James Stewart: The Collection

Collection of four films starring James Stewart. In 'Mr Smith Goes to Washington' (1939) naive Jefferson Smith (Stewart) is chosen to replace a recently deceased senator and subsequently heads for Washington, full of idealistic dreams of serving his country, looking forward to working with his idol: senior senator Joseph Paine (Claude Rains). Upon his arrival, he is ridiculed in the press for his gullibility, but, with the aid of his secretary, Saunders (Jean Arthur), he begins to realize that the world of politics is a cut-throat one full of double dealing. When he discovers that Paine is working on a scheme for a new dam which will only profit him and his cronies, Smith sets out to expose the man he formerly idolised. Frank Capra's political fantasy garnered eleven Oscar nominations. 'It's a Wonderful Life' (1946), also directed by Capra, is a heartwarming Christmas fantasy. George Bailey (Stewart) has spent his entire life in the small town of Bedford Falls. Despite his yearning to see the world, George has always sacrificed his personal ambitions for the sake of his family and the local community, settling down to marry his childhood sweetheart, Mary (Donna Reed), and raise a family. But when a huge amount of money goes missing from the savings and loans company he works for, George panics and finds himself preparing to commit suicide. However, he is shown the error of this idea by Clarence (Henry Travers), an angel who has been sent to Earth in order to earn his wings. To this end, Clarence shows George just how badly Bedford Falls and its residents would have turned out had he never been born. In 'Harvey' (1950) Elwood P. Dowd (Stewart) and his best friend, Harvey, are inseparable. They go everywhere together, spreading warmth and kindness throughout all the bars in town. The only trouble is that Harvey is a 'Pooka' - a six foot-plus rabbit that only Elwood can see. When Elwood and Harvey embarrass the former's social-climbing sister Veta Louise (an Oscar-winning Josephine Hull) once too often, she finally opts to get Elwood the treatment she thinks he needs, and arranges to have him installed in the local mental asylum. However, Harvey's unseen but ever-felt presence ensures that all does not go according to plan. In 'Rear Window' (1954) director Alfred Hitchcock explores the role of the voyeur. After breaking his leg during a shoot, photo-journalist L.B. 'Jeff' Jeffries (Stewart) is forced to spend a humid summer recuperating in his Greenwich Village apartment. The wheelchair-bound Jeff whiles away his time observing his neighbours through a telephoto lens, bestowing them with nicknames and growing familiar with their daily routines. However, his society girlfriend, Lisa (Grace Kelly), is exasperated and then alarmed when Jeff becomes obsessed with the notion that Lars Thorwald (Raymond Burr), who lives in the apartment opposite, has murdered his wife.

Director: Frank Capra
Director: Henry Koster
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Producer: Frank Capra
Producer: John Beck
Producer: Alfred Hitchcock
Writer: Sidney Buchman
Writer: Lewis R. Foster
Writer: Frances Goodrich
Writer: Frank Capra
Writer: Albert Hackett
Writer: Jo Swerling
Writer: Mary Chase
Writer: Oscar Brodney
Writer: John Michael Hayes
Music: Dimitri Tiomkin
Music: Frank Skinner
Music: Franz Waxman
Cinematographer: Joseph Walker
Cinematographer: Joseph Biroc
Cinematographer: William Daniels
Cinematographer: Robert Burks
Actor: James Stewart
Actor: Claude Rains
Actor: Jean Arthur
Actor: Thomas Mitchell
Actor: Edward Arnold
Actor: Guy Kibbee
Actor: Eugene Pallette
Actor: Beulah Bondi
Actor: Harry Carey
Actor: H.B. Warner
Actor: Donna Reed
Actor: Lionel Barrymore
Actor: Henry Travers
Actor: Ward Bond
Actor: Frank Faylen
Actor: Gloria Grahame
Actor: Frank Albertson
Actor: Josephine Hull
Actor: Victoria Horne
Actor: Peggy Dow
Actor: Cecil Kellaway
Actor: Charles Drake
Actor: Jesse White
Actor: Wallace Ford
Actor: William Lynn
Actor: Nana Bryant
Actor: Grace Kelly
Actor: Wendell Corey
Actor: Thelma Ritter
Actor: Raymond Burr
Actor: Judith Evelyn
Actor: Ross Bagdasarian
Actor: Georgine Darcy
Actor: Sara Berner
Actor: Frank Cady
Actor: Harris Davenport
Actor: Marla English
Actor: Jesslyn Fax
Actor: Alan Lee
Actor: Irene Winston