The Clarence Quote in It’s a Wonderful Life: “No Man Is a Failure Who Has Friends”
The Clarence quote most people mean is the note he leaves for George Bailey at the end of It’s a Wonderful Life (1946): “Remember no man is a failure who has friends.” Clarence Odbody, George’s guardian angel, writes it inside his copy of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and George finds the book on top of the money his friends have collected to save him.
Clarence is played by Henry Travers. Below are the exact wording of the inscription, the scene it comes from, and Clarence’s other lines with their context.
The exact wording of the inscription
The note in the book reads:
“Dear George: Remember no man is a failure who has friends. Thanks for the wings! Love, Clarence”
Punctuation varies between transcripts. Many people quote it as “Remember, George: no man is a failure who has friends,” which moves George’s name but keeps the line itself intact.
The scene behind the quote
On Christmas Eve, George’s absent-minded Uncle Billy loses $8,000 of the Building and Loan’s money, and George faces ruin and jail. He ends up on a bridge, ready to give up.
Clarence, who has waited more than 200 years to earn his wings, is sent down to help. He shows George what Bedford Falls would look like if he had never been born. His brother Harry drowned as a boy, the town is called Pottersville, and the people George loves are worse off.
George begs to go back. When he gets home, the town turns up with donations to cover the missing money. Harry raises a toast “to my big brother, George. The richest man in town!” and George finds Clarence’s book on the pile with the inscription inside.
Then a bell on the Christmas tree rings, and his daughter Zuzu says, “Teacher says, every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.”
Other Clarence quotes, with context
“I’ve been waiting for over two hundred years now, sir, and people are beginning to talk.” — to his superiors in heaven, asking whether helping George might earn him his wings.
“Oh, dear, dear, his life? Then I’ve only an hour to dress. What are they wearing now?” — on hearing that George is in danger. Earlier in the same scene, the angel Joseph calls him “that clockmaker,” and the senior angel admits Clarence isn’t bright but has “the faith of a child.”
“I didn’t fall in. I jumped in to save George.” — to the bridge keeper. Clarence jumped into the river first, knowing George would dive in to rescue him.
“Wife gave me this on my last birthday. I passed away in it.” — explaining what he’s wearing while his clothes dry in the bridge keeper’s shack.
“I haven’t won my wings yet. That’s why I’m an angel second class.” — explaining the “AS2” after his name.
“You’ve got your wish. You’ve never been born.” — after George says he wishes he had never been born.
“Every time you hear a bell ring, it means that some angel’s just got his wings.” — in the bar in Pottersville, when the cash register rings. The bartender, Nick, throws them out and then rings the register himself, shouting, “Get me! I’m giving out wings!”
“You’ve been given a great gift, George: a chance to see what the world would be like without you.”
“Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?” — after George’s own mother fails to recognize him and shuts the door on him.
“You see, George, you’ve really had a wonderful life. Don’t you see what a mistake it would be to throw it away?” — at Harry’s grave.
Published transcripts differ by a word here and there on the longer lines. If you need exact wording for an essay, check it against the film.
Who says “every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings”?
Zuzu Bailey, George’s youngest daughter, says it in the film’s last scene, quoting her teacher. She is played by Karolyn Grimes.
Clarence says a version of it earlier, in the bar: “Every time you hear a bell ring, it means that some angel’s just got his wings.” The film never shows Clarence getting his wings, so the bell on the tree is how the audience learns that he has.
Why the book is Tom Sawyer
Clarence has The Adventures of Tom Sawyer with him from his first scene in heaven. After the river rescue, he sees it drying by the stove and says, “You should read the new book Mark Twain’s writing now.” The implication is that Twain, who died in 1910, is still writing up there.
Where the story comes from
It’s a Wonderful Life is based on “The Greatest Gift,” a short story by Philip Van Doren Stern. Stern couldn’t find a publisher, so in 1943 he had 200 copies printed as a pamphlet and sent them to friends as Christmas cards. In his version, the angel is an unnamed stranger.
Frank Capra directed the film, with James Stewart as George Bailey and Donna Reed as his wife, Mary.
Using the quote
“No man is a failure who has friends” works in a thank-you card to friends who helped you through something, a retirement card, or a eulogy for someone with a wide circle. Around Christmas, the full inscription with “Thanks for the wings!” fits a card well.
If you are citing it in an essay, treat it as a film quote and name the character and the film. Our guide on how to quote a movie shows the format. The Godfather favor quote is another film line explained scene by scene, and the “just the facts, ma’am” quote shows what happens when a misquote replaces the real line.
FAQ
What does Clarence write to George in It’s a Wonderful Life?
“Dear George: Remember no man is a failure who has friends. Thanks for the wings! Love, Clarence.” He writes it in his copy of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Who played Clarence?
Henry Travers, an English character actor.
What does AS2 mean?
Angel Second Class. It means Clarence has not yet earned his wings.
How old is Clarence?
He tells Nick the bartender he will be 293 “next May.”
Is It’s a Wonderful Life based on a book?
It is based on “The Greatest Gift,” a 1943 short story by Philip Van Doren Stern.