Jimmy, Jimmy, Oh, Jimmy, Jimmy!

H-h-h-h-he is one of the most recognizable stars of Classic Hollywood. With his boyish charm and humble stutter, James Stewart personified the thoughtful, passionate everyman in a career that spanned over fifty years. Born in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Stewart started his entertainment career in college and then went to Broadway. By the mid-Thirties he was making movies in Hollywood and was a bankable star by the end of the decade.

When America went to war, Stewart was drafted- but was found to be underweight. Rather than shrugging his bony shoulders and going back to the safety of a Hollywood soundstage, he kept re-applying (and eating) until he was accepted in the Air Corps, turning down a behind-the-lines instructor position to fly actual combat missions.
His return to Hollywood in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946) not only created an iconic film role, but signaled a more complex Stewart that reflected Post-War America. He would work with some of the masters of Fifties cinema: Hitchcock, Preminger, Mann, Ford. As he aged, Stewart continued to perform and remained immensely popular, earning a total of five Academy Awards and an Honorary Oscar in 1985.

Stewart was a star- but after an early reputation as a playboy, managed to avoid the kinds of scandal and rumor that attracted the likes of Hedda Hopper and Louella Parson (unless you consider the fact that he was a proud card-carrying Hollywood Republican scandalous). He was known as a consummate professional and an all-around swell fella. The lovable screen persona of Jimmy Stewart became the public image- and it has endured.

On what would have been his 108th birthday here are my Top 5 Jimmy Stewart Movies:

You Can't Take It With You (1938)

Director Frank Capra was on a roll with two Best Director Oscars for It Happened One Night (1934) and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) so the expectations for his film adaptation of Kaufman and Hart's Broadway hit You Can't Take it With You were high. Capra cast Stewart as Tony Kirby, the lovestruck son of a banker who has to re-examine his political beliefs when he falls for a gal (wise-crackin' Jean Arthur) from a kooky liberal family.

With a family of hams like Lionel Barrymore, Spring Byington, and Ann Miller, who wouldn't do a spit-take over Sunday dinner? The film hops between goofy family comedy and earnest political statement, so there are moments when Capra's social preachiness weighs-down the narrative. But Stewart was perfect as a young man addled by love and an eccentric family, finally succumbing to the charms of both.

The success of You Can't cemented Stewart's endearing stammer and open-mouthed "aw shucks" face in popular culture and became his first big hit. It also started a professional relationship with Frank Capra that would result in legendary films Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) and It's a Wonderful Life (1946). Not to mention Capra earned his third and final Best Director statue. It seems in this case, you can definitely take it with you.

Destry Rides Again (1939)

Stewart's first Western in a career riddled with them is a real charmer. The town of Bottleneck is run by crooked mayor Hiram J. Slade who has just had his henchman dispatch the town sheriff. Enter son of a famous lawman Tom Destry, Jr. (Stewart) who without a gun, begins to clean up this one-horse town. Standing in his way is saloon chanteuse Frenchy (the not French- but who cares? Marlene Dietrich) who winds up falling for the lanky sharpshooter who ultimately has to whip out his pistol to break the bad guys.

Dietrich gives a career-defining performance, playing a world-weary gal who knows her way around a bar and a man. Her warbling of "See What the Boys in the Backroom Will Have" inspired Madeline Kahn's hilarious Lili Von Schtupp in Mel Brooks' classic Western parody Blazing Saddles (1974). And Dietrich's catfight with Una Merkel is a hair-pulling, glass-throwing, chair-breaking masterpiece that caused a ruckus with the censors.

Dietrich and Stewart are absolute magic together- a sort of odd couple with the seductive singer and the reluctant gunman throwing off sparks. Apparently they hit it off offscreen as well. In later years, Dietrich claimed she got pregnant during the affair but got rid of lil' Jimmy without telling the father. This did not prevent her from starring with Stewart years later in airplane drama No Highway in the Sky (1951) where Dietrich takes full advantage of the fact that you could still smoke on planes.

See what the boys in the backroom will have- Emphysema.

The Philadelphia Story (1940)

Is there such a thing as the perfect movie? I would venture to say there is- and this is one of them. George Cukor's romantic comedy about a society wedding was based on a successful Broadway play and had top star wattage. The great Kate Hepburn played uppercrust gal Tracy Lord (no not that Traci Lords) whose wedding to another uppercrust soul (John Howard staying out of the way of the rest of the stellar cast) is complicated when her ex-husband C.K. Dexter Haven (oh so handsome Cary Grant) shows up, along with a pair of newspaper reporters (Stewart and his gal Friday Ruth Hussey), and Tracy's philandering father (John Halliday).

Of course there are mix-ups and romantic entanglements, witty barbs, and enough cocktails to fill a backyard pool. It's one of those movies where you wish you could jump through the screen and tie one on at a garden party with these fascinating folk.

Stewart as disillusioned poet turned newshound plays against his famous image by being cynical and snide- mocking Tracy and her whims and fancies. But once he gets drunk, he gives in to his true feelings and gushes about his awe of her "magnificence." Here is the Stewart we know- the young man spilling out his heart to beat the band grabbing all of our heart strings in his thin hand. Macaulay Connor for this one shining moment becomes Jefferson Smith, giving a filibuster on love. It's a wonderful performance that earned him his only competitive Oscar. And as a member of this mostly Oscar nominated cast (someone was smoking crack and left Grant off the nomination list that year), he helped make one of the great romantic comedies of the Golden Era.


Harvey (1950)

Elwood P. Dowd has troubles. His live-in sister and niece are angry with him because his best friend Harvey is causing a stir. Why shouldn't he? He's an imaginary 6" tall rabbit. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning Mary Chase play (they used to make a lot of movies out of plays) Harvey was a pet project for Stewart. He had played Elwood on Broadway, and hoped to bring the success he had on stage to the screen. Spoiler alert: He did.

Stewart was at the peak of his genial abilities, making this lost alcoholic who saw the world differently irresistable. Most of the characters in the play believe Elwood is crazy, in fact they want him committed. But for the play to work, we have to believe that Elwood sees Harvey. We can't think he's crazy. And even though we don't see the hulking lepus, we want to. Stewart's innate ability to make us trust and love him achieves those aims, seemingly effortlessly. He would earn his fourth Academy Award nomination for it. 

Harvey is one of those showcase movies built around one star's performance that can feel like an ego-trip. But the supporting cast that includes Oscar winner Josephine Hull joins in the heavy-lifting with Stewart and delivers a picture that works even when Stewart (and Harvey) are offscreen. 

Rear Window (1954)

Before you Hitchcock fans get too up in arms, yes I chose Rear Window over Vertigo (1958) for my favorite Stewart/Hitchcock movie. Vertigo might be a better work of art- but I think Rear Window is a better movie.
Stewart plays photographer Jeff Jeffries who is laid-up in his New York apartment with a broken leg. Unable to get around he sits in his wheelchair and tunes in to a common New York City show- the neighbors. Jeff's apartment looks out onto a back courtyard that is ringed by the rears of multiple buildings, providing a view into the lives of all of his neighbors- or at least those that don't lower their shades. As we watch The Songwriter, Miss Torso, Miss Lonelyhearts, a pair of newlyweds, and Miss Hearing Aid, we become part of a community that doesn't know it's a community.

Jeff is the director linking all of these strangers' lives. When neighbor Lars Thorwald (a creep-a-rific Raymond Burr) begins acting very strangely, Jeff worries that a murder has occurred and uses his girlfriend Lisa (the oh-so posh Grace Kelly) to investigate.

Stewart's trustworthiness is again at the center of his performance. We have to believe that Jeff witnessed a murder- even if we don't see it. We must have faith something happened- even if other characters are reluctant to accept it. With Stewart, that belief comes unconditionally, so that even when doubts creep in, we know that ultimately he will be vindicated. It's watching how the proof is revealed that makes it so much fun.

Hitchcock's brilliant camerawork uses long takes and subtle POV shots to lure us into Jeff's voyeuristic world and link together all of the different characters. The camera rarely leaves Jeff's apartment, opting for long shots that immerse the audience in Jeff's immobile view, making us meta viewers of a viewer.

This "viewed from a distance" technique produces a feeling of helplessness- much how Stewart feels when watching Lisa in danger from the confines of his apartment. Instead of a simple gimmick, Hitchcock's use of the camera allows us to be part of the film- and that ups the thrill level as the mystery unfolds.

Oh and Thelma Ritter appears as a sassy visiting nurse. Who wouldn't want that rubdown?

If all that's not enough to prove how charming Jimmy is, watch him tell a joke.

Top 5 London Pics!

Next week I'm off to London to see my beau, and since you can't cross the Pond with me- I'm giving you some English realness by listing my Top 5 Films set in London:






1.) Mary Poppins (1964)

For a kid who used to dream of being British (I answered the phone in an English accent) Mary Poppins was sheer heaven. I was enchanted by the flowering tree-lined streets, the houses shaped like ships, the seemingly endless rooftop horizon, and the kite-filled sky of London. I wanted to move in with the Banks family on Cherry Tree Lane and jump into chalk sidewalk paintings, dance with chimney sweeps, and have a tea party on the ceiling. No Kansas wheatfields for me. I wanted sooty London.

As I grew up and realized that I was not a long-lost Windsor prince, I also figured out that the London of Mary Poppins wasn't real. The film was shot on all four of Disney's soundstages a half a world- and fifty years away from the London of 1910 that the film idealizes. But the fantastical world of Mary Poppins was real in a sense, because it was based on actual Edwardian/Georgian neighborhoods, parks, and buildings- the most obvious being grand old St. Paul's Cathedral.

In order to teach Jane and Michael Banks a lesson in charity, Mary (the "Ha-Ha in your face Audrey Hepburn!" Oscar-winner of 1965, Julie Andrews) produces a snowglobe that contains St. Paul's Cathedral- but instead of snow, small white angles recreate the birds that flock around the domed structure.

As she sings "Feed the Birds" we are magically transported inside the globe to see a withered old woman (Jane Darwell) who sells bags of breadcrumbs to passersby for "tuppence a bag." The animation mixed with the physical set gives the sensation of a dream, and one can't help but feel that you are standing at the steps of the great cathedral looking up at the arches and statues, surrounded by flying birds. That cinematic moment is so memorable that even today, the website for Saint Paul's has a page with a video clip from the movie. Chokes me up every time.

When I finally made my first trip to London, I didn't see any chimney sweeps, but I did hang out with a couple builders and see some colorful auras while on ecstasy. Saint Paul's was beautiful- and even if I did avoid the flocks of birds (pigeons and I don't get along), I looked for the little old lady to give some tuppence to.




2.) Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

From 1960's Disney animation to CGI-generated scenery we go. I know I'm going to get some flack from theater-folk who HATED this movie, but I thoroughly enjoyed Tim Burton's take on Stephen Sondheim's classic musical. The titular Sweeney (Johnny Depp) returns to London with revenge on his mind after being wrongly imprisoned at the hands of wicked Judge Turpin (the terribly missed Alan Rickman).

With the help of former neighbor and meatpie shop owner Mrs. Lovett (the queen of odd, Helena Bonham Carter), he opens up a barbershop whose customers leave with much more than a shave and a haircut. The scenery is mostly computer-generated, but the view of a dark, and grimy Victorian London is darkly lush and seductive, and won an Oscar for Best Art Direction.

I know, I know. Burton cut the opening song from the musical "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd"- but rather than sing the backstory up front, Burton let it unfold throughout the film. Yes, I know Johnny Depp does not have the  pipes of stage Sweeney Len Cariou. He has at best a rock-styled voice from a garage band that performs at local proms. But Depp broods and simmers pretty well. And of course Helena is no Angela Landsbury. But nobody is- and Angie's too old to do the movie- so I think Helena does a fine job playing the deceitful Mrs. Lovett.

I think what really matters about Sweeney Todd is its grisly, dark humor, and the cutting lyrics to Sondheim's brilliant score. And who better to do macabre humor than Tim Burton? The montage of Sweeney at the height of his barbering career cleverly follows the rhythm of the song with bone-crunches adding a sick musical punctuation as each customer exits the chair.

Perhaps the most fun comes from the performance of "A Little Priest" where Sondheim's brilliant lyrics take centerstage amidst the overindulgent film edits, crusty pies, and cleavers.



Perhaps I'll do a Sweeney Todd tour of London while I'm there...

3.) Sabotage (1936)

Before he came to Hollywood, a thinner Alfred Hitchcock made some exciting films for independent British film companies. One of the most interesting is this gem about a plot to blow-up London. Scotland Yard detective Sergeant Ted Spencer (John Loder) goes undercover to investigate an act of sabotage that left London without power.

He befriends the lovely Mrs. Verloc (the gal with the glorious eyes, Sylvia Sidney) and her young brother Stevie (Desmond Tester) in order to keep tabs on her husband Karl (Oscar Homolka) who Spencer suspects of being involved with the English/German terrorist group. Will Spence find out what the next plot is and stop it in time? I'm not going to say.

The film is a smorgasbord of Hitchock's signature obsessions: birds, Germans, the wife married to someone she doesn't really know, and the movies. The film is also taut with the suspense that was Hitchcock's stock in trade. The famous bus scene where little Stevie is unknowingly transporting a bomb in a film can is unforgettable, the tension building to an unendurable level.

Loosely based on Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent, the film is tight and suspenseful with Sidney giving a performance that makes you wonder why she's not well-known today- you may remember her best as the always smoking Juno in Beetlejuice (1988). She is captivating on screen  but reportedly did not get along with Hitchcock, so she never appeared in his films again. Of course, Hitch moved on to blond leading ladies by the time he went to Hollywood anyway. And if you're looking for the famous Hitchcock cameo on the streets of London, don't bother. For some reason, he didn't pop into this film. Maybe he didn't like riding the London bus.

4.) Konga (1961)

We've seen King Kong climb the Empire State Building. We watched giant ants tear up the sewers of Los Angeles. Godzilla has trampled all over Tokyo and New York City. London felt a little ignored by giant movie monsters, so in 1961, they made Konga

Producer Herman Cohen was the successful B-Horror Movie schlockmeister behind such classics as I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957). In 1959 for reasons I can't unearth, the Detroit native moved to England and continued churning out the very best in terrible horror movies, including two with Joan Crawford: Berserk (1967) and the not-to-be-forgotten Trog (1970). 

So Cohen's resume made him the perfect producer to make the story of a mad scientist who develops a growth serum and injects it into his favorite lab chimp- who soon grows from little monkey to man in a monkey suit. As Dr. Decker's (Michael Gough) ambitions and paranoia grow, so does his monkey and soon Konga is breaking through the roofs of houses and doing his master's will... until he doesn't. Konga grabs ahold of Dr. Decker and makes Big Ben his own personal stripper pole. But as Kong could tell Konga, it never turns out well when a monkey climbs a national landmark.

The monster movie is a beloved genre- and like its kin, Konga questions unfettered Atomic Age science and the reckless act of mucking around with nature. Cohen sluts it up a little by adding a blond lab assistant, but essentially he follows the mad scientist/monster paradigm, creating laughable acting, dialogue, and effects along the way.

Frequent Cohen collaborator Michael Gough snarls his was through the picture making Dr. Decker as unlikable as possible. Funny to think that at the end of his career Gough would star as the beloved Alfred in the Tim Burton Batman (1989). From monkeys to bats. That's showbiz!

5.) Beautiful Thing (1996)

Ah, gay London! I'll never forget the night at Heaven danceclub when I went home with a gent who told me he was Prince Andrew only to find out we weren't going to Windsor Castle and I was not about to make it with a member of the royal family. Gay princes aside, being gay in London has the same pitfalls as anywhere else, and that's why Hettie Macdonald's Beautiful Things is so universal.

Jamie (Glen Berry) is the product of Thamesmead, a South London working class project where the square concrete apartments are so close together, there is little to hide. And Jamie has lots to hide. He has a crush on his studly schoolmate Ste (Scott Neal). Ste's family life is abusive and after one particularly rough beating, he winds up at Jamie's house under the care of Jamie's wacky ma (EastEnders regular Linda Henry.)

As Ste lies in Jamie's bed, open and vulnerable, Jamie opens up too, and exposes his feelings for Ste by giving him a kiss. As any gay teen knows, this sort of thing can go horribly wrong, and Ste overwhelmed with guilt and shame, runs for the hills. But Beautiful Thing doesn't leave it there. Like the Mama Cass soundtrack that wafts from the neighbor's record player, this film embraces difference and hope. Rather than tell another gay tragedy, Beautiful Thing finds a happy ending for these two young men.

When the film came out it caused quite a stir- but not just because it was a gay romance. Beautiful Thing emerges from the dark AIDS era with an optimistic sense of  the joy and possibility of gay love. And if the scene of Jamie and Ste slowdancing in the courtyard to "Dream a Little Dream of Me" doesn't make your eyes moist, you need to get Restasis.

That's all for me London post, mates. I'll be back quicker than you can say, "Churchill's knickers!"

Chin-chin and all that rot!

Amazing Grace?

I've always felt bio-pics were a bit tricky. Actors and actresses who take on the task of having to portray famous people have to not only convincingly perform complex emotional characters, but they also have to project the image of the historical figure that we all expect. If Daniel Day Lewis wants to play Lincoln, he has to have a beard, a stovepipe hat, and a mole.

When the bio-pic is about a famous entertainer- it becomes even more difficult as the image shown to the world is so precise- with film footage and recordings of stars all over Youtube to constantly remind us what these people walk and talk and act like.  So an actor is forced into the daunting task of mimicking that image convincingly while at the same time trying to dig beneath the mask to portray the "real" person. Even when you have a good subject and a great actor, bio-pics about movie stars are really tough. Just ask Faye Dunaway. But what happens when the star you are portraying doesn't have memorably distinct characteristics?

Case in point- Grace of Monaco (2014) the Nicole Kidman starrer about Hollywood fairy-tale princess, Grace Kelly. I can go on and on about how this film was doomed from the start with a script that the Grimaldis themselves considered historically inaccurate and a production history that ended with Harvey Weinstein and director Olivier Dahan publicly feuding over cuts to the film. All this resulted in its being swept under the rug with a limited US release and no awards season love.

Maybe in some previous draft the political intrigue and Kelly's shining moment as a rescuer of her adopted country made sense- but the version I saw created about the same amount of drama as a PTA meeting... with better gowns. The stakes of Monaco possibly being invaded by France seemed inflated- and one speech from a beautiful Hollywood actress seemed insufficient to quell that disaster if we were to buy into it in the first place.

But I have a bigger issue than just poor story structure and historical inaccuracy. I know who Grace Kelly is. I love a couple of her movies and know all about her story as a "top drawer" Philadelphia girl who went to New York to model and act, and then wound-up in Hollywood as one of Hitchcock's favorite chilly blondes. From there she met a real-life Prince, and married him. The fairy tale angle was all the rage and her wedding footage and pictures were broadcast around the world. The Hollywood Princess left America and moved to her adopted home of Monaco where she would reign until her untimely death in a car accident in 1982. But what I didn't realize until I watched Grace of Monaco was that Grace Kelly is a bit of a blank for me.

I looked at Kidman as Kelly. My first thought was, "Oh- she doesn't not look like her. But then I can't be certain she does look like her..." I realized at that moment that while I could definitely pick Grace Kelly out of a line-up, her looks themselves were not necessarily iconic. She was blonde and beautiful, but I was struggling to recall anything distinctive about her look. I thought of her in High Noon (1952), Rear Window (1954), Dial 'M' for Murder (1954), and To Catch a Thief (1955) and what I kept seeing were costumes or a hairstyle- not a face. Grace Kelly was beautiful- no question. But her image is not one that sticks in the mind like other Hollywood beauties ala Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich, or Elizabeth Taylor.

So then I listened to Kidman and paid attention to her performance. I found myself thinking, "Is this woman I'm seeing Grace Kelly- or just Nicole Kidman moping around the palace?" And again, I was stumped. I couldn't remember how Grace Kelly acted.

Her Hitchcock performances usually involved playing a well-bred woman itching to throw-off the wrap of convention by climbing a fire escape or speeding-off in a fast car. But her rebellion did not involve the emotional explosions that cemented actresses like Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, or Susan Hayward into our collective unconscious.

Grace Kelly was great at playing roles that required glamour, poise, and understatement- so it's hard to find the mannerisms or ticks that would make her definitive. There's nothing specific in her acting that makes me say, "Ah! That's Grace Kelly!" Can you imagine RuPaul tasking one of his neophyte queens with, "Give me Grace Kelly realness!"? They might throw on a pair of sunglasses and a scarf and pretend to drive off a cliff- but in lieu of that- what would they do that would read unmistakable Grace Kelly?

I guess what I'm trying to say is, I love Grace Kelly. She was a good actress who starred in some memorable movies- but her glamorous look and persona alone are not distinctive enough to be the central focus of a bio-pic. No actress is going to be able to pull off that essential bio-pic thrill of walking onto the screen and making the audience gasp, "That's so-and-so!"

I'm not saying that you can only make bio-pics about iconic entertainers like Marilyn Monroe, Kate Hepburn, and Edith Piaf. But if you're going to make a Grace Kelly bio-pic you have to focus on the most dramatically rich part of her story- that day an American movie star gave up her film career and married a wealthy prince. That's what Grace of Monaco should have done- but they didn't.

File it under "If They'd Only Listened to Lance..."