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Mike Dennis · Guest

I know I'm not the first to mention it, but it would be nice to see special edition DVDs of those classic westerns that James Stewart made with Anthony Mann. Universal own the bulk of these. "The Man From Laramie"
( which was Stewart's favourite of the series ) is owned by Columbia and is,happily, already on DVD ( and a very good release it is too ). So could
you persuade Universal do a box set combining the three Stewart-Mann titles "Winchester 73" (1950), " Bend of the River" ( UK title Where The River Bends)(1952) and "The Far Country" (1954) and then add the classic "Destry Rides Again " (1939). What a smashing box set that would make not only for Stewart fans but also for lovers of first rate westerns.

And with Laureate's usual classy input, this would be an unbeatable collector's item.

Ken Barnes · Host Joined: 07 Feb 2004 Posts: 548

Hi Mike,

I had talked to Universal about doing a box set called The James Stewart Western Collection and, believe it or not, I selected the exact same titles that you suggested. But so far nothing has come of it.

I met Jimmy Stewart in 1987 and we talked about his work with Anthony Mann. He regarded those films as some of his best work and was full of praise for Mann as a director. What he also liked was the fact that they involved so much location shooting. This, he felt, is what gave them a sense of realism. As you pointed out he and Mann made three Westerns for Universa -"Winchester 73," "Bend of the River" and "The Far Country."
A fourth - "Night Passage" - had been planned as another Stewart-Mann collaboration but Mann objected to the - as he put it -the seen-it-all-before script. Mann wanted writer Borden Chase to do a re-write but Stewart didn't want to wait. As he told me " I really wanted to make the picture because it gave me a chance to play the accordian - which I loved doing.
But Tony Mann didn't think that was a good enough reason to make the movie. So we parted company and never made another movie together."

Jimmy told me that he liked "Night Passage" ( which was directed by James Neilson ) and it did very good business but he regretted the fact that Mann didn't direct it.

Of course, Stewart did other Westerns for Universal with Andrew McLaglen
" Shenandoah" ( excellent ) and "The Rare Breed " ( not too bad either )
but none were equal to the ones he did with Mann. So "Destry Rides Again" would have to be my fourth choice. I think it would be Jimmy's too.

Ken

Ryan · Joined: 02 Feb 2004 Posts: 55 Location: Ft Myers, FL US

I watched Shenandoah on television the other day, it is a truly great performance. I am sure everyone has seen it, but I have a DVD of Winchester 73 that includes a Jimmy Stewart commentary. It of course predates the DVD, it was an interview recorded as he watched the film and runs throughout like a commentary. The Westerns box set sounds like a very good idea, and discussing with Mr. Stewart his films sounds incredible.

Ken Barnes · Host Joined: 07 Feb 2004 Posts: 548

Yes, the James Stewart commentary - or rather interview - on "Winchester 73" was done in 1987 for the laserdisc release. It was shortly after this that I was introduced to Jimmy at a charity function in Los Angeles. By this time I had obtained the laser and this is why we came to discuss his work with Anthony Mann. Jimmy was wonderfully accomodating and I was pleased to note that - at 79 - he had total recall of those Westerns. He liked the idea of talking about his work on the disc and was full of praise for the new medium. This,of course, was before the advent of DVD. It would have been wonderful if he had done more of this sort of thing.

Ken

James L M · Guest

How difficult would it be to get together Sheelley Winters, Tony Curtis and James Best to record a commentary maybe with other surviving cast and crew members Robert Anderson, Jimmy Hawkins, Yvonne Wood and William Dodds (is he still alive?, the camera operator?) supplying additional material for Winchester '73, then Julie Adams, Lori Nelson and Harry Morgan for Bend In the River then Harry Morgan, composer Herman Stein, art director Alexander Golitzen and asst director Terence Nelson for A Far Country?

Ken Barnes · Host Joined: 07 Feb 2004 Posts: 548

Hi James LM,

Wow, what a tall order - but what a wonderful suggestion. Harry Morgan is now 89, Alexander Golitzen is 97. This may be problematic. Lori Nelson is still working occasionally and Julia Adams is still around-so is James Best ( he recently made an appearance at the Jimmy Stewart Museum in Indiana,Pennsylvania ). Shelley Winters hasn't worked for some years.

Tony Curtis lives in Las Vegas and loves to talk about movies. I'm not sure if Bill Dodds is still alive. I agree it would be terrific to have all these people share their memories of working with Stewart and Mann on these excellent Westerns. But, first, it would be a case of convincing Universal to do the box set. Then, would they agree to a series of audio interviews?
I doubt it. But if they did agree, I might even pay for the interviews out of my own pocket.

Thanks for getting in touch.

Ken

P. Gentry · Guest

A James Stewart box set is long overdue. I don't know anyone who doesn't like his work. If there is a box set from whatever period in his long career, put me down for a copy.

basket78 · Joined: 24 Nov 2005 Posts: 4

Ken Barnes · Host Joined: 07 Feb 2004 Posts: 548

Does what work all the time for me ? If you mean James Stewart's movies, the answer is yes.

Phil Jellicoe · Guest

I think it's worth mentiong that, last month, Universal did finally release a box set of the great James Stewart - and a pretty good collection it is too.
DESTRY RIDES AGAIN ( 1939), WINCHESTER '73 (1950),HARVEY (1950),
REAR WINDOW (1954) and VERTIGO (1958).

While I've never been that crazy about " Harvey" ( which was never a bog hit anyway), the set does show Stewart's remarkable versatility. A more popular replacement would have been "The Glenn Miller Story" or "Bend of the River." But this is still a terrific set.