James Stewart – An Appreciation

Most of the films that I watch and rewatch on a regular basis are from the more modern era. The mid-70s to today, roughly the years that I have been alive. My DVD shelves are packed with movies from the past fifteen years. I’m a modern girl. Until you ask me who my favourite actors are. Three names come up – Cary Grant, Gregory Peck and James Stewart. I will always return to the classics and no-one today will replace these three towering giants of cinema in my affections. When I read on The Lamb that the March 2013 Acting School 101 feature would be on James Stewart I knew that this was the perfect opportunity to get a bit more involved in the Lamb community.

Image by Carl Van Vechten

This weekend the website will be completely given over to James Stewart and will include the Top Ten James Stewart films and reviews of Rope and Mr Smith Goes To Washington.

So, why do I love James Stewart so much? Why has this Acting School 101 feature spurred me into action when Jodie Foster, Jim Carrey, Nicole Kidman et al haven’t?

More than any other actor I can think of Stewart represents decency on screen. The majority of his characters are simple, kind everymen who represent the hopes and aspirations that most of us have. Are some of the characters unrealistically naïve? Yes of course they are. But we don’t look to cinema for realism, we look to it for enjoyment, pleasure and escapism from our daily life. We are living in a world where we can’t trust our politicians so why shouldn’t we hold Jefferson Smith up as the ideal representative? Our banks and banking executives are slimy and sleazy so let’s imagine a world where there’s a George Bailey, willing to put his own life on hold in order to make life a little more pleasurable for the little guy.

It’s not just that though. James Stewart himself seemed like a fundamentally nice guy. In a time when Hollywood stars were happy to have public spats and feuds, co-stars spoke warmly of their time with Stewart. While he had a reputation before his marriage as a playboy this ended as soon as he was married. He was known as a philanthropist and his hobbies of model aeroplane making, gardening and poetry are ridiculously ordinary for a major Hollywood star.

Born in 1908 Stewart initially studied architecture at Princeton University before finding pre-war film success in movies such as You Can’t Take It With You, Mr Smith Goes To Washington, Destry Rides Again, The Shop Around The Corner and The Philadelphia Story for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

During the Second World War Stewart flew a number of combat missions over Europe and while he was happy to use his celebrity status to assist with recruitment campaigns he was determined not to be relegated to “behind the lines” duties. During the war was credited with 20 sorties and a number of uncredited missions and received military honours including the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal and Air Force Distinguished Service Medal.

Following the end of the war Stewart returned to his career in Hollywood. His first post war was the Christmas classic It’s A Wonderful Life, not an instant hit but perhaps the archetypal Jimmy Stewart good guy role. Collaborations with directors Anthony Mann and Alfred Hitchcock were to follow and Stewart’s position as an iconic Hollywood star was sealed in films such as Vertigo, Rear Window, Winchester ’73 and The Man from Laramie.

James Stewart died on 2 July 1997 at the age of 89 after a lung embolism caused a fatal heart attack. I can think of no greater tribute than President Clinton’s words “America lost a national treasure today. Jimmy Stewart was a great actor, a gentleman and a patriot.”