Jimmy Stewart Westerns

James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997), popularly known as Jimmy Stewart, was an American film and stage actor best known for his self-effacing persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and one Lifetime Achievement award. He also had a noted military career, rising to the rank of Brigadier General in the United States Air Force Reserve.

James Stewart's collaborations with director Anthony Mann expanded Stewart's popularity and expanded his career into the realm of the western. Stewart's first appearance in a film helmed by Mann came with the 1950 western classic, Winchester '73. In choosing Mann (after first choice Fritz Lang declined), Stewart cemented a powerful partnership. The film, which became a massive box office hit upon its release, set the pattern for their future collaborations. In it, Stewart is a tough, revengeful sharpshooter, the winner of a prized rifle which is stolen and then passes through many hands, until the showdown between Stewart and his brother (Stephen McNally).

Other Stewart-Mann westerns, such as Bend of the River (1952), The Naked Spur (1953), The Far Country (1954) and The Man from Laramie (1955) were perennial favorites among young audiences entranced by the American West. Frequently, the films featured Stewart as a troubled cowboy seeking redemption, while facing corrupt cattlemen, ranchers and outlaws—a man who knows violence first hand and struggles to control it. Their collaborations laid the foundation for many of the westerns of the 1950s and remain popular today for their grittier, more realistic depiction of the classic movie genre. Audiences saw Stewart’s screen persona evolve into a more mature, more ambiguous, and edgier presence.

Like so many "good" actors, he seemed very natural and powerful in a Western, much like his pal, Henry Fonda. But James Stewart only appeared in 17 of them over his 50 year career. For me it was the early "adult" westerns in the 1950's that cemented his place in the Cowboy Hall of Fame.

1. DESTRY RIDES AGAIN (1939) as Thomas Destry Jr.
2. WINCHESTER '73 (1950) as Lin McAdam.
3. BROKEN ARROW (1950) as Tom Jeffries.
4. BEND OF THE RIVER (1952) as Glyn McLyntock.
5. THE NAKED SPUR (1953) as Howard Kemp.
6. THE FAR COUNTRY (1954) as Jeff Webster.
7. THE MAN FROM LARAMIE (1955) as Will Lockhart.
8. NIGHT PASSAGE (1957) as Grant McLaine.
9. TWO RODE TOGETHER (1961) as Guthrie McCabe.
10. HOW THE WEST WAS WON (1962)as Linus Rawlings.
11. CHEYENNE AUTUMN (1964) as Wyatt Earp.
12. SHENANDOAH (1965) as Charlie Anderson.
13. THE RARE BREED (1966) as Sam Burnett.
14. FIRECREEK (1968) as Johnny Cobb.
15. BANDOLERO (1968) as Mace Bishop.
16. THE CHEYENNE SOCIAL CLUB (1970) as John O'Hanian.
17. THE SHOOTIST (1976) as Dr. E.W. Hostetler.