There is a scene at the end of It’s a Wonderful Life that some say is the greatest closing sequence in film history.
It is Christmas Eve and George Bailey, played by James Stewart, a man who has always fought for the welfare of ordinary people, is facing financial ruin and prison because of the imminent collapse of his Building and Loan enterprise. And then the townsfolk of Bedford Falls begin to arrive at his house.
It turns out people have been told of his plight. ‘They scattered all over town, collecting money,’ his Uncle Billy tells him.