The utilityman's utilityman. I'm not sure it's warranted, but I've always had a soft spot for this category of ballplayer: the guy who can provide a decent glove at virtually any position, slap the ball for a possible single from either side of the plate, steal a base, put down a bunt. Just play solid baseball in a supporting role. Lots of benches can make room for this kind of guy.

At least he had a wonderful life.

Stewart came back to the Reds as a major league scout in the '80s and '90s, most famous for his scouting report of the A's prior to the '90 WS.

Never saw him through binoculars from my wheelchair

He was a very apt pupil, wasn't he? He was a very apt pupil!

He was great in The Philadelphia Story, It's a Wonderful Life, and The Naked Spur, but most all of the rest of his films are highly overrated.

The Shop Around the Corner? Rear Window? Do you hate movies with architecture in their titles? Or do you just have a phobia for the letter V (Vertigo and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance)?

Was he a thin man?

The Shop Around the Corner? Rear Window? Do you hate movies with architecture in their titles? Or do you just have a phobia for the letter V (Vertigo and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance)?

I said "most all", not all, and I'd add Rear Window, Northside 777, and Anatomy of a Murder to that list, and Rope has its moments. But The Shop Around The Corner? Pure schlock that's weighted down even more by a bunch of Europeans who for some strange reason are speaking heavily accented English in a movie set in Budapest. Too many impossible things before breakfast for my taste in that one.

In addition to others mentioned, I always loved Destry Rides Again. Oh, and I liked the ballplayer too. RIP.

Certainly have to add "Anatomy"....but someone has issues with "Shop"? Man, YOU'VE got issues! (as far as taste in film goes)

P.S. #4 should get one of those Primey things

Obviously, Stewart is on the all movie star-name baseball team, along with Eddie Murphy and who else?

Chuck Connors?

Josh Hamilton

He was great in The Philadelphia Story, It's a Wonderful Life, and The Naked Spur, but most all of the rest of his films are highly overrated.

These are James Stewart's top-tier performances: Mr. Smith; Destry Rides Again; The Shop Around the Corner; It's A Wonderful Life; Harvey; The Naked Spur; The Far Country; Carbine Williams; Rear Window; The Man Who Knew Too Much; Vertigo (a masterpiece of a performance); Anatomy of a Murder; The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, and Fool's Parade.

These are his second-tier, but still excellent performances:

Next Time We Love; Born to Dance; After the Thin Man (supporting role, concluding scene bursts the little genre smarmism); Seventh Heaven; The Shopworn Angel; Vivacious Lady; The Shopworn Angel; You Can't Take It With You (his hot love scene at the beginning and the funniest setpiece in the movie); The Mortal Storm (underrated Nazi warning movie); The Philadelphia Story (he's easily the best thing in that pretentious mess); Call Northside 777; Rope (underrated Hitchcock); Winchester '73; Broken Arrow (a 1950 movie that is as fresh and current on race dilemma as any movie ever made); No Highway in the Sky (watch the first 20 minutes, if nothing else, for all the tutorial you need in movie acting); Bend of the River; The Mountain Road (the only WWII movie he made--basically an anti-war movie); Two Rode Together; The Flightof the Phoenix; Firecreek.

I won't go into the third level, still very good acting, but you should get the idea. No one has James Stewart's resume of accomplishments, when it comes to depth, breadth, and height. He's the man. Grant comes close, but he doesn't have Stewart's range (of emotion and characters) and versatility.

Obviously, Stewart is on the all movie star-name baseball team, along with Eddie Murphy and who else?

Eddie Fisher
George Burns

Kenny Rogers. He was in The Gambler and Six Pack.

Will Smith
Evan Longoria

What, no love for The Stratton Story?

The guy who played Babe Ruth in Pride of the Yankees was easily the best depiction of Ruth in film history.

This was, as I remember, a fine baseball drama: Note the director.

Jimmy Stewart has more to play in any randomly-chosen 20-minute stretch of "The Shop Around the Corner" than he does in the entirety of "Rope," in which the young guy in the box is only about the fifth most lifeless thing about the film.

Morty--that's amazing. have you actually seen it?

Looks like Flashing Spikes is on YouTube in chunks.

Flashing Spikes?

Yes, I saw it back when it first premiered on TV, and maybe once again on a rerun either that season or a few years later, but not in at least 45 years. I remember I thought it was quite good. As an actor/director combo they don't come any more sensitive than Stewart/Ford. I wasn't aware of much of the resonating allusions back then, since I was a little kid and information was sparse, although I knew that it referenced Joe Jackson. As the comments point out, other legendary figures are referred to, too.

24:

Hey, neat. Thanks for pointing that out. I had tried to find it a good while back and was unsuccessful, and never thought to check again.