Jimmy Stewart: I’d like to look at myself in the mirror and see a good man looking back at me.
Screenplay: Jimmy (2026)
My Bride, our son and I saw the movie yesterday, and we enjoyed it. New Zealander KJ Apa captures the voice and build of Stewart well, and does a good job of showing his inherent modesty and concern for the well being of others. Stewart was a very nice guy and that comes across in this film.Spoilers ahead.
The film concentrates on his service in the 8th Air Force in Europe as a bomber pilot during the War. Stewart rose from Private to full Colonel, one of the few men to accomplish that feat during World War II. His superiors thought so much of his leadership abilities that he was offered a regular army commission if he decided to go career. He didn’t, but he did stay in the Air Force Reserves, retiring as a Brigadier General in 1968. With absolutely no fanfare, he flew a B52 combat mission in Vietnam in 1966. (His friend, President Reagan, promoted him to Major General on the retired list.)
The budget for the film was only fifteen million dollars. The combat scenes are adequate, padded with period newsreels. It does a good job of making clear the harrowing odds for most of the War against anyone flying the required combat missions to be sent home. Stewart flew 20 combat missions, participating in some of the most hair raising operations of the 8th Air Force, and the impact of this on him and the men he commanded is a main theme of the film, especially when he makes decisions that he knows will cost the lives of other men. During the War Stewart earned two Distinguished Flying Crosses, four Air Medals, and the French Croix de Guerre.
Neal McDonough gives a good performance as Alexander Stewart, the father of Jimmy Stewart. A veteran of the Spanish-American War and World War I, he is concerned about the impact that war time service will have on his son.
The film exaggerates the impact that the War had on Stewart and paints It’s a Wonderful Life as a film that woke Stewart up from the depression that he had from his time in the War. The War did have an impact on Stewart, but he snapped out of it on his own with the help of friends and relatives. The importance of It’s a Wonderful Life to Stewart was that it demonstrated that he hadn’t lost his acting skills while he was fighting in the War.
A good film and a great tribute to a great patriot and a great actor.
