This essay by Wendell Jameson is an entertaining view of the darker side of It's A Wonderful Life. For example:
I mean, if someone robs a bank, and then gives the money back, that person still robbed the bank, right?
I checked my theory with Frank J. Clark, the district attorney for Erie County upstate, where, as far as I can tell, the fictional Bedford Falls is set. He thought it over, and then agreed: George would still face prosecution and possible prison time.
As a teenager, Jameson recalls that Pottersville seemed more fun that Bedford Falls. As a kid, maybe Pottersville seemed awesome. But as an adult, it really strikes me as nightmarishly accurate. Manufacturing is gone, so thousands of small towns have evolved into Pottersville -- festooned with pawn brokers, casinos and corporate mega-stores -- that is, if the towns haven't been totally bypassed and crushed. Another series of posts for another day.
Dark or not, I still love this film. Several years away from it definitely helped, too.