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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.

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