Jimmy Stewart’s Iconic Roles Represent His Small-Town America Values
By Movieguide® Contributor
Known for playing honest, hardworking, humble men, Jimmy Stewart’s ability to embody his most iconic roles largely stems from the values he learned from growing up in small-town America.
Stewart hailed from Indiana, Pennsylvania, a small town that his family had lived in since before the Civil War. His father taught him the importance of hard work, and he was expected to take over the family hardware store when he returned home from college. While this is the true story of Stewart’s life, it could easily be a synopsis for any number of the actor’s most iconic roles.
“My parents did their best to teach me faith in God,” Stewart explained, “to shun pomposity and glibness, to be modest, because a decent, gentlemanly man is modest. I came from a very disciplined household. My mother stopped Dad from being — well, over-boisterous. She was the only person he would listen to about anything. He would raise his voice about pretty nearly anything — but never to her.”
Though a budding interest in acting would lead him away from Indiana after he graduated from college, he never forgot his roots. After he became an American icon, the actor purchased a small plane so he could fly himself home from Hollywood for special occasions.
While Stewart enjoyed the folly of the world during his early years of fame, his personal life would come to mirror that of his characters after coming to the Lord during World War Two.
READ MORE: HOW JIMMY STEWART’S FAITH BECAME THE FOCUS OF HIS LIFE
Even before cleaning up his act, though, Stewart was committed to portraying a certain persona on screen that would inspire others to good morals.
“I have my own rules and adhere to them,” he said during an interview early in his career. “The rule is simple but inflexible. A James Stewart picture must have two vital ingredients: it will be clean and it will involve the triumph of the underdog over the bully.”
Now, as back then, audiences aspire to be like Stewart’s characters. Their strong morals and hard work make them the pillars of their communities and allow them to be loved by all. Perhaps this is why movies like IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE continue to resonate with audiences decades after their initial release.
READ MORE: HOW JIMMY STEWART RELIED ON HIS FAITH DURING THE MILITARY AND MOVIES
- Content: +4Share:
- Content: +4