The New York Times noted, "The Stratton Story was the best thing that has yet happened to Mr. Stewart in his post-war film career...he gives such a winning performance that it is almost impossible to imagine any one else playing the role. "[69], Despite good reviews, Stewart was still a minor star and MGM remained hesitant to cast him in leading roles, preferring to loan him out to other studios. It was a commercial failure and received mixed reviews. [121], Stewart was promoted to major following a mission to Ludwigshafen, Germany, on January 7, 1944. "[51], Stewart followed Next Time We Love with supporting roles in two commercially successful romantic comedies, Wife vs. Secretary (1936) and Small Town Girl (1936). "[78], Stewart became a major star when he was loaned out to Columbia Pictures to play the lead role in Frank Capra's You Can't Take It With You (1938) opposite Jean Arthur. [213] It was a big-budget production with elaborate special effects for the flying sequences, but received only mixed reviews and did not earn back its production costs. [439] A large statue of Stewart stands on the lawn of the Indiana County Courthouse and a plaque marks his birthplace. [180][181] In December 1950, the screen adaptation of Harvey was released, directed by Henry Koster and with Stewart reprising his role. [50] TIME stated that "the chief significance of [the film] in the progress of the cinema industry is likely to reside in the presence in its cast of James Stewart" and The New York Times called him "a welcome addition to the roster of Hollywood's leading men. The Fox family-comedy Dear Brigitte (1965), which featured French actress Brigitte Bardot as the object of Stewart's son's infatuation, was a box-office failure. Hurt by Stewart's rejection, she barely mentioned him in her memoir and waved him off as a one-time affair. Jack Lemmon suggested that Stewart's talent for performing with women was that he was able to allow the audience to see the respect and gentility he felt toward the women through his eyes. [4] Stewart had two younger sisters, Mary (1912–1977) and Virginia (1914–1972). [194] The films featured him as a troubled cowboy seeking redemption while facing corrupt cattlemen, ranchers and outlaws; a man who knows violence first hand and struggles to control it. [381] According to film scholar Amy Lawrence, the main elements of Stewart's persona "a propensity for physical and spiritual suffering, lingering fears of inadequacy," were established by Frank Capra in the 1930s and were enhanced through his later work with Hitchcock and Mann. Stewart later confided that he had a "friend" operating the weight scales on his second and successful enlisting attempt. In his performance, Stewart drew upon his own feelings of unrequited love towards Sullavan, who was married to his agent, Leland Hayward. He showed that his characters needed them as much as their characters needed him. Audiences could identify with him, in contrast to other Hollywood leading men of the time, such as Cary Grant, who represented what the audience wanted to become. [372][373][374][375], Film scholar Dennis Bingham wrote that Stewart was "both a 'personality' star and a chameleon" who evoked both masculine and feminine qualities. With critics again comparing his performance with Fay's, Stewart's performance as well as the film itself received mixed reviews. According to biographer Scott Eyman, Stewart was an instinctive actor. Stewart was also granted authority to collaborate with the studio on casting and hiring decisions. [186] Similar to It's a Wonderful Life, Harvey achieved popularity later, after frequent television showings. [430] According to Bingham, Stewart marked "the transition between the studio period...and the era of free-lance actors, independent production, and powerful talent agents that made possible the "new kind of star" of the late 1960s. [256] He played a small-town college professor, whose adult son moves back home with his family. They began a romantic relationship and were nearly married in Las Vegas in 1943, but Stewart called off the marriage before they arrived, citing cold feet. "[420], Stewart was one of the most sought-after actors in 1950s Hollywood, proving that independent actors could be successful in the film industry, which led more actors in Hollywood to forego studio contracts. In 1968, he received the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. [314] Besides building model airplanes, Stewart and Fonda liked to build and fly kites, play golf, and reminisce about the "old days. [334], Stewart was a staunch Republican throughout his life. "[308], Stewart's fifty-year friendship with Henry Fonda began in Manhattan when Fonda invited Stewart to be his third roommate (in addition to Joshua Logan and Myron McCormick) in order to make rent. [86] It garnered critical praise and became the third-highest-grossing film of the year. The Fox family-comedy Dear Brigitte (1965), which featured French actress Brigitte Bardot as the object of Stewart's son's infatuation, was a box-office failure. [191], Stewart followed Bend of the River with four more collaborations with Mann in the next two years. [263] Stewart also periodically appeared on Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show, sharing poems he had written at different times in his life. Sullavan rehearsed extensively with him, boosting his confidence and helping him incorporate his mannerisms and boyishness into his screen persona. He said, "But I always tried, and if the script wasn't too good, well, then, I just tried a little bit harder. [104] Moreover, Stewart's character was a supporting role, not the male lead. [236] The same year, he also narrated the film X-15 for the USAAF. Despite mixed reviews, Airport '77 was a box-office success,[269] but the two other films were commercial and critical failures. In 1962, Stewart signed a multi-movie deal with 20th Century Fox. [98] Ten days after filming The Mortal Storm, Stewart began filming No Time for Comedy (1940) with Rosalind Russell. [118] After spending over a year training pilots at Kirtland Army Airfield in Albuquerque, New Mexico,[120] he appealed to his commander and was sent to England as part of the 445th Bombardment Group, to pilot a B-24 Liberator, in November 1943. [285] She became his acting mentor in Hollywood and according to director Edward H. Griffith, "made [him] a star"; they went on to co-star in four films: Next Time You Love (1936), The Shopworn Angel (1938), The Shop Around the Corner (1940) and Mortal Storm (1940). [91] It was critically and commercially successful. The museum committee insisted that Stewart had contributed significant donations to the town, but it was done quietly so it was unknown to most residents. He appeared in three films that year. [73][74] It was a critical and commercial success, and showed Stewart's talent for performing in romantic comedies;[75] The New York Herald called him "one of the most knowing and engaging young actors appearing on the screen at present. Bland Johaneson of the New York Daily Mirror compared him to Stan Laurel in this melodramatic film and Variety called his performance unfocused. [40] During the summer, Stewart made his film debut with an unbilled appearance in the Shemp Howard comedy short Art Trouble (1934), filmed in Brooklyn, and acted in summer stock productions of We Die Exquisitely and All Paris Knows at the Red Barn Theater on Long Island. The service included full military honors and three volleys of musketry.[354]. [171] It also marked a turning point in Hollywood, as Stewart's agent, Lew Wasserman, brokered an innovative deal with Universal, in which Stewart would receive no fee in exchange for a percentage of the profits. [281] She regarded him as just a close friend and co-worker, and they never began a romantic relationship, but Stewart regardless felt unrequited romantic love towards her for many years. It was poorly received both commercially and critically. [309] When Stewart moved to Hollywood in 1935, he again shared an apartment with Fonda,[310] and the two gained reputations as playboys. Futurama. [356] In line with his natural and conversational acting style, Stewart's costars found him easy to work with as he was willing to improvise around any situation that arose while filming. [170] The first of these was the Universal production Winchester '73 (1950), which Stewart agreed to do in exchange for being cast in a screen adaptation of Harvey. It has increased in popularity since its release, and is considered a Christmas classic and one of Stewart's most famous performances. "[166], Stewart found success again with The Stratton Story (1949), playing baseball champion Monty Stratton opposite June Allyson. "[315] After Fonda's death in 1982, Stewart's only public comment was "I've just lost my best friend. [268] Stewart was offered the role of Howard Beale in Network (1976), but refused it due to its explicit language. [35] Returning to New York, he then landed a small part in Spring in Autumn and a role in All Good Americans, where he was required to throw a banjo out of the window. [448] In 1999, a bust of Stewart was unveiled at the Eighth Air Force Heritage Museum in Georgia. [335] A political argument in 1947 resulted in a fistfight with Henry Fonda, according to some accounts, but the two maintained their friendship by never discussing politics again. The former was a box office success despite its explicit dealing with subjects such as rape, and garnered good reviews. "[93] Between films, Stewart had begun a radio career, and had become a distinctive voice on the Lux Radio Theater, The Screen Guild Theater and other shows. [297], Stewart's first interaction with his future wife, Gloria Hatrick McLean, was at Keenan Wynn's Christmas party in 1947. During filming, Stewart experienced doubts about his abilities and continued to consider retiring from acting. [152] Stewart returned to making radio dramas in 1946; he continued this work between films until the mid-1950s. [452], "Jimmy Stewart" and "Jimmy Stuart" redirect here. [382] John Belton explained that "James Stewart evolves from the naive, small-town, populist hero of Frank Capra's 1930s comedies to the bitter, anxiety-ridden, vengeance-obsessed cowboy in Anthony Mann's 1950s Westerns and the disturbed voyeur and sexual fetishist in Alfred Hitchcock's 1950s suspense thrillers. 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