{"id":15316,"date":"2011-07-18T06:00:12","date_gmt":"2011-07-18T10:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=15316"},"modified":"2013-03-07T12:42:47","modified_gmt":"2013-03-07T17:42:47","slug":"james-stewart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=15316","title":{"rendered":"The Five Best James Stewart Performances"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Guest blogger Rick29 writes:<\/p>\n

The problem with listing the five best James Stewart <\/a>films is that there are many more than five. But this month\u2019s theme at my website is the \u201c5 \u00a0Best\u201d and I\u2019ll stick to it. I don\u2019t like it, though. One of my all-time favorite movies, Anatomy of a Murder <\/a>(which features a superb Stewart performance), wound up as an honorable mention. And I am ready to incur the wrath of fans of The Philadelphia Story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

1. Vertigo<\/a> \u2013 Stewart did his best work in the 1950s, often playing down his natural charm to portray obsessive, driven characters. His finest acting came in Alfred Hitchcock\u2019s<\/a> masterpiece, where we watch a typical Stewart \u201cnice guy\u201d evolve into a man obsessed with an illusion. Contrast Scotty\u2019s (Stewart) playful banter early on with Midge with his climactic confrontation with Judy\u2014his eyes ablaze with confusion, hate, and something akin to love. It\u2019s a brilliant and chilling transition.<\/p>\n

2. Rear Window<\/a> \u2013 As injured photographer \u201cJeff\u201d Jeffries, Stewart played a character that seems like a the start of natural progression to Vertigo\u2019s Scotty. Jeff is charming and likable, but his \u201chobby\u201d of spying on his neighbors masks a subtle obsession with voyeurism. Stewart explores the shadows of Jeff\u2019s personality, but never goes too far. We may question Jeff\u2019s motives, but we always root for him.<\/p>\n

3. It\u2019s a Wonderful Life<\/a> \u2013 Its frequent showings may have diluted its impact and Stewart\u2019s brilliant acting job as George Bailey. However, Stewart\u2019s post-World War II performance revealed a new maturity and depth that enable him to capture George\u2019s desperation and passion. Those elements were present in earlier Stewart films, in particular Mr. Smith Goes to Washington<\/a>, but not to the extent that the actor channels them here.<\/p>\n

4. Winchester \u201973<\/a> \u2013 Any of the five Anthony Mann<\/a>-James Stewart Westerns could fall into this slot, but I opted for Winchester \u201973 simply because it was the pair\u2019s first collaboration. In all of his Mann films, Stewart plays a loner with a dark past who is redeemed by love, friendship, and\/or community acceptance. These grim, hard men are a stark contrast to the easygoing Tom Destry from Destry Rides Again<\/a> and proof again of Stewart\u2019s acting versatility.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>5.Harvey<\/a> \u2013 Playing a much older character, Stewart shines as the eccentric Elwood P. Dowd, whose best friend is a 6\u2019 3.5\u201d invisible rabbit (well, technically a pooka). As evidence of Stewart\u2019s mastery of the role, I ask if you imagine anyone else saying this line: \u201cYears ago my mother used to say to me, she’d say, \u2018In this world, Elwood, you must be\u2019\u2014she always called me Elwood\u2014\u2018in this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.\u2019 Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Honorable mentions: Anatomy of a Murder, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Destry Rides Again, and The Shop Around the Corner.<\/a><\/p>\n

What’s your favorite James Stewart performances? Sound off in the comments!<\/p>\n

Rick29 is a film reference book author and a regular contributor at the Classic Film & TV Caf\u00e9 (<\/em>http:\/\/classic-film-tv.blogspot.com\/<\/em><\/strong><\/a> on Facebook: <\/em>https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Classic-Film-and-TV-Cafe\/136423960949<\/em><\/a> and Twitter @classic_film ). He\u2019s a big fan of MovieFanFare, too, of course!<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

James Stewart Articles:<\/h2>\n

James Stewart: It’s a Wonderful Career<\/a><\/p>\n

James Stewart: His Five Best Performances<\/a><\/p>\n

The Man From Laramie<\/a><\/p>\n

Suspicion: First Viewing Experiences<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Guest blogger Rick29 writes: The problem with listing the five best James Stewart films is that there are many more than five. But this month\u2019s theme at my website is the \u201c5 \u00a0Best\u201d and I\u2019ll stick to it. I don\u2019t…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9691,"featured_media":15317,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[1685,1381],"coauthors":[3819],"class_list":["post-15316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-articles","tag-its-a-wonderful-life","tag-james-stewart"],"yoast_head":"\nJames Stewart: His Five Best Performances<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Five Best James Stewart Performances are discussed. Do you agree? Movies include, Vertigo, Rear Window, It's A Wonderful Life and Winchester \u201973.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=15316\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"James Stewart: His Five Best Performances\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Five Best James Stewart Performances are discussed. Do you agree? Movies include, Vertigo, Rear Window, It's A Wonderful Life and Winchester \u201973.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=15316\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MovieFanFare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Movies-Unlimited\/88679322377\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-07-18T10:00:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-03-07T17:42:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Vertigo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"334\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"331\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rick29\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rick29\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=15316#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=15316\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Rick29\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/45d2c595aa14dcee072c8cf0dd0068db\"},\"headline\":\"The Five Best James Stewart Performances\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-07-18T10:00:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-03-07T17:42:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=15316\"},\"wordCount\":576,\"commentCount\":311,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=15316#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2011\\\/07\\\/Vertigo.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"It's a Wonderful Life\",\"James Stewart\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Movie Articles\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=15316#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=15316\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=15316\",\"name\":\"James Stewart: His Five Best Performances\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=15316#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=15316#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2011\\\/07\\\/Vertigo.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-07-18T10:00:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-03-07T17:42:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/45d2c595aa14dcee072c8cf0dd0068db\"},\"description\":\"The Five Best James Stewart Performances are discussed. Do you agree? Movies include, Vertigo, Rear Window, It's A Wonderful Life and Winchester \u201973.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=15316#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=15316\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=15316#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2011\\\/07\\\/Vertigo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2011\\\/07\\\/Vertigo.jpg\",\"width\":334,\"height\":331},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=15316#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Five Best James Stewart Performances\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"MovieFanFare\",\"description\":\"Movie Articles, Movie Reviews, New DVD Releases\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/45d2c595aa14dcee072c8cf0dd0068db\",\"name\":\"Rick29\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d69a5dc5869ef642f9d8a29b3f491c8f4d122a4e7ec266c41e17601f1efe9e15?s=96&d=mm&r=g3d9671060f42458d600b0c604fc29c96\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d69a5dc5869ef642f9d8a29b3f491c8f4d122a4e7ec266c41e17601f1efe9e15?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d69a5dc5869ef642f9d8a29b3f491c8f4d122a4e7ec266c41e17601f1efe9e15?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Rick29\"},\"description\":\"Rick29 is a film reference book author of the movie book The Movie List Book and the last edition called the more descriptive Encyclopedia of Film Themes, Setting and Series. It's available through all major book sellers. Rick29 is also a regular contributor at the Classic Film & TV Caf\u00e9 \\\"http:\\\/\\\/www.classicfilmtvcafe.com\\\/\\\", and has a Facebook page.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.classicfilmtvcafe.com\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/classic_film\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com?author_name\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"James Stewart: His Five Best Performances","description":"The Five Best James Stewart Performances are discussed. Do you agree? Movies include, Vertigo, Rear Window, It's A Wonderful Life and Winchester \u201973.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=15316","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"James Stewart: His Five Best Performances","og_description":"The Five Best James Stewart Performances are discussed. Do you agree? Movies include, Vertigo, Rear Window, It's A Wonderful Life and Winchester \u201973.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=15316","og_site_name":"MovieFanFare","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Movies-Unlimited\/88679322377","article_published_time":"2011-07-18T10:00:12+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-03-07T17:42:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":334,"height":331,"url":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Vertigo.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Rick29","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Rick29","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=15316#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=15316"},"author":{"name":"Rick29","@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/#\/schema\/person\/45d2c595aa14dcee072c8cf0dd0068db"},"headline":"The Five Best James Stewart Performances","datePublished":"2011-07-18T10:00:12+00:00","dateModified":"2013-03-07T17:42:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=15316"},"wordCount":576,"commentCount":311,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=15316#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Vertigo.jpg","keywords":["It's a Wonderful Life","James Stewart"],"articleSection":["Movie Articles"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=15316#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=15316","url":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=15316","name":"James Stewart: His Five Best Performances","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=15316#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=15316#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Vertigo.jpg","datePublished":"2011-07-18T10:00:12+00:00","dateModified":"2013-03-07T17:42:47+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/#\/schema\/person\/45d2c595aa14dcee072c8cf0dd0068db"},"description":"The Five Best James Stewart Performances are discussed. Do you agree? Movies include, Vertigo, Rear Window, It's A Wonderful Life and Winchester \u201973.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=15316#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=15316"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=15316#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Vertigo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Vertigo.jpg","width":334,"height":331},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=15316#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Five Best James Stewart Performances"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/","name":"MovieFanFare","description":"Movie Articles, Movie Reviews, New DVD Releases","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/#\/schema\/person\/45d2c595aa14dcee072c8cf0dd0068db","name":"Rick29","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d69a5dc5869ef642f9d8a29b3f491c8f4d122a4e7ec266c41e17601f1efe9e15?s=96&d=mm&r=g3d9671060f42458d600b0c604fc29c96","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d69a5dc5869ef642f9d8a29b3f491c8f4d122a4e7ec266c41e17601f1efe9e15?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d69a5dc5869ef642f9d8a29b3f491c8f4d122a4e7ec266c41e17601f1efe9e15?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Rick29"},"description":"Rick29 is a film reference book author of the movie book The Movie List Book and the last edition called the more descriptive Encyclopedia of Film Themes, Setting and Series. It's available through all major book sellers. Rick29 is also a regular contributor at the Classic Film & TV Caf\u00e9 \"http:\/\/www.classicfilmtvcafe.com\/\", and has a Facebook page.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.classicfilmtvcafe.com\/","https:\/\/x.com\/classic_film"],"url":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com?author_name"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9691"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15316\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15316"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=15316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}