Merry Christmas, George Bailey is a 1997 television broadcast directed by Matthew Diamond and starring Bill Pullman, Penelope Ann Miller, Nathan Lane, Sally Field and Martin Landau. It is an adaptation of the 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life, which is based on the 1943 short story "The Greatest Gift" by Philip Van Doren Stern. Filmed live, it is a recreation of Lux Radio Theater's 1947 production of It's A Wonderful Life.