James Stewart has always been the quintessential all-American actor. With an easy charm and a voice so distinct that it is often recognised with the first syllable he speaks it was no wonder that he became the legend we know him to be today. He has had many phases in his career and each one has its own way of drawing you in. I will be going through my top 5 James Stewart movies. Each of the movies below are amazing in their own right and it has been incredibly difficult to rank them, but here goes:
5. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
Director: John Ford
Starring: James Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles
This is a great story about the beauty of idealism, but its ultimate lack of use when facing a society that has been twisted into believing that those ideals can never be reached. Throughout the movie we have the juxtaposition of a gun toting Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) who believes he is a realist and a knowledge wielding Ransom Stoddard (James Stewart). The film plays with the resolve of Stoddard against a town that is ruled by violence and no real law. He questions himself constantly as to whether he should succumb to the life owning a gun entails or whether he should stick by his belief that knowledge and education is all that we need to reform society. It is a great story because it feels like it is still relevant today. We are often made aware of the violence in society and the links to a failure in education, but we are never really made to look at the people who advocate the violence any further than that. Wayne and Stewart are on top form in this and play their roles impeccably. The journey Stewart's character goes on is remarkably and realistically portrayed and keeps you engaged throughout.
4. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Director: Frank Capra
Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore
No list of the best James Stewart movies is complete without this classic somewhere on the list. For those of you who do not congregate around a TV on Christmas the movie follows the life of George Bailey (Stewart) as he sacrifices everything for the people around him. When eventually things go from bad to worse for George, he decides there is no solution besides ending his life. He is then shown what the world around him would be like if he had never been born and it isn't pretty. Even if you are hardened to the lovely message that the film portrays, there is no doubt that Stewart gives an amazing and endearing performance as the man who gives up his own dreams and aspirations to do the right thing. Something perhaps all of us want to be like, but might not be able to do. In the wrong hands this character could come off as a bit of a goody two shoes, but Stewart makes George Bailey the believable and likeable friend to his community that makes this film what it is known as today: a classic with great heart.
3. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Director: George Cukor
Starring: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart, Clarke Gable
This is the charming tale of divorcee Tracy Lord (Hepburn) getting ready to go down the aisle again with George Kittrege (Gable). Trouble ensues when her ex-husband C.K. Dexter Haven (Grant) is coerced into taking a couple of undercover reporters, including Stewart, to the wedding so they can get the scoop. Love, laughter and witty banter follows in what feels like an homage to A Midsummer Night's Dream. A greatly competent cast make this movie incredibly endearing and full of laughter. The real stars of this are Grant, Hepburn and Stewart. Hepburn's Tracy Lord is a character full of gumption and matches her male leads with a great tenacity. The way they play off of one another is what draws you in and they are all on top form in this great watch.
2. Rope (1948)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Dick Hogan, John Dall, Farley Granger, James Stewart
In true Hitchcock style this is a dark and sinister tale of the human mind. The premise of the film is quite simple: How do you commit the perfect murder? Our murderers come to us in the form of Brandon Shaw (Dall) and Phillip Morgan (Granger) and the victim is a former classmate (Hogan). The motivation behind their action is not only committing the perfect murder, but also proving that in doing so they are of a superior class due to their intellect. After committing the murder, they hide the body in the apartment and they hold a dinner party which is attended by the victim's father, aunt, fiancee, close friend and former housemaster (Rupert Cadell played by Stewart). Brandon and Phillip feel that it is the only way to keep suspicion of their actions at bay. Cadell is a highly astute individual, who feels his suspicions rising as the movie goes on. The audience is constantly kept on tenterhooks, as is characteristic of Hitchcock, and screaming for the evidence to be found and justice to be served. A great exercise in the power of an idea.
1. Rear Window (1954)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Thelma Ritter
Rear Window is a great piece of cinema. The entire movie focuses on L.B. 'Jeff' Jefferies (Stewart) a journalistic photographer who is confined to a wheelchair as he waits for his plastered leg to heal. Boredom ensues and he begins to use his camera to spy on his neighbours. Eventually Jeff spots something suspicious about one of his neighbours and becomes convinced that a crime has been committed. For some neighbours more than others we, as the audience, feel a great sense of an invasion of privacy, but soon we build a relationship with them that compels us to ignore Jeff's wrong doing. The characters that we see through the lens are just as interesting and intricate as our main characters. This is a great credit to the story, because it allows us to feel exactly what Jeff feels, so when he doubts the suspicious neighbour, we too doubt him. We feel just as much a part of the hunt for truth as Jeff.
