It Happened One Christmas airwaves on an annual basis, the remake slipped into obscurity. The reviews were mixed. After its initial airing a "New York Times" follow-up article revealed that Frank Capra, the director of the 1946 film "It's A Wonderful Life", had denounced the remake as "plagiaristic." The ratings, however, were good enough that it was rebroadcast on ABC twice, in 1978 and 1979. But by that time the original "It's A Wonderful Life" had begun its resurgence on television and eventually eclipsed the remake. "It Happened One Christmas" is rarely shown today, and has not, as of 2017, been issued on DVD.
It Happened Here were former members of the British Union of Fascists, and similarly, German ex-servicemen portrayed SS and Wehrmacht soldiers and airmen. The key role of Pauline, a nurse evacuated from Salisbury to London, was played by Pauline Murray. The film was partially shot in Grim's Dyke. Though the cast was almost entirely amateur, "It Happened Here" helped to launch the career of its cinematographer, Peter Suschitzky, who went on to work on such films as "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and "The Empire Strikes Back". "It Happened Here" premiered in September 1964 at the Cork Film Festival and was shown one