Over the canals and across the Pond, the Finger Lakes region is making news.

A writer on assignment for the London Sunday Telegraph recently spent a few days in the Finger Lakes region, to check out local claims that the fictional town of Bedford Falls in Frank Capra's “It's a Wonderful Life” was modeled on Seneca Falls.

The product: a front-page story for that paper, just in time for Christmas Eve, affectionately detailing similarities between the town and its Hollywood incarnation.

Mentioning one of Seneca Falls' most prominent structures, the steel bridge traversing the canal, Robert Maddams wrote:

“The grey, ironwork structure was fringed with lines of snow and the whole scene looked like a black-and-white frame that had been lifted straight from the film. It required no effort of imagination to picture James Stewart leaning on the rail, staring into the icy water below.”

Maddams also speculated any of the town's old Victorian homes could have been veritable archetypes for George and Mary Bailey's Granville house.

“It's always been a personal favorite movie of his, and (Maddams) knows many folks in the U.K. who think of the movie with the same fondness,” said Susan Murad, the marketing director for the Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance.

Maddams got a guided tour of the region from staffers at the Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance, with the “It's a Wonderful Life” weekend festival in Seneca Falls at the center of his visit.

Still, the reporter found time to pursue other interests in the area. Once his guides learned of Maddams' keen interest in the Civil War period and the underground railroad, they ushered him directly to Auburn's Seward House and Harriet Tubman home. At the Seward House, he found a fast friend in director Peter Wisbey.

“He was very knowledgeable about American history around the Civil War time,” Wisbey said.

Maddam's knowledge of and enthusiasm for American history during the Civil War era clearly impressed him. Wisbey surmised he and other staffers learn as much from visitors as they hopefully learn on their tours of the house.

“We had a good time, that's for sure,” he said.

Staff writer Olivia Goldberg can be reached at 253-5311, ext. 235, or at olivia.goldberg@lee.net