Cinema - Actors and Actresses

When you think of America these images tend to pop into your mind:

And…

Thanks in big part to the Christmas television staple: It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) James Stewart still regularly appears on the short list of America’s favorite actors from yesteryear. A man of integrity and character, Stewart picked roles that also reflected his own core values and is quoted as saying that he only played slight variations of himself and that he never acted but simply reacted. With a “aw shucks” everyman demeanor, watching Jimmy Stewart in a movie is as comfortable as eating your Grandmother’s apple pie. You cannot help but like the guy and root for him whether he is playing a guy with a giant invisible rabbit for a friend (Harvey 1950) or a naive Boy Scout leader who finds himself in Congress (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 1939).

One of the first Hollywood actors to be able to demand a percentage of his movie’s profits, Stewart played himself right into the public’s heart during the 40’s and 50’s starring in a string of successful movies such as The Philadelphia Story (1940), Rear Window (1954) and Winchester 73 (1950). While his popularity as a leading man waned after the 50’s. Stewart continued to make films into the 60’s and 70’s, even allowing himself to break out of his good natured hero role to play darker characters. In 1985, Stewart was given a ten minute standing ovation while receiving an honorary Oscar at the Academy Awards and ties Harrison Ford and Robert De Niro with 8 films in IMDB top 250 film list.

The darker side of James Stewart:

What perhaps many people today do not realize is the fact that Stewart actually served with distinction as an Air Force Pilot during the Second World War, flying numerous missions over enemy territory, receiving numerous medals for his bravery and valor. While Stewart seldom made much of a fuss about his life in the armed forces, many critics will point out that his experiences during the conflict seem to give him a darker edge the resonated in the James Stewart character that is portrayed on the silver screen.

For instance, if you watch James Stewart play a lawyer in Made For Each Other (1939) and compare it to his role in It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), which is the first movie that he made after the war, you notice that while that both contain that “Aw Shucks” everyman Jimmy that the audience loves, there is something a bit darker resonated in Stewart’s George Bailey that seems to be lacking in his portrayal of John Horace Mason. In both movies, Stewart find himself facing the trials in tribulations that comes with having a family, however his character in Made for Each Other refuses to give up on his sick son, while George Bailey needs divine intervention in order to keep him from jumping off a bridge.

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Author

Franck Benedittini

A Staff Writer for FreeMooviesOnline.com, writes about actors, directors, characters and movies. Although he has a vast knowledge in cinema the cinematographic art is not its unique interest. He started to work on web development and web design in 2004 and has already created hundreds of websites.

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