A-List: James Stewart
By Josh Spiegel
May 21, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
This week's A-List profiles James Stewart because this week marks his birthday. On May 20, 1908, Stewart was born in Indiana, Pennsylvania. Despite his longevity in the film world, it took Stewart until the late 1930s to hit the big time, with such films as You Can't Take It With You, Destry Rides Again, and The Shop Around The Corner, a film that was remade in the late 1990s with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, called You've Got Mail. Suffice to say, the 1940 version of the film didn't feature America Online...at all.
Though he's known best for that boy-next-door charm, James Stewart took a turn in his career after he served time in World War II. His first major film after World War II was 1946's It's A Wonderful Life, a film that will not only be discussed in this A-List but has lots of depressing stuff to get through before the infamous run down the snowy street as Stewart shouts "Merry Christmas" to his little town of Bedford Falls. After It's A Wonderful Life, Stewart ended up working alongside directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and Anthony Mann. His forays into darker suspense thrillers and Westerns didn't end up wiping out the still-dominant picture of Stewart as a younger man, but many of his classics happened once he ended up choosing the darker side of Hollywood.
He's arguably one of the most American movie stars; Grant, of course, wasn't American by blood, and someone like Gable didn't seem like someone who you could actually know. Stewart got branded the boy next door because, honestly, it was easy to imagine. He was positioned as the kind of decent, forthright man who may only exist in myth, but someone like Stewart sold it very well, even if he was playing a guy who thought he was talking to a huge rabbit. This week's A-List will deal with many of Stewart's famous collaborations with specific directors, so don't be surprised to see the names Hitchcock and Capra pop up a few times. So, without further ado, the A-List's look at James Stewart.
Vertigo
When most people think of James Stewart, they may not think of his role as John "Scottie" Ferguson, the severely screwed-up detective who falls in love with a woman who may or may not already be dead, and then...well, I've said too much. If you haven't seen this 1958 thriller, directed by the great Alfred Hitchcock, you must check this one out. Of all the films mentioned on this list, Vertigo is the one to see. It's a complex drama about two (or three?) people whose own neuroses and fears destroy their only shot at relatively normal relationships. Scottie is a detective in San Francisco who has a crippling case of vertigo, so much so that he can't even save a policeman from falling to his death. When an old friend recruits him to keep an eye on his potentially straying wife, Madeleine (Kim Novak), Scottie ends up doing much more: he falls hopelessly in love with her. That, of course, turns out to be the least of his problems. More than any of Hitchcock's films, the story focuses on a man's obsession with the perfect woman, and obsession itself. Scottie has moments of clarity, moments where he's a relatable human being, but far too often, he's as cold and distant as the cool blondes that Hitchcock (who could easily stand in for Scottie) and the most self-destructive hero ever created for one of the Master of Suspense's movies. Again, and I am so serious, as soon as you're done with this article...see Vertigo. See it!
It's A Wonderful Life
This is unquestionably one of the most famous films ever made, and all based on a Christmas card, apparently. Still, as happy as most people presume It's A Wonderful Life, the 1946 drama, is, let's be honest: we start out with a guy who wants to commit suicide. Even for the 1940s, that's kind of dark. Stewart is George Bailey, a good guy who's been good all his life, even saving his kid brother from drowning after a sledding mishap. Still, things spiral out of control for poor George, despite being married to the girl of his dreams and having beautiful children. The main villain is Henry F. Potter (Lionel Barrymore), the Scrooge-like bank manager who's such a horrible, stingy fellow that George doesn't want to travel around the world, lest Potter take over the small town of Bedford Falls. When George's building and loan company goes bottoms up thanks to his absent-minded uncle, George thinks there's no way out: he has to kill himself. At this point, of course, the childish apprentice angel Clarence appears, proving to George that, without his presence, the world of Bedford Falls would be pretty awful. Of course, by the end of this Frank Capra classic, George chooses life, gets donations from every citizen of Bedford Falls to save his company, and even gets Clarence his wings. It's surprising to watch It's A Wonderful Life, especially if you've forgotten exactly how much happens here, as we're given a semi-biography of George before getting to the main conflict or even Clarence's appearance. As dark as the material is (and so it should be, as this was Capra's first film since the second World War), the movie is immensely uplifting, so much so that I forgive the kid playing Zuzu for being a bit too cloying. It's the film that best typifies Stewart's appeal: there's a darkness hiding behind his charming and disarming exterior.
Harvey
Talk about darkness hiding beneath charm. No, as Elwood P. Dowd, James Stewart isn't evil, doesn't foster thoughts of killing himself, or having an affair with another man's wife. No, he's just out-and-out crazy. In one of his many signature roles, Stewart plays a man who's very friendly, nice to strangers, kind, loving...his only problem is that he sees and interacts with an imaginary 6-foot tall rabbit named Harvey. He's seen Harvey for so many years that his sister, who's understandably worried about her brother's sanity, has seen him. Now, we never see Harvey (and it'd be kind of weird; hell, the 2001 film Donnie Darko" has the main character interact with a six-foot rabbit and...well, it's a very weird movie, let's just say that), but it's somewhat assumed by the film's end that Harvey is very real, despite him not having any actual, tangible being. Harvey is a charming movie, a shambling, goofy mess, all made very enjoyable and entertaining because of Stewart's presence. His aw-shucks mentality is perfect for the role of Elwood P. Dowd, even if the whole film isn't perfect. In his entire body of work, Harvey isn't Stewart's best film, but it's one of his best performances.
The Philadelphia Story
In his entire career, his extensive, illustrious career, James Stewart only won one Academy Award. One Oscar, which is completely criminal. Especially because Stewart won that pesky Oscar for The Philadelphia Story. Oh, sure, this 1940 screwball comedy is a classic and certainly one of his best pieces of work, but how could the Academy ignore Vertigo, arguably his best performance, or The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance? Admittedly, Stewart was so impressive in this film, when you consider the fact that he's playing the other man. In romantic comedies, being the other man is probably the best way to become the least likable character in a movie. As Macaulay Connor, a tabloid reporter brought to disrupt the second wedding of Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn), Stewart brings the goods as a smart and sharp journalist who ends up falling in love with her, the charming ex-wife of C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant). Of course, Dexter Haven has brought the tabloid reporter simply so he can ruin Tracy's remarriage. The Philadelphia Story is one of the best screwball comedies ever created, and Stewart's performance is fantastic, even if you may feel it's overshadowed a bit by Grant and Hepburn's undeniable chemistry (far better than their performances in Bringing Up Baby). It's just a pity that he never won another Oscar for even better work.
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Rear Window
Another one of the collaborations between Hitchcock and Stewart, Rear Window is the best kind of fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat entertainment that typifies all the best of these two Hollywood greats. Stewart is L.B. Jeffries, a famous photographer who's wound up wheelchair-bound in his apartment, during a sweltering New York summer. He's tended to by his helpful nurse (Thelma Ritter) and gorgeous girlfriend (Grace Kelly), but becomes so bored by being shut in that he uses a pair of binoculars to watch the kitchen-sink dramas going on in his own apartment complex. The plot thickens when he sees, from directly across his own apartment, what appears to be a vicious murder. Who is Lars Thorwald? Did he really kill his wife? Is L.B. beginning to see things that aren't really there? As with Vertigo, it's hard to ignore some parallels with the life of Alfred Hitchcock. As a director, he orders people around to do potentially dangerous things. L.B., since he can't walk around, has to get his girlfriend and nurse to do the dirty work of breaking into Lars' apartment, coming this close to getting them killed. Even without the hidden layers, Rear Window is one of the most entertaining films Hitchcock ever made and one of Stewart's most nuanced and subtle performances. Other actors might overact to compensate for not being able to move below the waist, but Stewart never goes over the top, keeping L.B. a believable if often frustrating lead character. Though not as classic as Vertigo, Rear Window is still one of the best Hitchcock-Stewart films.