James Stewart, Robert Mitchum: The Two Faces of America (2017 TV Movie)

Kelly Stewart: Self - Daughter of James Stewart

Quotes 

• Self - Daughter of James Stewart : He never talked about the war. Mom said he never talked about it to her. He never talked about it with us. I think it meant it was devastating to him. Absolutely devastating. And I think that is part of why there's a sadness in Dad even in all his films.

• Self - Daughter of James Stewart : When Dad came back from the war he wasn't even sure he wanted to be in films any more. I think it really changed him. And he was wondering if it was too frivolous - after what he had seen. You know, if it wasn't important - making movies was was't important enough. The immediate scene that comes to mind is him praying in 'It's A Wonderful Life." The bar scene. Such a good depiction of complete desperation - when you're trying to cling on to anything that might keep you going. And I think to have that movie, the movie he made after the war was very important.

• Self - Daughter of James Stewart : I remember doing drop drills in school. In case there's a nuclear blast, everybody drop and hide under your desk - like, that's gonna help. But, there was that paranoia and maybe the films that Hitchcock made reflected that darkness and that fear. It's a fear of being watched all the time. Hitchcock was very into voyeurism and "Rear Window" was all about that. "The Man Who Knew Too Much" was knowing too much - that's bad guys thinking that you know too much - you know something you shouldn't. So, they're out to get you. And that could all be part of that paranoia that was going on then.

• Self - Daughter of James Stewart : He had been asked to be an informant about Hollywood people for the FBI - for J. Edgar Hoover. And I think that Dad just did not like the idea of spying on his friends. So, he didn't do it. That was another very strong part of Dad's character was loyalty to friends.

• Self - Daughter of James Stewart : Dad never made a war film that glorified war. He was very loathe to do that. And he didn't want the glory to come to him when the men he flew with, and some of whom died, weren't getting the recognition. He never wanted to outshine those men. And, I think, that's why he didn't want to glorify war. And he didn't talk about it very much.

• Self - Daughter of James Stewart : My Dad and Robert Mitchum had very different lives and different careers. But, they died one day apart. And we were good friends with Robert Mitchum's daughter, Trina. We went to school with her. And I remember her, we talked to each other on the phone and she said, "Well, your Dad's death took some of the heat off of our house, because the helicopters and the cameras have left and gone to where your parents are - where your Dad is." So, you know, in the end they were together and it's - I like to think of it as the big sleep - was the name of the film they made together. And it was viewed by America as the end of an era, because, they represented a lot about America, a lot about American history, and film history. And to have them both go so close together was - just seems fitting.