Best James Stewart movies
We present our ranking of the best James Stewart movies. Do you love cinema? Or are you looking for a movie of your favorite actor to watch tonight? Surely you have some to see or that you did not know yet about James Stewart.
TOP 25: No Highway
James Stewart as: Theodore Honey
Genre: Drama
Release: 1951
James Stewart plays aeronautical engineer Theodore Honey, the quintessential absent-minded professor: eccentric, forgetful, but brilliant. His studies show that the aircraft being manufactured by his employer has a subtle but deadly design flaw that manifests itself only after the aircraft has flown a certain number of hours. En route to a crash site to prove his theory, Honey discovers that he is aboard a plane rapidly approaching his predicted deadline.
TOP 24: Vivacious Lady
James Stewart as: Prof. Peter Morgan Jr.
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Release: 1938
College town life gets turned upside down after a button-down botany professor secretly weds a sizzling night-club singer.
TOP 23: Call Northside 777
James Stewart as: P.J. 'Jim' McNeal
Genre: Crime, Drama
Release: 1948
In 1932, a cop is killed and Frank Wiecek sentenced to life. Eleven years later, a newspaper ad by Frank's mother leads Chicago reporter P.J. O'Neal to look into the case. For some time, O'Neal continues to believe Frank guilty. But when he starts to change his mind, he meets increased resistance from authorities unwilling to be proved wrong.
TOP 22: Shenandoah
James Stewart as: Charlie Anderson
Genre: Western
Release: 1965
Charlie Anderson, a farmer in Shenandoah, Virginia, finds himself and his family in the middle of the Civil War he wants nothing to do with. When his youngest boy is taken prisoner by the North the Civil War is forced upon him.
TOP 21: The Man from Laramie
James Stewart as: Will Lockhart
Genre: Western
Release: 1955
Will Lockhart becomes entangled in the happenings of Coronado, an isolated western town, after delivering supplies there. He is especially involved with the Waggomans, an influential ranching family, and begins his search for someone selling rifles to the local Apaches, only to find out it is the son of the most powerful man in the area. It is at this point that his troubles begin.
TOP 20: The Mortal Storm
James Stewart as: Martin Breitner
Genre: Drama
Release: 1940
The Roth family leads a quiet life in a small village in the German Alps during the early 1930s. When the Nazis come to power, the family is divided and Martin Brietner, a family friend is caught up in the turmoil.
TOP 19: How the West Was Won
James Stewart as: Linus Rawlings
Genre: Western
Release: 1962
The epic tale of the development of the American West from the 1830s through the Civil War to the end of the century, as seen through the eyes of one pioneer family.
TOP 18: The Shootist
James Stewart as: Dr. E.W. Hostetler
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Western
Release: 1976
Afflicted with a terminal illness John Bernard Brooks, the last of the legendary gunfighters, quietly returns to Carson City for medical attention from his old friend Dr. Hostetler. Aware that his days are numbered, the troubled man seeks solace and peace in a boarding house run by a widow and her son.However, it is not Brooks' fate to die in peace, as he becomes embroiled in one last valiant battle.
TOP 17: The Flight of the Phoenix
James Stewart as: Capt. Frank Towns
Genre: Adventure
Release: 1965
A cargo aircraft crashes in a sandstorm in the Sahara with less than a dozen men on board. One of the passengers is an airplane designer who comes up with the idea of ripping off the undamaged wing and using it as the basis for a replacement aircraft they will build to escape before their food and water run out.
TOP 16: Winchester '73
James Stewart as: Lin McAdam
Genre: Action, Drama, Western
Release: 1950
Lin McAdam rides into town on the trail of Dutch Henry Brown, only to find himself in a shooting competition against him. McAdam wins the prize, a one-in-a-thousand Winchester rifle, but Dutch steals it and leaves town. McAdam follows, intent on settling his old quarrel, while the rifle keeps changing hands and touching a number of lives.
TOP 15: You Can't Take It with You
James Stewart as: Tony Kirby
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Release: 1938
Alice, the only relatively normal member of the eccentric Sycamore family, falls in love with Tony Kirby. His wealthy banker father, Anthony P. Kirby, and his snobbish mother, strongly disapprove of the match. When the Kirbys are invited to dinner to become better acquainted with their future in-laws, things do not turn out the way Alice had hoped.
TOP 14: That's Entertainment!
James Stewart as: Himself - Host / Narrator
Genre: Documentary, Music, Family
Release: 1974
Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50 year history.
TOP 13: The Man Who Knew Too Much
James Stewart as: Dr. Ben McKenna
Genre: Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Release: 1956
A widescreen, Technicolor remake by Hitchcock of his 1934 film of the same title. A couple vacationing in Morocco with their young son accidentally stumble upon an assassination plot. When the child is kidnapped to ensure their silence, they have to take matters into their own hands to save him.
TOP 12: After the Thin Man
James Stewart as: David Graham
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Release: 1936
Nick and Nora Charles investigate when Nora's cousin reports her disreputable husband is missing, and find themselves in a mystery involving the shady owners of a popular nightclub, a singer and her dark brother, the cousin's forsaken true love, and Nora's bombastic and controlling aunt.
TOP 11: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
James Stewart as: Ransom Stoddard
Genre: Western
Release: 1962
A senator, who became famous for killing a notorious outlaw, returns for the funeral of an old friend and tells the truth about his deed.
TOP 10: The Philadelphia Story
James Stewart as: Macaulay 'Mike' Connor
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Release: 1940
When a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself.
TOP 9: La Classe américaine
James Stewart as: Jacques (archive footage)
Genre: Comedy, TV Movie
Release: 1993
George Abitbol, the classiest man in the world, dies tragically during a cruise. With his last breath, he whispers: “Shitty world.” The director of an American newspaper, wondering about the meaning of these intriguing final words, asks his three best investigators, Dave, Peter and Steven, to solve the mystery… (16 French actors dub scenes from various Warner Bros. films to create a parody of “Citizen Kane,” 1941.)
TOP 8: Harvey
James Stewart as: Elwood P. Dowd
Genre: Comedy
Release: 1950
The story of Elwood P. Dowd who makes friends with a spirit taking the form of a human-sized rabbit named Harvey that only he sees (and a few privileged others on occasion also.) After his sister tries to commit him to a mental institution, a comedy of errors ensues. Elwood and Harvey become the catalysts for a family mending its wounds and for romance blossoming in unexpected places.
TOP 7: Anatomy of a Murder
James Stewart as: Paul Biegler
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Release: 1959
Semi-retired Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler takes the case of Army Lt. Manion, who murdered a local innkeeper after his wife claimed that he raped her. Over the course of an extensive trial, Biegler parries with District Attorney Lodwick and out-of-town prosecutor Claude Dancer to set his client free, but his case rests on the victim's mysterious business partner, who's hiding a dark secret.
TOP 6: The Shop Around the Corner
James Stewart as: Alfred Kralik
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Release: 1940
Two employees at a gift shop can barely stand one another, without realising that they are falling in love through the post as each other's anonymous pen pal.
TOP 5: Rope
James Stewart as: Rupert Cadell
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Release: 1948
Two men attempt to prove they committed the perfect crime by hosting a dinner party after strangling their former classmate to death.
TOP 4: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
James Stewart as: Jefferson Smith
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Release: 1939
Naive and idealistic Jefferson Smith, leader of the Boy Rangers, is appointed to the United States Senate by the puppet governor of his state. He soon discovers, upon going to Washington, many shortcomings of the political process as his earnest goal of a national boys' camp leads to a conflict with the state political boss.
TOP 3: It's a Wonderful Life
James Stewart as: George Bailey
Genre: Drama, Family, Fantasy
Release: 1946
A holiday favourite for generations... George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. But on Christmas Eve the business's $8,000 is lost and George's troubles begin.
TOP 2: Vertigo
James Stewart as: Det. John 'Scottie' Ferguson
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Romance
Release: 1958
A retired San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.
TOP 1: Rear Window
James Stewart as: L.B. "Jeff" Jefferies
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Release: 1954
Professional photographer L.B. 'Jeff' Jeffries breaks his leg while getting an action shot at an auto race. Confined to his New York apartment, he spends his time looking out of the rear window observing the neighbors. When he begins to suspect that a man across the courtyard may have murdered his wife, Jeff enlists the help of his high society fashion-consultant girlfriend and his visiting nurse to investigate.