Film Book Launch: Every Time a Bell Rings

Authors Emily St James and Lauren Theisen discuss the making and impact of It's a Wonderful Life, as detailed in their new book.
About this Event

Join us for the launch of Every Time a Bell Rings: The Legacy of It's a Wonderful Life, America's Most Beloved Holiday Film with authors Emily St James and Lauren Theisen!

This fondly nostalgic cultural history of It's a Wonderful Life celebrates the beloved holiday film's actors and creators, its unexpected journey from public domain to holiday classic, and what its enduring legacy reveals about America.

St James and Theisen will discuss their work with film critic Darren Franich.

About the book:

An indelible time capsule into the 1940s, It’s a Wonderful Life remains a cornerstone of peak American film, and one of the greatest pieces of media that America has ever written about itself. At a time when popular art was grappling with a picturesque vision of the American Dream, It's a Wonderful Life explored both its enduring qualities and hard edges, making it an exemplary piece of the post-World War II cultural zeitgeist.

Today, when view the film through the prism of its origins, It's a Wonderful Life becomes something much more poignant, a holiday classic that casts a hopeful eye toward the future. At nearly 80 years old, the film serves as a message in a bottle from 1946, and an important relic of the golden age of film. Journalists Emily St. James and Lauren Theisen offer the definitive story of It's a Wonderful Life, from its creation to its everlasting echoes today.

About the participants:

Emily St. James is a writer and cultural critic. During her journalism career, she served as the critic-at-large for Vox and the first TV editor of the A.V. Club. Her work has also appeared in the New York Times, Vanity Fair, and Vulture. She is the co-author of Monsters of the Week: The Complete Critical Companion to The X-Files. Her debut novel, Woodworking, was longlisted for the 2025 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. She lives in Los Angeles.

Lauren Theisen is a journalist and editor with Defector Media.

Darren Franich is a movie critic who writes The Draftland Scene on Substack. His work has also appeared in The Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Weekly, and The Ankler.