Editing James Stewart (section)

=== 1946–1949: Early post-war films ===
[[File:Guardian angel clarence.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Stewart as [[George Bailey (fictional character)|George Bailey]] and Travers as [[Clarence Odbody]] in ''[[It's a Wonderful Life]]'' (1946). Although only a moderate success at the time of its release, the film has later come to define Stewart's legacy.|alt=Travers stands behind a seated Stewart putting his hand on Stewart's shoulder]]After his experiences in the war, Stewart considered returning to Pennsylvania to run the family store.{{sfn|McBride|2011|p=432}} His former agent, Leland Hayward, had also left the talent business in 1944 after selling his roster of stars, including Stewart, to [[Music Corporation of America]] (MCA).{{sfn|Eliot|2006|pp=196–198}} Stewart decided not to renew his MGM contract and instead signed a deal with MCA. He later stated that he was given a new beginning by Frank Capra, who asked him to star in ''It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946), the first postwar film for both of them.{{sfn|McBride|2011|p=432}} Stewart played [[George Bailey (fictional character)|George Bailey]], an upstanding small-town man who becomes increasingly frustrated by his ordinary existence and financial troubles. Driven to suicide on [[Christmas Eve]], he is led to reassess his life by [[Clarence Odbody]], an "angel, second class", played by [[Henry Travers]]. During filming, Stewart experienced doubts about his abilities and continued to consider retiring from acting.<ref>{{harvnb|Eliot|2006|pp=205–208}}; {{harvnb|Eyman|2017|p=168}}</ref>

Although ''It's a Wonderful Life'' was nominated for five Academy Awards,<ref>{{cite web |title=The 19th Academy Awards 1947 |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1947 |website=Oscars.org |date=October 4, 2014 |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |access-date=June 17, 2019 |archive-date=July 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702160232/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1947 |url-status=live }}</ref> including Stewart's third Best Actor nomination, it received mixed reviews and was only a moderate success at the box office, failing to cover its production costs.<ref>{{harvnb|McBride|2011|p=436}}; {{harvnb|Eliot|2006|p=209}}</ref> Several critics found the movie too sentimental, although [[Bosley Crowther]] wrote that Stewart did a "warmly appealing job, indicating that he has grown in spiritual stature as well as in talent during the years he was in the war",<ref>{{harvnb|Eliot|2006|p=206}}; {{harvnb|McBride|2011|p=436}}</ref> and President [[Harry S. Truman]] concluded that "If [my wife] and I had a son we'd want him to be just like Jimmy Stewart [in this film]."<ref name="Hesitant Hero">{{cite news |title=James Stewart, the Hesitant Hero, Dies at 89 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/03/movies/james-stewart-the-hesitant-hero-dies-at-89.html |access-date=October 31, 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=July 3, 1997 |archive-date=October 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031212635/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/03/movies/james-stewart-the-hesitant-hero-dies-at-89.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In the decades since its release, ''It's a Wonderful Life'' has grown to define Stewart's film persona and is widely considered a Christmas classic,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pollard |first1=Alexandra |title=How It's a Wonderful Life went from box office failure to Christmas classic |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/its-a-wonderful-life-christmas-classic-film-james-stewart-frank-capra-a8681486.html |access-date=June 17, 2019 |work=Independent |date=December 15, 2018 |archive-date=June 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617220807/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/its-a-wonderful-life-christmas-classic-film-james-stewart-frank-capra-a8681486.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and according to the American Film Institute, is one of the [[AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies|100 best American movies]] ever made.<ref>{{cite web |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies |url=https://www.afi.com/100years/movies.aspx |website=American Film Institute |access-date=June 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518230246/http://afi.com/100Years/movies.aspx |archive-date=May 18, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Andrew Sarris stated that Stewart's performance was underappreciated by critics of the time, who could not see "the force and fury" of it, and considered his proposal scene with [[Donna Reed]], "one of the most sublimely histrionic expressions of passion".{{sfn|Sarris|1998|p=356}} Stewart later named the film his personal favorite out of his filmography.{{sfn|Fishgall|1997|p=190}}

In the aftermath of ''It's A Wonderful Life'', Capra's production company went into bankruptcy, while Stewart continued to have doubts about his acting abilities.{{sfn|Eliot|2006|pp=208–209}} His generation of actors was fading, and a new wave of actors, including [[Marlon Brando]], [[Montgomery Clift]], and [[James Dean]], would soon remake Hollywood.{{sfn|Eliot|2006|pp=208–211}} Stewart returned to making radio dramas in 1946; he continued this work between films until the mid-1950s. He also made a comeback on Broadway to star in [[Mary Coyle Chase]]'s ''[[Harvey (play)|Harvey]]'' in July 1947, replacing the original star [[Frank Fay (American actor)|Frank Fay]] for the duration of his vacation. The play had opened to nearly universal praise in 1944<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wilmeth |first1=Don B. |last2=Miller |first2=Tice L. |title=Cambridge Guide to American Theatre |date=1996 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=New York |isbn=0521564441 |page=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgeguideto00wilm/page/186 186] |url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgeguideto00wilm |url-access=registration |quote=november 1944 harvey mary coyle chase box office success. |access-date=June 19, 2019}}</ref> and told the story of Elwood P. Dowd, a wealthy eccentric, whose best friend is an invisible man-sized rabbit and whose relatives are trying to get him committed to a mental asylum.{{sfn|Fishgall|1997|p=253}} Stewart gained a following in the unconventional play, and although Fay returned to the role in August, they decided that Stewart would take his place again the next summer.{{sfn|Eliot|2006|pp=214–215}} Stewart's only film to be released in 1947 was the [[William A. Wellman]] comedy ''[[Magic Town]]'', one of the first films about the new science of [[public opinion polling]]. It was poorly received both commercially and critically.<ref>{{harvnb|Eliot|2006|pp=211–212}}; {{harvnb|Fishgall|1997|p=192}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Crowther |first1=Bosley |title='Magic Town' Film Site Where James Stewart Polls Public Opinion and Courts Radiant Jane Wyman, Bill at Palace |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1947/10/08/archives/magic-town-film-site-where-james-stewart-polls-public-opinion-and.html |access-date=June 19, 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=October 8, 1947 |archive-date=June 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190619155709/https://www.nytimes.com/1947/10/08/archives/magic-town-film-site-where-james-stewart-polls-public-opinion-and.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:James Stewart in Rope trailer 2.png|thumb|Stewart with [[Farley Granger]]&nbsp;and [[John Dall]] in ''Rope'' (1948), his first collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock. He was criticized for being miscast in the role of a cynical professor.]]
Stewart appeared in four new film releases in 1948. ''[[Call Northside 777]]'' was a critically acclaimed [[film noir]],<ref>{{harvnb|Eliot|2006|p=215}}; {{harvnb|Fishgall|1997|p=195}}</ref> while the musical comedy ''[[On Our Merry Way]]'', in which Stewart and Henry Fonda played jazz musicians in an ensemble cast, was a critical and commercial failure.{{sfn|Eliot|2006|p=218}}{{sfn|Eyman|2017|p=169}} The comedy ''[[You Gotta Stay Happy]]'', which paired Stewart with [[Joan Fontaine]], was the most successful of his post-war films up to that point.{{sfn|Dewey|1996|pp=281–283}}{{sfn|Eliot|2006|pp=228–229}} ''Rope'', in which Stewart played the idolized teacher of two young men who commit murder to show their supposed superiority, began his collaboration with [[Alfred Hitchcock]]. Shot in long "real-time" takes, Stewart felt pressure to be flawless in his performance; the added stress led to him sleeping very little and drinking more heavily.{{sfn|Eyman|2017|p=172}} ''Rope'' received mixed reviews, and [[Andrew Sarris]] and [[Scott Eyman]] have later called him miscast in the role of a [[Nietzsche]]-loving philosophy professor.{{sfn|Sarris|1998|p=261}}{{sfn|Eyman|2017|p=173}} The film's screenwriter [[Arthur Laurents]] also stated that "the casting of [Stewart] was absolutely destructive. He's not sexual as an actor."<ref>{{harvnb|Chandler|2006|p=170}}</ref>

Stewart found success again with ''[[The Stratton Story]]'' (1949), playing baseball champion [[Monty Stratton]]&nbsp;opposite [[June Allyson]].{{sfn|Eliot|2006|pp=236–239}} It became the sixth highest-grossing film of 1949<ref name="top">{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/stream/variety177-1950-01#page/n58/mode/1up|title=Top Grossers of 1949|magazine=Variety|date=January 4, 1950|page=59}}</ref> and was well received by the critics. ''The New York Times'' noted, "''The Stratton Story'' was the best thing that has yet happened to Mr. Stewart in his post-war film career...he gives such a winning performance that it is almost impossible to imagine any one else playing the role."{{sfn|Eliot|2006|p=239}} Stewart's other 1949 release saw him reunited with Spencer Tracy in the World War II film ''[[Malaya (film)|Malaya]]'' (1949). It was a commercial failure and received mixed reviews.{{sfn|Eliot|2006|pp=236–239}}