It's a Wonderful Life: parents' guide

A grieving druggist slaps young George repeatedly, leaving his bad ear bleeding. Adult George is punched by an angry husband in a bar, later punches a policeman, and is shot at as he flees. In the world-without-George vision, several people have died off-screen.

Mild and old-fashioned: 'Sam Hill,' 'doggone it,' 'Joseph, Jesus and Mary' as an exclamation, and insults like 'idiot,' 'yokel,' and 'money-grubbing buzzard.' Nothing stronger is heard.

George and Mary share passionate kisses, and Violet flirts with George. Mary loses her robe and hides in a bush, with nothing shown. The nightmare version of the town has burlesque and strip-tease signs.

Characters smoke cigarettes, cigars, and pipes throughout. Uncle Billy is often drunk, a grieving pharmacist is drunk at work, and despairing George drinks heavily at a bar and then crashes his car.

George's breakdown is intense: he yells at his crying children, wrecks a room, and stands on a bridge ready to jump. The world-without-George sequence, where his own mother does not know him and a grave appears, is unsettling.