The Silver Screen Oasis

Wow! Three of us! Mann is my favorite Western director...and film noir director. Viewing Mann's films and the conmection is obvious. Stewart's performances are a bonus. Add Robert Ryan and one has near perfection.

On another thread, some of us praised THE NAKED SPUR. We feel it may be overlooked by some, in the shadow of other Mann westerns. If anything, it's my favorite.

Oh yeah, that's a goody, RedRiver. Taut and tight with a super cast.

As I said, Stewart is my favorite actor. Lord knows, I attach equal credit to Spencer Tracy, Deborah Kerr, Wendy Hiller, even Dustin Hoffman. But nobody gets to me like Jimmy. The man had a way of biting into an emotion, a reaction, and just making it real. I forget all about acting at that point. All I care about is the character in the story. Does he overplay from time to time? Yes. He could pull back a little, expecially in the Capra films. (Who couldn't?) But it's that intensity that makes me feel for the person being played. Without that, he'd be just another actor!

In the long run, George Bailey is his masterpiece. If there's an emotion that's not depicted in that story, I'd like to know what it is! He's wonderful in ANATOMY OF A MURDER. Actors must love courtroom drama. HARVEY is more on the quiet side. Gentle and understated. How many actors could play that range of characters, as well as the flinty outdoorsman this thread is dedicated to?

Love Jimmy, too! Yet I don't know if it's just me but one wouldn't expect to find such range in someone like Stewart, who for the most part simply seems to come across as the all-American "nice guy". Can't explain it, maybe it's that likeability and/or his utter naturalness, but he constantly surprises me with his versatility. One of my (many) fave Jimmy Stewart performances is in ROPE. When you go beneath the surface, that's an extremely complex characterization that Jimmy pulls off brilliantly. Even a role like "Buttons" in THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH - performed entirely under clown makeup. Jimmy plays a murderer but adds layers to the characterization. And of course we need look no further than the Anthony Mann Westerns. George Bailey and Rupert Cadell give us a taste of what lurks underneath the likeable exterior, but as that cowpoke in 50s films, we really see the actor expose a darker side.

However, I confess that one of my all-time favorite Jimmy Stewart performances was in MR. KRUEGER'S CHRISTMAS. If his latter-day touching performance doesn't bring a tear to your eye . . . well, all I gotta say is: Scrooge truly lives.

maybe it's that likeability and/or his utter naturalness,

That's exactly what it is. That total believability, which might prevent him from being grossly miscast, is the quality that works so well for him. He simply IS the person in the story.

The same could be said of Fonda - absolutely one of my favorite actors. Have never seen a Fonda flick which I haven't enjoyed - mainly due to Hank's playing. No tricks or theatrics, just a totally natural actor. Perhaps his personality was not quite as likeable as Jimmy's but he projected (mostly) an admirable decency.