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Dig A Hole: Bob Anderson, young George Bailey in IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE

June 9th, 2008 by Scott Marks

H. B. Warner and Bobbie Anderson in It’s a Wonderful Life

The image of a drunken Mr. Gower repeatedly striking young George Bailey hard enough so the boy’s ear bleeds is one of Hollywood’s most graphic pre-MPAA depictions of child abuse ever filmed. No one who has seen It’s a Wonderful Life (and that means just about everyone) will ever forget it.

Bob Anderson, who played the young Bailey in the Christmas classic, died June 6 of cancer in Palm Springs, California. He was 75.

Anderson grew up surrounded by Hollywood professionals…for the most part. His father Gene was an assistant director and later a production manager and his brothers and cousins were editors and production managers. He also had a pair of uncles that were directors. I haven’t seen enough James Flood features, but The Mouthpiece was a very strong letter of introduction.

Also hanging on the family tree, presumably by his tail, is Uncle William “One Shot” Beaudine, affectionately nicknamed for the fact that he never shot retakes even when necessary. I didn’t have to research his name to recall such mangled masterworks as Bela Lugosi Meets A Brooklyn Gorilla, Billy the Kid versus Dracula and too many Bowery Boys films to list, an indication that I’ve probably endured too many of Beaudine’s celluloid monstrosities.

Anderson got his big break when relatives arranged for him to appear in a movie scene that called for a baby. His first prominent role came at the age of seven opposite Shirley Temple in Young People. He also appeared with Cary Grant in another Christmas favorite, The Bishop’s Wife as well as landing roles in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Edgar G. Ulmer’s classic Ruthless, A Place in the Sun and Samson and Delilah. His last acting role was 1956 in the TV series The Further Adventures of Spin and Marty.

In a 1996 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Anderson spoke about the It’s a Wonderful Life bloody-ear scene. H. B. Warner was never more a method actor than on the day of shooting and according to Anderson’s wife Victoria was “pretty ripe.” Victoria Anderson said.

“He actually bloodied my ear,” Bob Anderson told the paper. “My ear was beat up and my face was red, and I was in tears.”

“At the end when it was all over, he (Warner) was very lovable. He grabbed me and hugged me, and he meant it,” Anderson said.

Around the time Anderson should have transitioned from ingenue to leading man, he enlisted in the Navy to fight in Korea. After the war, Anderson spent four decades in the movie industry working steadily as a second assistant director and/or production manager for movies and TV shows.

Links:
Scott Marks talks about It’s A Wonderful Life on KPBS-Radio’s Film Club
It’s A Wonderful Life photos

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Filed Under Obituaries

How the Jews Spend Christmas

December 25th, 2007 by Scott Marks

hanukkah-gelt.jpg

When I was in my teens, Timmy Murphy asked, “You know what my uncle says Jews do on Christmas day?” I hadn’t heard this one, yet. “No, my ruddy-faced only goyish kid on an all-Jewish block,” I thought. “What does your hard-drinking Uncle Roy say the Jews do on Christmas day?” Timmy smiled, threw out his chest and snarled. “They stay home and count their money.” No, Timmy. We put dead trees in our living rooms, life-sized illuminated Sear’s Santas on our front lawns, drink boilermakers to commemorate the birth of our Lord and Savior and pay retail for the gifts.

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