When he was asked in 1984 if he thought It's a Wonderful Life contained autobiographical elements, the director of the film, Frank Capra, replied, "That's not such a profound statement, for Christ's sake, that it looks like the guy who made it. What the hell -- who should it look like?"

The way in which Capra answered this question, in its context and delivery, says a lot about the auteur behind not only It's a Wonderful Life but the Oscar-winning The Best Years of Our Lives, as well as Meet John Doe, It Happened One Night, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, among many others. It's a Wonderful Life came out in 1946.

In Joseph McBride's biography of Capra, he examines the complexity of the man who many still consider one of the most influential directors for his ability to blend dark and light elements in his storytelling.

The over 700 page book, published in 1992, entitled "Frank Capra: The Catastrophe of Success" explores the director's multifaceted feelings about his work.

In discussing Capra's identification with George Bailey, the central character of It's a Wonderful Life, McBride points out that those who knew Capra would be astonished because his successful public image to know that Capra felt, "a loneliness that was laced with a fear of failure," as he prepared the film, which was to be his big comeback after World War II.

McBride writes, "In lines he wrote for the film but did not use, Capra had George sat after jumping into the river, 'I was a 4-F. In my case, it didn't stand for Four Freedoms, it meant Four Failures. Failure as a husband, father, businessman -- failure as a human being.'"

This feeling is attributed to Capra's pessimism post-war, triggering his awareness of the fragility of his art," says McBride. He goes on to say, "Like his surrogate on screen, George Bailey, [Capra] was undergoing a secret metaphysical crisis, wondering whether he 'had put too much faith in the human race.'"

As such, it doesn't feel like too much of a stretch to say that even though Capra had his reservations about mankind, he managed to produce a film that for many restored their faith in the motives of others (except maybe Mr. Potter, who represents the worst in people and, unfortunately, doesn't face any consequences for his actions in the film.)

In an interesting twist, as Capra's career was waning in the 1980s, he was pitched a TV series entitled It's Still a Wonderful Life, a sequel project with original stars Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed playing their characters in their later years.

The project was proposed by a producer, and Joseph McBride. Yes, the same McBride who authored Capra's massive biography.

True to his nature, Capra responded, "That's the kind of god-damn thing a producer would suggest. They can go f*ck themselves."

'It's a Wonderful Life' airs December 24 at 8pm e/p on NBC, and is available for streaming on Prime.