Customer Reviews

James Stewart: Screen Legend Collection (Shenandoah / The Glenn Miller Story / Thunder Bay / You Gotta Stay Happy / Next Time, We Love)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a great collection of James Stewart's finest non-Hitchcock performances in films under the control of Universal Studios that span thirty years in his career. The price is excellent, but the trade-off is that you don't get much in the way of extras. In fact, all you get are theatrical trailers on a couple of the movies.

Shenandoah (1965) is a film about the Anderson family of Virginia, which is living a happy life on their family farm when the Civil War breaks out. They are convinced this skirmish has nothing to do with them, but they are soon to find out otherwise. Stewart certainly gives one of the performances of his career in this one.

The Glenn Miller Story (1953) reteams James Stewart with June Allyson, who were so good in "The Stratton Story", in a similar film about a man with great talent whose career was cut short by tragedy. Miller has always been ranked as one of the great swing bandleaders of the late thirties to middle forties era, and this film is a great tribute to his life and work. A great performance from all involved.

Thunder Bay (1953) is set in the post-World War II era, but in many ways it is another James Stewart western. Stewart portrays ex-Navy engineer Steve Martin who wants to design a safe off-shore oil drilling platform. Instead of the cattlemen versus the sheepherders, in this film we have the oil drillers versus the fishermen who see their way of life threatened. Stewart seems a less sympathetic figure here than he does in most of his films, but he handles the role wonderfully.

You Gotta Stay Happy (1948) is the lighter side of Stewart. This one is "It Happened One Night" meets "The Bride Came C.O.D" as a wealthy girl hides aboard Stewart's plane when she gets a case of the immediate post-wedding jitters. What results is a screwball comedy that predictably ends in the wealthy girl (Joan Fontaine) and Stewart's character falling in love. The plot is not that intriguing, but Stewart is charming as always. This is probably the weakest of the five films.

Next Time, We Love (1936) is a very early Stewart film that really gave him his first big break with a leading role. In this film he was teamed with Margaret Sullivan, and together they play a couple that marries on impulse and then begin pursuing their own individual careers - she is an actress, he is a journalist. Conflict develops when her career takes off and his does not. This film is very typical of those melodramas that were so common in the 1930's, but it is still interesting to see what Stewart does with this early role in his career. Stewart and Sullivan have a better chance to show off their chemistry in 1938's "Shopworn Angel", but that film was made by MGM and is therefore not in this collection.

5 Jimmy Stewart films for about $4 each is hard to not give a 5 star rating to. 3 of these films are seeing their DVD debut (unlike the John Wayne set that came out today with all 5 already being available individually). I am already owner of The GLenn Miller Story and SHenandoah as many Jimmy STewart fans must and still consider this a good purchase. The three movies new to DVD all have merit and span a 20 year range from his first leading role in 1936 ("Next TIme We Love" where he mentions lindberghs flight to Paris in his first lines)to "Thunder Bay" in 1953. This was Universals first widescreen film and directed by Anthony Mann. I am a big fan of all the Mann/Stewart films and this one is terrific.

Bottom line...if you don't own any and are a Jimmy Stewart fan...whopeee!
If you do own a couple...its still a good deal.
PS..these 5 films are on 3 DVDs but NO FLIPPERS...one sided dual layers!

I am a big fan of Jimmy Stewart. I like most all of his movies.

My big problem with this collection is there are no chapters in the dvd's. One of the reasons I like dvd's is they allow me to quickly find my favorite scenes in a movie. For instance in the Glenn Miller story I would like to be able to quickly find some of the scenes where the band is playing.

This a great collection at a great price and you can't go wrong watching most anything by Jimmy Stewart but if you like chapters in your dvd's you will be disappointed.

Enjoyed two of the movies. Still have three to see. They are basically for my collection of old movies. These are so much better than movies today.

This is a must for any James Stewart fan. A fantastic price....great value for money.

This is the VERY best of James Stewart. Five great classics, and with amazing picture for an awesome price as well!!

good feeling movie that doesn't need profanity to make it enjoyable to watch with the whole family
to enjoy on a saturday night

Good collection and a wonderful product. The movies are great entertainment and a wonderful variety.

Jimmy Stewart is one of those actors who lives the role he plays. He makes you believe your living the role with him. he delivers what is seldom seen these days charactor.

James Stewart was truly a legend. Even in his early movies, he made a weak
movie better("next time we love") I would recomend this box set to anyone.