<P> In a 2007 article in The Guardian , Graham Fuller quotes an FBI internal memo from 1947 that states the film `` represented a rather obvious attempt to discredit bankers by casting Lionel Barrymore as a ' scrooge - type ' ( sic ) so that he would be the most hated man in the picture . This ... is a common trick used by communists . '' </P>
<P> In a 2007 article in The Guardian , Graham Fuller quotes an FBI internal memo from 1947 that states the film `` represented a rather obvious attempt to discredit bankers by casting Lionel Barrymore as a ' scrooge - type ' ( sic ) so that he would be the most hated man in the picture . This ... is a common trick used by communists . '' </P>
who played the banker in it 's a wonderful life
who played the banker in it 's a wonderful life
Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore