James Stewart – Great Actor and Man

 

by Guy Belleranti

Without a doubt one of the greatest American actors of all time has to be James Stewart. And many of his greatest performances were in films released during the 1950’s and early 1960’s.

Born on May 20, 1908 the iconic actor was known as both a kind man and a true professional. Many of the characters he portrayed were self-effacing and honest.

However he also portrayed characters with a tougher and darker side, especially in the 1950’s when he starred in several Anthony Mann directed westerns and a couple of Alfred Hitchcock thrillers.

Early in his career Stewart was a stage actor. Then he moved into films. In 1940 he won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in The Philadelphia Story.

He also starred in three excellent Frank Capra directed films in the 30’s and 40’s: You Can’t Take it With You (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) and the perennial Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life (1946).

While most, but certainly not all, of Stewart’s earlier movies were comedies or fantasies he also appeared in several excellent dramas. Among them were The Mortal Storm (1940) and Call Northside 777 (1948).

Stewart also demonstrated just what kind of great man he was outside the movies by enlisting and serving in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II. He flew many missions earning two Distinguished Flying Crosses and many other honors. He also received numerous promotions rising from private to Colonel in four years.

After the war Stewart remained active as member of the United States Air Force Reserve, eventually earning the rank of Brigadier General in 1959. He also returned to his acting career.

The 1950’s saw him star in some of his best films. Among these 1950 films were five Anthony Mann directed westerns: Winchester 73 (1950), Bend of the River (1952), The Naked Spur (1953), The Far Country (1954) and The Man from Laramie (1955). He also starred in several non-western Mann films including The Glen Miller Story (1953) and Strategic Air Command (1955).

Just as famous as Stewart’s films with Mann were his films with the director Alfred Hitchcock. Stewart’s first Hitchcock film was 1948’s Rope. Then in the 1950’s he starred in three more.

One was the fine The Man Who Knew too Much (1956). The other two, both ranked by most as among Hitchcock’s very best, were Rear Window (1954) and Vertigo (1958).

Other notable 1950 films featuring Stewart include 1950’s Harvey (Stewart also starred in the stage play version for years during the 1940’s), Broken Arrow (1950), The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), The Spirit of St. Louis (1957) and Anatomy of a Murder (1959).

With the coming of the 1960’s Stewart didn’t let up. Among his best movies in this decade were the The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence (1962), How the West was Won (1962), Shenandoah (1965) and The Flight of the Phoenix (1965).

He appeared in many other films during the 60’s as well, several of them being more light-hearted fare like Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962), Take Her She’s Mine (196) and Dear Brigitte (1965).

Stewart continued acting in the 1970’s and into the early 1980’s before retiring. He did, however, provide the voice of Wylie Burp in the animated film An American Tail: Fievel Goes West in 1991.

Over the course of his career James Stewart received five Best Actor nominations (winning for The Philadelphia Story), and received all sorts of other acting honors.

In 1985 he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award. He died on July 2, 1997.

 

 

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