Jimmy Fucking Stewart

stewart is so great in conflict with himself

hell, yes. his best moments on film are sublimely nuanced and calibrated bits of facial expression or physical tension. there are various close-ups in It's a Wonderful Life that are just killer.

I think Ebert said something about how Stewart's combat experience really shown through in most of his post-war performances.

Oh, good point!

I didn’t really know anything about his military service until I just now read up in his Wikipedia page. Seems to me other guys worked on USO-type stuff and propaganda films but he was flying Bomber missions to Germany.

yeah his access to that idk “extra gear” that he can shift into must come from that experience for sure, or at least adds to it… he’s not afraid to explore the darker psychological stuff

It really came out with Hitchcock and Anthony Mann, but seems to have always been there to some degree.

He's more frightening than John Wayne.

ts: crazy-eyed menace vs cold-eyed menace