70th Anniversary of Film, It’s a Wonderful Life – Elmbridge BC Lecture in Weybridge

Despite being a box office disaster on its release and the film that  signalled the demise of the career of one of the pioneers of cinema, how did a film, which one critic called a ‘turkey dinner,’ go on to be named the 7th best film in Channel 4’s poll of the ‘100 Greatest Films Ever Made’?

Former Elmbridge Arts Development Officer and current Director of The R C Sherriff Trust, Pete Allen, celebrates the 70th anniversary of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’, a film that has become as much as part of Christmas as mince pies and mistletoe.

Edgar Royston Pike, formerly Chairman of the Esher Council, introduced the ‘Esher Library Lectures’ in the late sixties. In 1974, Elmbridge Borough Council changed the title of these lectures to the ‘Royston Pike Lectures’ in appreciation of his 20 years’ work on the Library Committee.
Now in their 42nd year the Royston Pike Lecture Series continues to attract audiences with its eclectic mix of subjects and speakers and the current series hopes to continue on the legacy set by its founder. This season will see the lectures held in several new Elmbridge venues as well as some old familiar ones.