James Stewart, Robert Mitchum: Les deux visages de l'Amérique

"James Stewart, Robert Mitchum: Two Faces of America" is a documentary that's aired on TCM and features interviews with a variety of folks...including a daughter of Jimmy Stewart as well as Robert Mitchum. I enjoyed the interviews of the daughters very much and it left me wanting to hear more from them about their lives with their famous fathers. As for the theme of the documentary, it just didn't work for me. It felt as if the filmmakers were trying to create some theme by using the two actors but the comparisons and differences seemed unimportant...as well as their context with recent US history. It almost felt as if their choices of actors to talk about was purely because the daughters knew each other and liked each other...but Robert Mitchum and Jimmy Stewart themselves didn't seem to have much in common OR much that was all that different. At times interesting, but as I said above, I just wanted to hear more from the daughters and less from everyone else.

By the way, there was a factual error I noticed in one interview. A guy was trying to say that WWI and WWII were different because in WWI there was no draft in the USA...because so many people volunteered. But in actuality, 2.8 million men were drafted in WWI...and 2.8 million is pretty significant compred to zero.

First time I saw this was at the Coronado Film Festival. Audience was overwhelmed, and Mrs. Mitchum attended for a presentation (she's a sweetheart). This film is so special but in a good sense, much more than a straight and casual good guy vs bad guy, It goes very deep into one can call the American dilemma, the bipolar kind of stuff. Cannot really go into much details as I don't want to spoil any of the many surprises. What I can say is that the archives are tremendous, the daughters of of both icons so moving and generous, and Leonard Maltin is so great to watch. The 10/10 is for the longer version (saw a shorter one earlier this year, although it's still great, it's not as great as the 80 spectacular minutes). If you can find it, then go for it.

A rather misguided documentary on the life and times of two great actors that has way too much on the times, especially McCarthyism and Vietnam, and not nearly enough on the lives and, more specifically, the body of great work that these two Hollywood legends managed to amass. Shamefully omitted are scenes from such classic Stewart works as "Mr. Smith", "Flight Of The Phoenix", "Anatomy Of A Murder" or any of the revisionist westerns he did with Ford or Mann. As for Mitchum we get none of his finest work, either, movies like "Out Of The Past", "Friends Of Eddie Coyle", "Cape Fear", and "Home From The Hill".

Beyond the above problem is the basic wrongheadedness of the film's thesis which is, as I understand it, that Stewart's films represent the hopeful, lighter part of American culture while Mitchum's embody its dark side. This is, to put it charitably, way too simplistic, especially on Stewart's end.. Any non superficial viewing of films like "Vertigo" (arguably Stewart's greatest role, which here is also given short shrift)), "Naked Spur" and "Phoenix" will show that much of his work, especially post WW2, had a definite, disturbing cast to it. And while Mitchum's movies largely inhabit a negative space there are notable exceptions, works such as "Out Of The Past", "El Dorado" and "Longest Day", none of which are analyzed here, that show that Mitchum was quite comfortable in vulnerable, hopeful or conventionally heroic modes.

So all in all, a less than satisfying documentary. Best thing about it are the subjects TV interviews which reveal large supplies of humor, sensitivity and intelligence that go a long way toward belying the notion that actors are dumb. Give it a C plus.

I do not need a sermon from Victoria Tennant on the United States needing to "grow up". Why not just have a nice documentary about two Hollywood stars and leave the bias out? It was nice to see film footage and the daughters' memories, but this was a wasted attempt at honoring Messrs. Mitchum and Stewart. Disappointed.

While I was always under the impression that Robert Mitchum was a relatively unknown actor (at least by today's standards) this documentary goes to show that he was right up there with Jimmy Stewart in terms of popularity and talent. Because this isn't really a movie, there isn't a storyline, and the focus is purely set on Stewart, Mitchum, and how each one of them contributed to the greatness of film. Along the way, we're treated to interviews with such esteemed people as Leonard Maltin, who seems to show up everywhere. Also interviewed are the daughters of Jimmy Stewart, who provide insight into their father's often bleak and harsh life. Not many people know this, but Stewart was the highest ranking actor ever to also serve in the military. He flew planes during World War 2 and both his grandfathers were in the Civil War. We're told that Stewart was no shirker when it came to his service, as his superiors actually wanted him to stay behind the camera and not fight on the frontlines, convinced he'd be more valuable that way. Jimmy became a pilot anyway. I really have to give him credit because most people would look for a way to escape war. Later, we're shown how difficult Stewart's life was when his son Ronald goes to fight in Vietnam, and is killed there. To put more salt on the wound, Jimmy's other son was an objector to the war. Ronald's death emotionally wrecked Stewart and his daughters say he never really got over it. He continued to treat the war in vietnam as a necessity, even after what happened. This is something that is mirrored by Mitchum, one of the all time classic noir actors. Mitchum traveled to vietnam for himself in order to improve morale, and told the servicemen there that they're fighting the good fight. He didn't echo the viewpoint most people have today, that being the vietnam war was one of the biggest mistakes in US history. Although Mitchum didn't serve in the military during ww2, he still contributed to ultimate victory by helping to assemble fighter planes at a factory owned by Lockheed. This is lucky for him, as he wasn't subjected to the horrible rigors of war the same way Jimmy was. At one point, we're shown how Jimmy's daughters find their father's logbook from ww2 after he died, and large amounts of his squadron mates were killed on missions. They said that sometimes, even looking at him made them sad. Because of his time in the air force, Stewart was able to blow away audiences with his first film made after the war: It's a Wonderful Life. Although not well received back in the 40s, today it's considered one of the most iconic Holiday movies, and Stewart is able to portray a suicidal man so well simply because he experienced war. As for Mitchum, we get to see he was a bit of a troublemaker since he was caught smoking weed once after working for RKO in the late 40s. Despite this, his popularity was still as high as ever. In fact, I think noir fans were happy to see an idol of theirs leading a life of (minor) crime both on and off the screen. In terms of the movies they made together, there's only one that fits the bill. The Big Sleep, released in 1978, is the only movie in which Jimmy and Robert appear side by side. Their respective heights of popularity were long gone, but it's nice to see them together in a film, despite how different they are. Stewart and Mitchum would later both die in July 1997, one day apart from each other. This is a good example of a biographical documentary. It doesn't cover everything about the lives of Robert or Jimmy, because then it would be way too long, but it does hit most of the important points well. I liked how it sort of alludes to Mitchum and Stewart being two sides of the same coin. Stewart was a good example of a good guy, as he mostly played friendly characters who you can relate to. Mitchum was the opposite, and was most well known for his work in noir, where he was often painted as an antihero. Don't forget that protagonists can be malicious too.