Standing as one of the best and most popular actors of Hollywood’s Golden Age,James Stewarthad a remarkable career acting in film, starring in arguably too many well-known movies to count. He appeared in several classicAlfred Hitchcockthrillers, had his fair share of Western roles, and was undeniably effective whenever a movie called on him to play a serious sort of role.
But on the other end of things, Stewart was also someone who proved, time and again, to have great comedic chops, and the numerous classic comedies he appeared in – particularly during the 1930s and 1940s – speak to that. The following can all be counted as some of his best comedy movies, all demonstrating a lighter side to James Stewartwhile being ranked below from funny to funniest.
10’Bell, Book and Candle' (1958)
Director: Richard Quine
Released the same year asthe iconic Hitchcock film,Vertigo, while featuring the same lead actors, James Stewart andKim Novak,Bell, Book and Candleis otherwise a staggeringly different film to that thriller. It’s about a witch living in modern times and casting a spell on her neighbor to make him fall in love with her, with magical shenanigans leading to naturally chaotic consequences.
Despite Stewart and Novak having some considerable star power at this time (plusJack Lemmon’sin this), it’s a cat named Pyewacket who ends up stealingBell, Book and Candlefrom the lot of them. It’s probably more of a minor work within Stewart’s filmography as a whole, but it does have its moments asa fairly unique supernatural romantic comedy that provides some decently silly fun.
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9’Come Live with Me' (1941)
Director: Clarence Brown
Coming out just one year after James Stewartwon his solitary Oscar,Come Live with Meis a bit more obscure than some of his other comedy films, but isstill solid as far as 1940s releases go. Its set-up involves events that happened prior to World War II, but it’s surprisingly light-hearted in the end, following a Viennese refugee who comes to the U.S. and seeks a marriage of convenience with a writer.
Hedy Lamarr(not Hedley) plays the refugee, and Stewart’s the writer, with both having good chemistry and helping to elevate a simple story that, even back in 1941, probably played out exactly how audiences expected it would.Come Live with Meissimple to a fault, but this kind of old-fashioned Golden Age of Hollywood movie certainly scratches a particular itch, with this being a decently good time for anyone after that sort of watch.
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8’Vivacious Lady' (1938)
Director: George Stevens
By the late 1930s, James Stewart was experiencing a significant increase in fame, leading to a period of dominance as a leading man by the 1940s. One essential step within that rise in popularity wasVivacious Lady,another romantic comedy of his, this time pairing Stewart withGinger Rogersand having a plot that centered on a rather scandalous (for the time) romance between a botany professor and a singer at a nightclub.
At just 90 minutes long,Vivacious Ladydoesn’t waste too much time nor get too complicated,being a solid rom-com for the era it was made/released in, and in a way that still feels fun when watched today. It’s worth it for the pairing of two Hollywood legends in the form of Rogers and Stewart, as well as for being one of the earliest starring roles for the latter.
7’After the Thin Man' (1936)
Director: W.S. Van Dyke
The Thin Manseries was a surprisingly long-running one, beginning in the 1930s and ending in the 1940s, comprising six movies, with the original,1934’sThe Thin Man, being the best.After the Thin Manwas the first of the sequels, once again being a mash-up of comedy and mystery genreswith married detectives Nick and Nora Charles getting wrapped up in solving another crime.
There’s a complex case at the heart ofAfter the Thin Manwhich revolves around the disappearance of a married man, and various shady characters who are all suspected to have potentially played a part. Stewart’s one of these, with the film being an early indication of his capacity to play somewhat sinister characters (even if the movie as a whole is quite funny), which he’d demonstrate further during the latter decades of his acting career.
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6’Destry Rides Again' (1939)
Director: George Marshall
Not just a big year for James Stewart,1939 was a famously good year for Hollywoodas a whole; a 12-month period when a particularly high number of future classics were released. One of these was the comedic WesternDestry Rides Again, the premise of which involved a particularly rowdy Old West town that’s given a new sheriff: a young and inexperienced man played by James Stewart.
Destry Rides Againis also notable for being one ofMarlene Dietrich’smost famous movies, and indeed, she was top-billed here, playing a saloon singer named Frenchy. Dietrich and Stewart make for a great duo, and the movie strikes an overall very compelling balance of Western and comedy genres, succeeding on both fronts and holding up surprisingly well for something that’s 80+ years old.
Destry Rides Again
5’You Can’t Take It with You' (1938)
Director: Frank Capra
Frank Capraworked with James Stewart three times, with each film they collaborated on together being something of a classic. The most famous of these three would bethe iconic Christmas movieIt’s a Wonderful Life, which can’t be counted here on account of it being a family drama. Capra and Stewart made two movies that can be considered comedies or dramedies, though, with the first beingYou Can’t Take It with You.
It was a Best Picture winner, and,despite having an ensemble cast, served as a true breakout role for Stewart, given he was one of its leads.You Can’t Take It with Youis a simple but satisfying comedy about two families coming together and clashing after an unlikely marriage between two members of each respective family, and it makes for good-natured, rather approachable entertainment.
You Can’t Take It with You
4’Harvey' (1950)
Director: Henry Koster
Harveyis a bit of a strange film, but ends up working more than you might expect, following a man named Elwood P. Dowd who has a best friend that just so happens to be a giant invisible rabbit. Conflict naturally ensues when people around Elwood worry about the entire situation, and the entire story plays with the idea that the titular Harvey may or may not be real.
It’s the kind of film that’s endured in pop culture,thanks to its offbeat premisebeing referenced and/or parodied in filmsand TV shows made since 1950.Harveymight not handle topics surrounding mental illness with quite the same nuance a take on the same story would nowadays,but it was good for its timeand is still entertaining nevertheless, with Stewart’s committed performance earning him an Oscar nomination.
3’Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' (1939)
One year on fromYou Can’t Take It with You, Frank Capra and James Stewart re-teamed forMr. Smith Goes to Washington, which was more of a dramedy, compared to that 1938 release.It’s arguably the stronger film of the two, and gives James Stewart even more of a chance to shine, here playing a man who gets wrapped up in the absurdity of politics when he gets appointed to the United States Senate.
As a commentary on how the political sphere in Washington, D.C. functions,Mr. Smith Goes to Washingtonendures more than one might expect, and still speaks certain truths in certain ways. It’s a clever and very well-acted film, and one that can be appreciated even by those who don’t usually find political movies all that interesting.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
2’The Shop Around the Corner' (1940)
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
James Stewart’s Alfred and Margaret Sullavan’s Klara in The Shop Around The Corner
Functioning well as a bit of a dramaand a comedy while also having an inherently romantic story,The Shop Around the Cornerisexceedingly well-balanced and an overall highlight of James Stewart’s body of work. He plays one half of an unlikely romantic duo: two people who work at the same gift shop and find each other very annoying, but are actually living out an unexpected romance because they’re falling in love through being anonymous pen pals.
For anyone who thinks that sounds familiar, that might be because the same basic premise was reworked and updated for the 1990s inYou’ve Got Mail… admittedly not as well as it was done inThe Shop Around the Corner. There’s a purity and snappiness to this 1940 film that still makes it quite delightful, and much of the humor still hits, too.
The Shop Around the Corner
1’The Philadelphia Story' (1940)
Director: George Cukor
Cast alongsidesimilarly iconic actors,Katharine HepburnandCary Grant,The Philadelphia Storyis the funniest of all the James Stewart comedies, and the movie for which he won his sole competitive Academy Award. In the film, Hepburn plays a woman who’s set to get married for a second time, but finds things get complicated when her ex-husband re-enters her life and a tabloid magazine journalist begins covering the wedding preparations.
If that sounds like the perfect set-up for a satisfying screwball comedy, that’s because it is, andThe Philadelphia Storydelivers on that very distinctive brand of film comedy that was dominant during the 1930s, and a little into the ‘40s, too. It’s fast-paced and zany enough to still deliver inventive and breezy laughs to this day,with Grant, Hepburn, and Stewart ultimatelybeing a powerhouse cinematic trio to die for.
