--- title: "1 Life Idea Quotes By Philip Van Doren Stern" description: "1 Life Idea quotes by Philip Van Doren Stern. Plus more from Philip Van Doren Stern and more Life Idea sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d95/philip-van-doren-stern-46357_greatest-gift_my-father-philip-van-doren-stern-was-sha_2278217.jpg" --- > [“My father, Philip Van Doren Stern, was shaving on Saturday morning, February 12, 1938, while he explored the idea for the story The Greatest Gift—which became the basis for the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life. The idea had come from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-van-doren-stern/my-father-philip-van-doren-stern-was-shaving-on-saturday-morning/) [Philip Van Doren Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-van-doren-stern/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d95/philip-van-doren-stern-46357_greatest-gift_my-father-philip-van-doren-stern-was-sha_2278217.jpg) ## More by Philip Van Doren Stern > [“I understand right enough,” the stranger said slowly. “I just wanted to make sure you did. You had the greatest gift of all conferred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-van-doren-stern/i-understand-right-enough-the-stranger-said-slowly-i-just-wanted-to/) [Philip Van Doren Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-van-doren-stern/) > [“He described the theme in this way: “It’s a Wonderful Life sums up my philosophy of film making. First, to exalt the worth of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-van-doren-stern/he-described-the-theme-in-this-way-it-s-a-wonderful-life-sums-up-my/) [Philip Van Doren Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-van-doren-stern/) > [“Jimmy Stewart wrote to my father on December 31, 1946, “More important than anything, thank you for giving us that idea, which I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-van-doren-stern/jimmy-stewart-wrote-to-my-father-on-december-31-1946-more-important/) [Philip Van Doren Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-van-doren-stern/) > [“In the early summer of 1846 he moved his family to a cottage in Fordham, which was then far out in the country. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-van-doren-stern/in-the-early-summer-of-1846-he-moved-his-family-to-a-cottage-in/) [Philip Van Doren Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-van-doren-stern/) > [“I want to live again. I want to live again. I want to live again. Please God, let me live again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-van-doren-stern/i-want-to-live-again-i-want-to-live-again-i-want-to-live-again-please/) [Philip Van Doren Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-van-doren-stern/) > [“My father, Philip Van Doren Stern, was shaving on Saturday morning, February 12, 1938, while he explored the idea for the story The Greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-van-doren-stern/my-father-philip-van-doren-stern-was-shaving-on-saturday-morning/) [Philip Van Doren Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-van-doren-stern/) > [“By this time, I had become fond of the story that nobody wanted. I revised it again and had 200 twenty-four-page pamphlets printed at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-van-doren-stern/by-this-time-i-had-become-fond-of-the-story-that-nobody-wanted-i/) [Philip Van Doren Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-van-doren-stern/) > [“Wouldn’t do what?” George asked sullenly. “What you were thinking of doing.” “How do you know what I was thinking?” “Oh, we make it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-van-doren-stern/wouldn-t-do-what-george-asked-sullenly-what-you-were-thinking-of/) [Philip Van Doren Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-van-doren-stern/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-idea/philip-van-doren-stern/#itemlist", "name": "1 Life Idea Quotes By Philip Van Doren Stern", "numberOfItems": 1, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“My father, Philip Van Doren Stern, was shaving on Saturday morning, February 12, 1938, while he explored the idea for the story The Greatest Gift—which became the basis for the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life. The idea had come from a dream he had during the night. As he wrote in his notes: “The idea came to me complete from start to finish—a most unusual occurrence, as any writer will tell you, for ordinarily a story has to be struggled with, changed around and mixed up.” In contrast to his other writings, mainly on history, he said that the idea for The Greatest Gift had emerged full blown, and he had never considered changing it. 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