It's a Wonderful Life, originally released in black and white, was later re-released in color due to the popularity of colorized films. Director Frank Capra decided to colorize the movie after seeing the success of a colorized Cary Grant film, Topper. The film entered the public domain in the 1970s, leading to multiple studios releasing their own colorized versions, which sparked controversy among fans who preferred the original black-and-white version.

The classic version of It's a Wonderful Life is in black and white since that medium was the norm when the movie premiered in 1946. However, once colored pictures became easier to produce and more popular, the Christmas film was re-released in color. Now, audiences have the option of viewing the movie in black and white or in color. Most airings of It's a Wonderful Life typically stick to the original version of the holiday classic, though.

The cast of It's a Wonderful Life...