JIMMY STEWART: A Biography
Marc Eliot
Harmony Books
Biography
ISBN-10: 1400052211
ISBN-13: 9781400052219

We're getting to the time of year when one of the classic holiday movies, It's a Wonderful Life, begins to make the rounds. The uplifting themes of family, love and redemption overshadow what has come to be thought of by some critics as a dark film. Fitting, because the star of that movie, Jimmy Stewart, had recently returned from a dark place in "real life."

It's a Wonderful Life is considered to be the dividing line between Stewart's pre- and post-World War II work. While not in the same cinematic mold as matinee idols like Gary Cooper, Clark Gable or Cary Grant, the pre-war Stewart, as profiled in Marc Eliot's new biography, was the kind of guy you'd want your sister to marry. As a young actor in the 1930s, Stewart had an affable way about him. His steadfastness, morality, loyalty and boyish charm were all admirable qualities and shone in such films as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Philadelphia Story (for which he won his only Oscar) and Destry Rides Again.

But after his tour of duty as a flyer in the Army Air Corps, he could no longer "do" innocent or idealistic; he had been through too much. The post-war Stewart, as evidenced in a series of westerns by director Anthony Mann (Winchester '73, Bend of the River, The Naked Spur and The Man from Laramie, among others) had to be kept at arms distance; you never knew when he was going to snap.

Upon his return to the States following his distinguished military career (Eliot's depiction of the actor's wartime experiences are the most in-depth of any biography), Stewart questioned whether he should even resume his film career, and Eliot suggests the feeling might have been mutual. For such a successful actor --- if the number of films in one's resume is an indication of success --- directors and producers seemed to tolerate Stewart rather than actively seek him out.

Eliot, who previously has written biographies on Cary Grant and Walt Disney, dutifully discusses every film and gleefully dispels myths about each one. Some assertions are surprising, as when he suggests that Stewart's attention and heart weren't in several productions or that he was frequently worried about aging and losing his popularity.

At times, Eliot seems conflicted: on the one hand, JIMMY STEWART is light and gossipy prose, especially when it chronicles the first part of his career. As has become standard practice these days, the author feels compelled to go into more detail about the love life of his subject (Ginger Rogers, Marlene Dietrich and Olivia de Havilland, among others) than would have been acceptable 20 or so years ago. (In fact, Eliot asserts, these liaisons were practically mandated by the studios to "prove" the manliness of their stars.) On the other hand, Eliot wants his biography to serve as a "serious" analysis of the artist's body of work, as well as an overview of the Hollywood machine. On balance, he pulls it off well enough, although his habit of familiarity --- referring to his subject as "Jimmy" --- is somewhat bothersome.

Eliot loses steam in the concluding pages, as an aging Stewart himself winds down. The sadness of losing so many family members and close friends is almost palpable. After his wife, Gloria, dies, Stewart basically waits for death to reunite them. The intervening three-plus years between their deaths go by without comment by the author, bringing the book to its ultimately disappointing conclusion.

   --- Reviewed by Ron Kaplan

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