"Great Performances" James Stewart: A Wonderful Life (1987)

Director:

David Heeley

Writer:

John L. Miller (writer)

TV Series:

"Great Performances" (1970)

Original Air Date:

13 March 1987

Genre:

Drama | Music | Musical

Plot:

A retrospective on the life and career of actor James Stewart, with clips from many of his films and interviews with people who have worked with him. |

Plot Keywords:

Character Name In Title | Live Performance | Two Word Title | Manhattan New York City | New York City

Cast

James Stewart	...	Himself
Johnny Carson	...	Himself - Host
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Peter Bogdanovich	...	Himself
Carol Burnett	...	Herself
Nancy Davis	...	Herself
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Himself
Clint Eastwood	...	Himself
Sally Field	...	Herself
Katharine Hepburn	...	Herself
Gene Kelly	...	Himself
Walter Matthau	...	Himself
Ramsay D. Potts	...	Himself
Ronald Reagan	...	Himself
Lee Remick	...	Herself
Gloria Stewart	...	Herself

Directed by
David Heeley

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
John L. Miller		writer

Produced by
David Heeley	....	producer
Joan Kramer	....	producer

Other crew
Don Shump	....	production aide

Fred Rose
Barbara Walsh

Directed by
John Doyle
John Glenmeister		(episode "Man Who Married a French Wife, the")
Nick Havinga		(episode "Girls in Their Summer Dresses") (episode "Monument, The")

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Marion J. Caffey		creator
Daniel Ezralow		creator
Josh Groban		creator

Production Companies

• MGM Television
• WNET Thirteen

Distributors

• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1993) (USA) (all media)

Runtime:

West Germany:86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

MGM Television

Movie Connections:

Features Winchester '73 (1950)

Very Good

James Stewart: A Wonderful Life (1987)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Johnny Carson hosts this nice tribute to actor James Stewart. The film shows clips from his most popular movies (with the exception of Rear Window, which was in rights troubles at the time) and features interviews with various co-stars and friends including Peter Bogdanovich, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Carol Burnett, Clint Eastwood, Richard Dreyfuss, Sally Field, Walter Matthau, Gene Kelly, Lee Remick and Katharine Hepburn. We get all sorts of nice stories told but the real highlight is Carson walking and talking with Stewart himself. An earlier interview is also shown with Stewart where he reveals various things including saying that Jean Harlow was the best kisser he was ever with in a movie. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington gets a lot of attention and Dreyfuss shares a lot of interesting thoughts about it. The Western's of Stewart's also get a lot of talk and some nice information is shared including the fact that he wore the same hat through most of these films. Oh yeah, Harvey makes a special appearance as well.