Film Weakest Link: James Stewart - Round Five

"Philadelphia Story" went under in the last round, so we're left with four. Pick the ONE weakest link!

Discussion: what was the first Stewart film you remember seeing? What'd you think of it then - and what do you think of it now?

 

The first Stewart film I remember was "Harvey." A timeless funny movie fit for kids (I was probably about 7 when I first watched it).

 

Geez, how did I miss the first four rounds of this one?!

Anyway, voting out Wonderful Life.

First one I remember seeing is probably Rear Window, but I might have seen one of the Westerns before that -- like Winchester '73 or The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence. I love all three of those films, so... I guess my reaction was the same regardless of which one it actually was!

 

Mr Smith goes to Washington.

My first ever was 'Vertigo' and I recall being mesmerised by it.

Best Wishes
David

 

Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation. I don't recall much of anything about it. A couple years later I saw Vertigo at my summer camp. Really liked it (even if I missed about 90% of what was really going on).

 

The worst think about "Vertigo" is that Hitchcock stole the title from U2!

And he'd already done that with "Rope"!

Hitch was a THIEF!!!

 

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

DQ: not sure. Might have been either Harvey or Rear Window, on TV. But I also have vague memories of seeing The Man Who Knew Too Much at the movies (yes, I'm a geezer), so that might have preceded the other two.

Loved Harvey and RW. At 6 or 7, I was underwhelmed by TMWKTM.

 

Stewart's performance/character in Mr. Smith really pales in comparison to It's a Wonderful Life. Not bad, but it feels pretty two dimensional compared to the rich portrayal of George Bailey.

 

DQ: Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation was probably the first. Saw it at movies and not too much later on TV. I saw a bunch of the color movies he was in (on B/W tv however)
back in the 60s.

 

Pretty tight race so far!

 

I didn't expect Vertigo to be scoring so high so soon.

Best Wishes
David

 

Rear Window because it is a vehicle for Grace Kelly rather than JS for me.

 

OK, I've seen all these, and like "Mr. Smith" the least--and I still like it!

DQ: Not sure. I'll look at a filmography and see if it jogs my memory.

EDIT: I'm guessing it was THE SHOOTIST. I don't remember seeing any of his films on TV before seeing that one in the theater when I was 18 or so. I recalled him from his TV show and from appearances on talk shows like THE TONIGHT SHOW, but had no idea how good he was in the earlier films until much later.

JcS

 

Wonderful Life.

First one I saw was probably It's A Wonderful Life, but I was so young, I can't recollect my thoughts. Next up was probably Mr. Smith, which I've always really liked.

 

This, for me.

Not surprised at all, as this is one of Stewart's most compelling and disturbing performances, matched only IMHO by his haunting portrayal of George Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life." In fact, my guess is that "Vertigo" is the more highly regarded film from a critical standpoint, or at least tends to hold more favor with the anti-sentimentalist, anti-Capracorn crowd.

As for the DQ, "Vertigo" was the first Stewart film I saw in a theater when it was restored, but I seem to remember seeing "Harvey" on TV before that (didn't think he was acting too hard for that one! ). I still enjoy "Harvey" quite a bit, and am sorry to see that one voted off so soon.

 

Wonderful Life

 

Vertigo

 

Vertigo. Never cared much for that film.

 

Discussion: I'm sure "Airport '77" was the first Stewart film I ever saw. Doubt I had any idea who he was back then - I was 10 - but I'm sure I loved the movie. I just adored all those disaster flicks in the 70s.

What do I think of it now? :thumbsdn:

http://www.dvdmg.com/airport77.shtml

 

Sorry to see that Philadelphia Story was eliminated in the last round. I voted out It's a Wonderful Life this round. It is a good movie, but I really got tired of watching it when the movie was in the public domain in the 80s. I predict it's going to be a show-down of Hitchcock movies in the finals. Glad to see the show-outs for Mr Hobbs Takes a Vacation. It is an enjoyable movie.

 

Wonderful Life again. Obviously this is going to come down to the Hitchcocks.

DQ: I don't know. The first I remember seeing with an adult awareness of who Stewart was Vertigo, but I'd certainly seen him in many other things as a youngster.

 

It is getting tough now. Vertigo

 

Still close with an hour left!