The general-turned-cowboy
 

Posted on 21.10.2023

The trajectory of James Stewart, an iconic figure affected by the war, and a loyal actor to directors Capra, Hitchcock and Anthony Mann.

The subject

James Maitland Stewart (1908-1997), known as Jimmy, was an American actor and general, according to encyclopaedias. The doc presents the life and career of one of the most popular actors of Hollywood's Golden Age, who became a formidable companion to at least three great filmmakers: Frank Capra before the war, Anthony Mann for a series of legendary westerns and Alfred Hitchcock who made him his leading man in the late 1950s.

James Stewart, l’ami américain, 2022 © DR

The approach

Ultra-simple: few extracts (no doubt because they're expensive), solid iconography and, above all, specialists who know their subject inside out. The commentary was co-written by Jean-Claude Missiaen and features encyclopaedic knowledge from Philippe le Guay, Bernard Benoliel, Rafik Djoumi and Jean-François Giré. So, of course, we take in the "talking heads" (and the last speaker's cat in the background). But here no one is into empty talk, so the foursome ends up painting a complete portrait of a legendary actor.

List of highlights

The importance of the war in the actor's career, enabling him to rise through the military hierarchy, but above all creating in him a turbulence that would swallow up the light-heartedness of the pre-war years; a detailed analysis of Stewart as a "Mannian" protagonist, a tormented figure on the verge of masochism; and then, more anecdotally, the appearance of Stewart sketched in a Tex Avery cartoon. Moral of the day: a film that contains an extract from Tex Avery can't be all that bad.

A. F.

SCREENING

James Stewart, l’ami américain by Éric Paccoud (Documentary, 2022, 1h09)
Institut Lumière (Villa) – Satruday, 21 October at 2pm