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Summary
At the first of his career , Hollywood legendJames Stewartwas seen very much as a wholesome American Everyman - his role were often very similar , with his fictitious character serving as the audience ’s relatable perspective in whatever story was being told . However , one 1950 Western completely changed the way that consultation perceived Stewart , sparking a teddy in his calling and end the typecasting that he ’d been dependent to . Here , in one ofJames Stewart ’s best movies , he playsa much darker and more complex character , going against almost everything he ’d done previously .
James Stewart ’s collaborations with Alfred Hitchcockare the projects that he ’s most lovingly commemorate for , but many of these huge successes would n’t have been potential without the major shift that Stewart ’s mental image underwent in the early fifties . In fact , this shift was so major thatit kickstarted an eight - film drift in Stewart ’s careeras he take on a variety of surprising persona and collaborated with a new film producer , Anthony Mann , on several unexpected projects , This would create the Hollywood superstar that James Stewart is remembered as today .
John Wayne and James Stewart made their first Western together in 1962 , and though they wreak together again , their first movie was also their best .
Winchester ‘73 Showed A Different Side To James Stewart
Stewart Starred In The Movie Alongside Shelley Winters & Rock Hudson
Winchester ‘ 73sees Stewart play the persona of Lin McAdam , a brutish criminal in the Old West who give chase down a group of desperate criminals who steal his cute small-arm . This was a much darker , less amicable role for Stewart to play , shedding the Everyman persona that he ’d adopted in earlier works and replacing it with a gritty , cynical Western overcoat . The plastic film gather much attending at the metre of release , not just because of Stewart ’s unexpected involvement , but also because of itsoverwhelmingly cocksure vital reception . Even today , the film holds a 100 % paygrade onRotten Tomatoes .
This transformation in Stewart ’s public ikon continued throughout the 1950s , allowing the actor to ensnare himself asa much more complex , malleable character . He set about to play more scoundrel and complicated anti - heroes , and his participation in a undertaking quickly became a light index of its prospective success . It would n’t be until the ‘ 60 that Stewart full cemented himself as a westerly star andreunited with musical genre ikon Henry Fonda and John Wayne , but the foundations were laid afterWinchester ‘ 73 .
Winchester ‘73 Started A Run Of Collaborations Between James Stewart & Anthony Mann
Anthony Mann Was One Of Hollywood’s Most Prominent Directors In The 1950s
Film Title
Release Year
Winchester ' 73
1950
crease of the River
1952
The Naked Spur
1953
Thunder Bay
Custom Image by Yeider Chacon
The Glenn Miller Story
1954
The Far Country
Strategic Air Command
1955
The Man From Laramie
The Glenn Miller Storyclosely watch over a big ring leader named Glenn Miller , from his climb in the industry to his untimely death many years later . It was another role where James Stewart was placed front - and - center , but much likeWinchester ‘ 73 , it wasa much more complex rolethat did n’t rely on him being sympathetic or moral . Stewart and Mann ’s collaborations continued for several more year , until the pair exhausted all the possibilities that stage themselves .
Without Winchester ‘73, Some Of James Stewart’s Best Movies Might Not Have Happened
Would Rear Window Have Been Made Without Winchester ‘73?
In addition to the enormousness ofWinchester ‘ 73itself , the project is also indirectly responsible for many of thebest Westerns of the 1950s- many of which involved James Stewart in some capacity . It ’s unjust to say thatWinchester ‘ 73wasthe motion picture that made Stewart into a Hollywood star- that honor most likely belong to Hitchcock’sRope -but it ’s for certain the one that proved to audience that he does n’t have to play the likable , honorable champion . After this , the worker was yield all kinds of roles where he played complex villains , scenery - steal side type , and standout adversary .
[ Stewart ] have intercourse how to trifle to his strengths with good luck charm and charisma , but also when to abuse back and try something new .
Even outside of the Western genre , Winchester ‘ 73allowed Stewart to implement these Modern character into his other work . Films such asRear Window(and his other collaborations with Hitchcock ) probably would n’t have happened without Anthony Mann ’s film come first and proving to both audiences and studios that Stewart was a perfect fit for the character . He know how to roleplay to his strengths with charm and charisma , but also when to step back and judge something new . This made all of his roles unpredictable , which was a fundamental constituent inRear Window ’s success .
