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Hollywood legends don't always translate perfectly to the big screen. Join us as we count down the moments the Jimmy Stewart biopic "Jimmy" got factually right and wrong! From his unscripted prayer scene in "It's a Wonderful Life" to how he really met Gloria Stewart, we're separating fact from fiction in this classic Hollywood story!
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at what this Jimmy Stewart biopic got factually right and wrong.
00:05There will be some spoilers.
00:09Number 10. Stewart got drafted the day after winning his Oscar.
00:13Wrong. Stewart did go from a high point in his acting career to serving in the military,
00:17but the film plays around with the exact timing.
00:20The war's coming to us, Jim, whether we like it or not.
00:22On February 27th, 1941, Stewart won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in The Philadelphia Story.
00:28Did you enjoy the party?
00:31Sure, sure. The prettiest sight in this fine, pretty world is the privileged class enjoying its privileges.
00:39In Jimmy, he wakes up the day after his Oscar win to find a letter from the draft board.
00:44By October 1940, though, there were already reports of Stewart's draft number potentially being called.
00:49Sir, don't I have the right to serve my country just like anyone else does?
00:53America can't afford to lose Jimmy Stewart.
00:55Stewart was called to appear before the draft board in February 1941, and he reported for duty in March.
01:02Ladies and gentlemen, I'm very proud to be here.
01:04I'm going to do my very best to be useful as a soldier in the United States Army.
01:09While his Oscar win and the beginning of his service happened in proximity,
01:13it was clear when Stewart accepted the statuette that he may be leaving Hollywood soon.
01:17Number 9. Louis B. Mayer tried to get Stewart out of duty.
01:20Right. At the height of MGM's reign, studio co-founder Louis B. Mayer was essentially the king of Hollywood.
01:26Not wanting to lose one of his top stars, the studio chief sought to have Stewart's draft notice thrown out.
01:31I'm drafting.
01:32One snap, that letter is forgotten.
01:34While he might have been able to pull some strings, Mayer didn't just have to convince the U.S. military.
01:38Stewart was adamant about serving, despite Mayer's pleas for him not to.
01:42Evening, sir!
01:44Name!
01:44Stewart!
01:45Captain Stewart!
01:46According to Stewart, they argued for almost an hour, with Mayer saying,
01:50You're just a bull-headed fella from Philadelphia.
01:53Stewart was actually from Pennsylvania, although he nonetheless responded,
01:56Mr. Mayer, you better believe it.
01:58MGM tried to prevent stars like Clark Gable from enlisting as well,
02:01but he was also determined to fight for his country.
02:04I'm leaving you here.
02:05You're what?
02:07Red, where are you going?
02:08I'm going, my dear, to join the army.
02:11Number 8. Stewart asked Ginger Rogers to marry him.
02:14Wrong.
02:14Winning her Oscar the same night as Stewart,
02:17Ginger Rogers was romantically linked to him around this period.
02:20The two started dating not long before co-starring in 1938's Vivacious Lady,
02:24although Rogers remained married to Lou Ayers until 1940.
02:27Think you stand it?
02:29Wrong.
02:30The romance fizzled as Stewart prepared a ship out,
02:33although Rogers was still considered a good friend.
02:35Yet, there's no record that Stewart asked Rogers to marry him in Vegas as the movie depicts.
02:40Something to remember us all by.
02:41Stewart did propose to another A-lister,
02:43Olivia D. Hallivand,
02:45whom he was seeing prior to his military service.
02:47D. Hallivand turned him down, however.
02:50During his military career,
02:51it was also rumored that Stewart planned to marry singer Dina Shore in Vegas.
02:55He supposedly got cold feet, though.
02:57Honeymoon without a husband,
02:58you sort of sell it, don't you think?
03:00Mm-hmm.
03:01Number 7.
03:02Lionel Barrymore gave Stewart a pep talk.
03:04Right.
03:05For George Bailey is the epitome of human decency in It's a Wonderful Life,
03:09Mr. Potter is the antithesis.
03:11I'm not interested in your book.
03:13I'm talking about the building and loan.
03:15I know very well what you're talking about.
03:17You're talking about something you can't get your fingers on,
03:20and it's galling you.
03:20Although Mr. Potter nearly drives George to take his own life in the film,
03:24actor Lionel Barrymore was a source of comfort for Stewart.
03:27At the request of director Frank Capra,
03:29Barrymore spoke with Stewart,
03:31who wasn't sure if he belonged in Hollywood after being away for so long.
03:34Barrymore reportedly told Stewart,
03:36Don't apologize for not being in town the past four years.
03:39Look at you.
03:40You used to be so cocky.
03:42You weren't going to go out and conquer the world.
03:46You once called me a warped, frustrated old man.
03:51What are you with a warped, frustrated young man?
03:55Miserable little clerk.
03:57Throughout production,
03:58Barrymore was there to give Stewart a confidence boost,
04:01saying that his acting would bring a ray of sunshine to people.
04:03Barrymore only has one major scene in Jimmy,
04:06but it does capture the rapport between these two screen legends.
04:09Now, I have stated my side very frankly.
04:13Now let's look at your side.
04:16Young man, 27, 28, married,
04:22making, say, 40 a week.
04:2445.
04:2445.
04:2545.
04:27Number 6.
04:28How We Met Gloria Stewart.
04:29Wrong.
04:30Toward the film's conclusion,
04:31Stewart meets Gloria McLean and her sons at the beach.
04:35Stewart married McLean,
04:36adopted her children from a previous marriage,
04:38and had two more with her.
04:40I think that he just fell so madly in love with Gloria
04:44and was all of his life.
04:46Their first meeting wasn't quite as romantic as the film suggests, however.
04:50They actually first crossed paths at Kenan Wynn's 1947 Christmas party.
04:54Mrs. Stewart, may I call you Gloria?
04:56Yes.
04:57Oh, thank you.
04:58McLean recalled Stewart being inebriated, saying she was underwhelmed.
05:02Stewart apparently didn't remember this,
05:04although the two hit it off upon properly getting to know each other at a dinner party
05:07hosted by Gary Cooper the following year.
05:09McLean's first marriage ended that same year,
05:11going on to become Gloria Stewart in 1949.
05:14It was a classic Hollywood romance,
05:16even if the meet-cute wasn't as cute as the film's version.
05:19Number 5.
05:20Stewart's father put his Oscar in the store window.
05:22Right.
05:23Alexander Stewart assumed that his eldest son
05:25would one day take over the family's hardware store.
05:27Although Jimmy Stewart was bound for Hollywood,
05:29he didn't leave his Pennsylvania roots behind.
05:32As the film portrays,
05:33Stewart got a call from his father upon winning his Academy Award.
05:36Jim, I see in the paper you won some kind of award.
05:39That's good, right?
05:40That's real good.
05:41Stewart's proud dad wanted to display the Oscar
05:44in the hardware store's window,
05:45alongside the family's other accolades.
05:47Stewart thus sent the prize to his father,
05:49who kept it on display until his passing.
05:51The night I won the Academy Award,
05:54he called me and said,
05:55send the award,
05:58and I'll put it in the window.
06:01Which I did.
06:02Stewart's 1941 Oscar
06:04and his honorary award from 1985
06:06remained in the family.
06:07According to Jimmy director Aaron Burns,
06:10Stewart's daughter, Kelly Stewart Harcourt,
06:12allowed him to shoot the actual Oscar for the film.
06:14This adds another layer of authenticity
06:16to this true anecdote.
06:17I every once in a while think
06:19that the reason he kept the hardware store for so long
06:24was because he was sure
06:25that people were going to catch up to me
06:27out in Hollywood on the acting thing.
06:29Number 4.
06:30Lady Julia Tyndall
06:31Wrong.
06:32Stewart was involved with several women
06:33before settling down with Gloria McClain,
06:36although Lady Julia Tyndall
06:37wasn't one of them.
06:38I'd like to know,
06:39who's the man on screen?
06:40The same man here with me.
06:42Played by Kara Kilmer,
06:43Lady Julia is introduced
06:44as a widowed noblewoman
06:46who supports the troops,
06:48taking a special interest in Stewart.
06:50While the on-screen chemistry is sweet,
06:52Lady Julia is fictional.
06:53Do you think I'm a good man?
06:57I heard about what happened.
06:59According to Kilmer,
07:00she's a composite character
07:01who represents the various women Stewart knew.
07:04We already mentioned Dina Shore,
07:06who Stewart similarly had a relationship
07:07with during his service.
07:09Lady Julia could also be a stand-in
07:10for Margaret Sullivan,
07:11who became a close friend to Stewart,
07:13although a romance never quite materialized
07:15between the two.
07:16I got psychologically mixed up.
07:18You don't say?
07:19Yes.
07:20Even if there are traces of real people in her,
07:22Lady Julia is a product of the film.
07:24Number three,
07:25Stewart's World War II service.
07:27Right.
07:27Most of the film revolves around
07:29Stewart's time during World War II.
07:30Hunter and shoot!
07:32It's safe to say that many of these moments
07:34are romanticized,
07:35especially whenever Stewart gives
07:36an empowering speech for his fellow soldiers.
07:38Broadly speaking, though,
07:40the film does highlight Stewart's accomplishments
07:41throughout his military days.
07:43He did star in the 1942 propaganda film
07:46Winning Your Wings.
07:47Now, it isn't as if it was a chore for me
07:49to talk to you
07:49because I want to speak on my favorite subject,
07:52the Army Air Forces.
07:53Having experience as a pilot,
07:55Stewart joined the Army Air Corps.
07:57Achieving the rank of captain in 1944,
08:00Stewart flew around 20 combat missions
08:02by the time the war ended.
08:03Even after the war,
08:04Stewart stayed active
08:05in the Army Air Forces Reserve
08:06before retiring in 1968.
08:08I mean,
08:09can you imagine
08:09in a modern career
08:11coming off
08:12and being in the war
08:14and then coming back?
08:17You know,
08:18I can't imagine actors doing that.
08:21Even if the film's portrayal
08:22is heavily dramatized,
08:23it captures Stewart's dedication
08:25to his service.
08:26Say, ain't you Jimmy Stewart,
08:28the actor?
08:28I used to be.
08:29Number two,
08:30How It's a Wonderful Life
08:31was pitched to Stewart.
08:33Wrong.
08:33In numerous ways,
08:35George Bailey's struggles
08:36mirrored Stewart's
08:37when he returned from the war.
08:50The film practically turns
08:52It's a Wonderful Life
08:53into a mirror reflection
08:54of reality, however.
08:55As Stewart stands over a cliff,
08:57Frank Capra appears
08:58like a guardian angel.
09:02Capra takes Stewart
09:03back to his office
09:04where he presents the script
09:05for a future Christmas classic.
09:07It's a Wonderful Life
09:08I don't think I can do it.
09:10Who else, Jim?
09:11Who else can do that but you?
09:13It's a Wonderful Life
09:14was the first movie
09:15Stewart did after serving,
09:16but the pitch meeting
09:17wasn't that dramatic.
09:18According to Capra,
09:19he reached out to Lou Wasterman,
09:21Stewart's agent,
09:22offering him the role.
09:23Wasterman apparently replied,
09:25Stewart would gladly play the part
09:26without hearing the story.
09:27When Capra eventually
09:28explained the story to Stewart,
09:29he enthusiastically accepted.
09:31Merry Christmas,
09:32you wonderful old building alone!
09:35Number one,
09:36the unscripted prayer scene.
09:38Right.
09:39Feeling lost after World War II,
09:41Stewart was able to draw
09:42from real-life experience
09:43while making it
09:44to Wonderful Life.
09:45Dear Father in Heaven,
09:50I'm not a praying man,
09:52but if you're up there
09:54and you can hear me,
09:58show me the way.
09:59Nowhere was this more apparent
10:00than during the bar scene,
10:02where George Bailey
10:02prays for guidance.
10:04Stewart's tears in the scene
10:05were real,
10:06although that wasn't in the script.
10:08Why you drink so much,
10:09my friend?
10:10Please go home,
10:11Mr. Bailey.
10:12Stewart recalled,
10:13I felt the loneliness,
10:15the hopelessness of people
10:16who had nowhere to turn,
10:17and my eyes filled with tears.
10:18I broke down sobbing.
10:20This was not planned at all,
10:21but the power of that prayer,
10:23the realization
10:24that our Father in Heaven
10:25is there to help the hopeless,
10:26have reduced me to tears.
10:28While Capra subsequently
10:29got a close-up,
10:30he immediately recognized
10:31as the genuine emotions
10:32Stewart brought to the scene.
10:33I'm at the end of my room,
10:35but I...
10:37show me the way.
10:38What did you think of Jimmy?
10:40Let us know in the comments.
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10:45You