The only time James Stewart lost his cool on set: “You don’t want to get him mad”
James Stewart was Hollywood’s nicest leading man, but he got furious whilst making one of the all-time great westerns.
James Stewart was first recognized for his ability to play charming, relatable characters with a strong sense of right-and-wrong, such as Jefferson Smith in Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, Thomas Destry Jr. in Destry Rides Again, and George Bailey in It’s A Wonderful Life. Although he’s still cited as an all-time great actor, playing these roles wasn’t exactly out of Stewart’s comfort zone; according to many of his co-stars and collaborators, Stewart was just as good-natured and kind in real life.
Stewart’s life took a dramatic turn right when his career began to take off, as it was not long after he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for The Philadelphia Story that he joined the United States Army Air Forces during World War II and earned many accolades for heroism. There was a notable change in the roles that Stewart took on after his military service, as he began to play more psychologically intense and morally ambiguous characters.
Stewart found his comfort zone in the western genre thanks to an ongoing collaboration with director Anthony Mann, who cast him in eight different films. Although their relationship had been quite cordial on the set of their first film together, Winchester ‘73, Stewart and Mann had a more tempestuous experience on Bend of the River.
Bend of the River featured Stewart in the role of wagon train settler Glyn McLyntock, but it also featured an impressive ensemble cast that included Rock Hudson in one his earliest roles. According to Hudson, Stewart launched into a fit of rage during one uncomfortable day on set.
“He’s known to be a gentle man, and he is, but you don’t want to get him mad,” Hudson said of Stewart. “Out on location in Oregon, everyone was given a lunch box. It had sandwiches, some fruit, some juice–and suddenly somebody yells out, “they’re crawling with maggots!,” and a lot of these lunch boxes did have maggots in, and Jimmy just went crazy. I mean, mad as hell.”
As shocking as it was to see someone as defined by their calm nature as Stewart ranting and raving, Hudson said that he was shocked to see the star yell at Mann and the film’s producer. However, Stewart’s anger wasn’t based on a personal vendetta; he was angry on behalf of the crew that had been disrespected.
“He threw the lunch box at Rosenberg, who promptly fired the caterers that day, and the next day there was a new caterer on location,” Hudson remembers. “So I learned from that, too. Be nice, but when you’re treated like garbage, give ’em hell. I never knew Jimmy Stewart could give anyone hell, but he could.”
It’s been said that an actor’s true qualities are defined by how they treat even the most minor member of the crew; being nice to fellow stars is one thing, but Stewart was willing to stand up for the crewmembers who had little power, even if it forced him to act out of character. Considering that Stewart chose to work with Mann six more times after their stressful experience making Bend of the River, it’s safe to assume that the extras on those films were treated a whole lot better.
