James Stewart
Here's another great actor where I don't really
know where to begin... The beginning sounds good... On a personal
note: James Stewart died on 2nd July 1997 whilst I was in
New York and the person who seemed to be leading the plaudits,
as far as the news in New York was concerned, was Raquel Welch
and, to chance sounding just a little too boastful, I had
diner with her that night in a restaurant on Broadway where
Raquel was about to star in Victor Victoria... Anyway, that's
another story...
Throughout his seven decades in Hollywood, James
Stewart consistantly raised the bar in acting standards. James
Stewart was an actor who challenged himself to stretch his
talent beyond that which the role required. That alone is
not an easy thing to achieve when you have one of the most
recognizable faces and are locked to an unmistakeable screen
image. Yet, James Stewart succeed to remain true to himself
and his audience whilst playing a very wide range of roles
in great Hollywood classics such as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,
The Philadelphia Story, Harvey, It's a Wonderful Life - my
favourite film of all time - Rear Window, Rope and Vertigo.
Just look at the genres which James Stewart mastered in his
illustrious career: screwball comedies, westerns, biographies,
suspense thrillers and family films. He worked for a number
of the biggest and most talented film makers, most notably
Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford, Billy Wilder, Frank Capra and
Anthony Mann. He won the industry's highest honors and earned
Lifetime Achievement awards from every major film organization.
He died in 1997, leaving behind a legacy of classic performances
that list far longer than my arm, and is considered one of
the finest actors in, what has been termed, "the Golden
Age of Hollywood."
I'm not going to go on about my favourite James
Stewart films, except to repeat that It's A Wonderful Life
is my favourite film of all time and Harvey is right up there
around the top of my list, and as for James Stewart's westerns?
I love them all, but feel Shenandoah, Two Rode Together, The
Rare Breed and James Stewart's role in the all-star cast of
How the West Was Won deserve special mention.
Tim Rees
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