FROM "IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE"
We all know the greedy rich people that care about their money more than anything and will keep making demands to get more money, like Ebenezer Scrooge for example. Out of all those rich greedy men we see in cinema, this one bought the cake for himself. This is a villain I really want to beat up (Crippled or not) and give him the amount of mercy he gives to people. There's nothing likable about him; there's no tragic background to this villain; he's just plain mean and greedy.
WARNING: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!
Mr. Potter is an old man who lives his old years confined to a wheelchair being pushed and pulled by another man. As less threatening as he sounds, he has a black heart and his only love and power is money. He practically owns most of the small town of "Bedford Falls" by owning the homes and stores of the people that live and work; and makes them pay an extremely high price for the slums they live in. The only place he doesn't own is the building that helps the town, "The Bailey Building And Loan", which he's trying to get his hands on, because as long as the Bailey's own that building and loan, Potter cannot have complete control over the town. When we first hear about him, we see him in a fancy looking horse driven Carriage as the Guardian Angel asks the Angel Joseph if he’s “A king”. The Angel Joseph tells Clarence that he is "The richest and meanest man in the county". That introduction alone clearly explains the kind of guy he is. When first see him, already he's yelling and arguing with George's father about how he runs his business and asks him in an insulting way if he’s “running a business or a Charity Ward?" which makes a little George cry and try to stand up for his father.
As time goes on, we hit the roaring 20's. George's father dies of a stroke,
and Mr. Potter is about to take control over the building and loan. Potter
insults the diseased Peter Bailey, which makes George stand up and tell Mr.
Potter off. Due to that, George now has to run the bank or the board will vote
for Potter. During the Great Depression, Potter tries to have the people bring
their shares to him by trying to convince George to tell the people to do so;
have a person he helped tell the crowd; and even lowers the price. George tells
everyone that "Potter isn't selling, he's buying" and gives away his wedding money to prevent people from crawling to Potter.
As George becomes a success, Potter becomes furious and
tries to have George work for him. He tries to tempt him by acting nice;
offering him a box of cigars; a 20,000 years salary; the finest clothes for his
wife; a big house for his family; and business trips around the
world. And the scary part is George almost gives in to him and his plan nearly
works. But once George shakes his hand, he snaps out of it realizing that he can never do business with Mr.Potter from the way he runs things, and turns down the job. This guy is like the devil, he tries to tempt you by either offering or giving you something good, but in the end it will all back fire. We know that once he has George working for him, the "Building And Loan" will crumble, and that Potter will more than likely fire George when there's no business for George to crawl back too to save the town, especially given how much he despises the Bailey's and that George will eventually protest against carrying out Potter's cold and selfish needs.
As time goes on, Mr. Potter starts getting weaker and weaker and looking a lot older too. However, he grabs the Bailey family by the balls as he steals the 8,000 dollars by George's absent minded Uncle Billy (who left the money behind) on the day not only to cash in that money to the bank, but also on the day the bank examiner comes. As George and Uncle Billy look for the money, Potter looks out the window watching them in the comfort of his office. When George finally tries to give into him, Potter looks at George's life insurance and tells him that he's worth more dead than alive and calls the police to have George arrested for the missing money. This all leads to George trying to commit suicide and it is all thanks to Mr. Potter, what a dick!
Clarence shows George what life would be like without him and as result he sees "Bedford Falls" runned by Potter, now called...
Now that Potter owns everything in "Bedford Falls" it is now a sleazy Las Vegas type of town filled with Night Clubs, smoky Bars, Pool Halls and Strip clubs, as low-lives, drunks, and prostitutes are seen roaming the streets. The good people that live in the town live in filthy homes and are corrupt. In fact, all of George's friends are different because of Potter, and for George not being around to carry out his noble deeds. Nick the bartender is a bully. Bert and Ernie live in the slums as all likability is replaced with fear and hostility. George's Mom lives in corruption like most of the people in "Pottersville" do as she runs a boarding house where she gets a small income and deals with the loss of her husband, and has lost her now only son since George wasn't there to save him when he was small boy. Violet is now a sleazy dancer. George's home is the same old abandon house. The Bailey Park was never around. Mr. Gower the druggist is a jailbird and a homeless drunk. Uncle Billy's is in the insane asylum. And Mary lives in fear who has a loss for love (though working in the library, and not being married part really isn't as awful as Clarence built it up to be). The scary part of this sequence is we never see Mr. Potter. My guess is he's probably bathing in cash, while looking over the town with that devilish grin.
When George lives again, the last time we see Potter is when he is sitting at his desk as George bangs on the window wishing him a Merry Christmas. Potter responds "Happy New Year to you...IN JAIL!" also telling George that the police are waiting for him. After that, we never see him again. There's no revenge; no scene of him crying; no nothing. Man that's a cold hearted villain. There was an ending when Clarence haunts Mr. Potter which gives him a heart attack, but Capra decided not to put it in. And to be honest, I'm glad there's no revenge on Potter because that would ruin the happy ending that always makes me and many others smile and cry. All we know is Potter is losing his power and that he will die alone and that's how this character should go. Don't be upset that Potter gets away with it; SNL (Saturday Night Live) has made an alternate ending to the movie, where everybody gangs up on Potter and gives him the beating he deserves. Thank you SNL for creating that ending for the people who hate Mr. Potter!
The movie has an angel, but it also has a devil.
"You're nothin but a scurvy old spider"
-George Bailey
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