Seventy-six years after its release, generations of viewers have made It's a Wonderful Life a beloved Christmas classic. Annual TV broadcasts have allowed audiences to practically memorize every detail about George Bailey's life and his struggles with self-doubt and hypothetical non-existence. However, the Academy-Award-nominated film still has a few secrets up its sleeves. Its best-kept may very well be a quick background cameo by the fairest Disney princess of them all.
At one hour and 35 minutes in the movie, George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) is at his lowest. He goes to Martini's Bar to pray for guidance after his Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell) has misplaced the funds necessary to keep his building and loans legally in the clear. As he sobs and prays, someone can be heard singing the jaunty Italian song "Vieni, Vieni" in the background. If the voice sounds familiar, it should. The singer is none other than Adriana Caselotti, the original voice of Disney's Snow White. Despite it coming almost ten years after she played that iconic role, It's a Wonderful Life would mark her last big-screen appearance, largely thanks to Walt Disney himself.
Adriana Caselotti Made Snow White's Voice the Fairest of Them All
Long before Disney owned Marvel or Star Wars, Walt knew that the main character's voice was key to the success of the studio's first feature film. After turning down movie stars and unknown actors alike, he finally reached out to voice teacher Guido Luigi Emanuele Caselotti. He had hoped that one of his students could be who he was looking for. But when Caselotti's daughter picked up the phone and showed Walt what she could do, he knew he had found his Snow White.
Adriana may have been only 19 years old when she landed the role, but her father's vocal training had prepared her for the challenge. She made songs like "Someday My Prince Will Come" and "Whistle While You Work" instant classics with her renditions. Her screams also made for the perfect punctuation for some of Disney's most terrifying sequences. The film broke box office records upon release in 1937, and Caselotti's iconic voice was a big reason why.
Disney Kept Casselotti's Career From Growing Past It's a Wonderful Life
Unfortunately, Caselotti's success in the role allowed Disney to stop her from turning it into a career. Walt didn't credit Caselotti for her vocal work and actively prevented her from getting more jobs. According to Dr. Annette Bochenek, Walt denied permission for her to appear on popular comedian Jack Benny's radio show because he "did not want to spoil the illusion of Snow White." While CBR's Brian Cronin disputes Walt's motives, saying Benny only obliged Walt as a favor and that Caselotti's career was ended more by typecasting than anything else, he confirms that Disney refused to cast her again after she played Snow White. Just as soon as she had launched her career, it fizzled out.
Her few roles afterward suggest she had great taste in picking projects. Two years later, she appeared in 1939's The Wizard of Oz, where she said, "Wherefore art thou, Romeo?" to Jack Haley's Tin Man as an uncredited and disembodied voice in the forest. Her vocal appearance as an opera singer in 1942's We Were Dancing mirrored her own unsuccessful opera singing career before her background singing in It's a Wonderful Life brought her sabotaged Hollywood career to a close.
Caselotti's Cameo Helps Keep Her Legacy Alive Outside of Snow White
Despite her career setbacks, Caselotti was always fond of her famous role. She would even reprise the role for Disney late in life for the Snow White Grotto and Wishing Well attraction at Disneyland Park. Her version of the character has endured throughout the years and has even inspired a new live-action film version starring Rachel Zegler, due out in 2024.
However, Caselotti's profile has fallen into obscurity in the years since she was denied credit and a career. Her talent might be treated as a footnote, but her presence in three of the most beloved family films of all time shows that she deserves to be remembered. So hopefully, next time viewers revisit Bedford Falls, they will keep their ears peeled for the "fairest voice of them all."