On Christmas Eve, George Bailey finds himself hopelessly in debt, and so he decides that his family would be better off without him. Over the course of the night, an angel named Clarence shows George just how wrong he is, culminating in him realising how many lives he has touched. In the end, he holds his daughter, who tells her tearful dad, "Teacher says every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings." It's a heartwarming scene that's stood the test of time.