoted wife, also reflects the role expected of her at the time, in that she largely acts according to traditional views of womanhood. George's doubts about his own self-worth, given authenticity by Stewart's portrayal, resonate in today's world with its ongoing challenges related to mental health, economic hardship and societal pressures.

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