It Happened One Christmas

It's Christmas Eve 1944 in the small town of Bedford Falls, New York. A despondent and suicidal Mary Bailey Hatch is praying for guidance on what to do about an incident no fault of her own... See full summary »

It Happened One Christmas is a 1977 made-for-television movie starring Marlo Thomas and Wayne Rogers.

The film, a gender-reversal remake of the classic It's a Wonderful Life, centers on Mary Bailey Hatch, a young woman who dreams of seeing the world but is forced by circumstances to remain in her small hometown as head of the family's Building & Loan business. In a moment of financial crisis, a severely depressed Mary contemplates suicide but is rescued by her guardian angel, Clara Oddbody, who shows her the positive effect she's had on everyone she's met throughout her life.

The film had its premiere on Sunday, December 11, 1977, and was one of the very rare instances when the ABC Sunday Night Movie showcased a made-for-television film rather than one that had been shown in theaters. It was successful enough to be re-broadcast in 1978, but by that time, the original It's A Wonderful Life had begun its "resurgence" on television, and eventually displaced It Happened One Christmas.