The co-star James Stewart threatened to have fired for no reason: “I was stunned”
Sometimes you get coworkers from heaven, and sometimes you get coworkers from hell. Hell can take many forms, but perhaps the worst is when someone is just outrightly odd in a work place, like James Stewart.
No amount of success grants someone permission to be a bad person, but no one seemed to tell Stewart that. After coming to embody the ‘American ideal’ in moves like It’s a Wonderful Life and The Philadelphia Story, he was one of the most sought after names of the era.
That also made him a sought after co-star for others. Naturally, other actors wanted to work with the biggest and best around, so when Maureen O’Hara was cast alongside Stewart in Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation, she was overjoyed.
“I was thrilled finally to have the chance to work opposite Jimmy Stewart,” she wrote in her memoir, “He was one of the biggest stars in the world and I was a huge fan.”
It all started pretty normal and exactly as someone would expect when they’re being brought in to play alongside a huge name. “We started filming on October 1, and it was a fairly uneventful day. I didn’t have a dialogue scene with Jimmy, and we only shot a walk-by sequence together,” O’Hara recalled, but then it turned.
After having almost zero interaction all day, she got a knock on her door later that night right as she was about to go to bed, celebrating a successful first shoot. A man from the studio was there to talk to her, telling her “I have to talk to you. It’s very serious, Maureen,” before delivering the insane news – “Jimmy Stewart wants you off the picture right away.”
Clearly O’Hara had played that walk-by shot incredibly because it seemed that Stewart has descended into a complete spiral. “Jimmy said that it was his understanding that you would eventually try to take over the picture and direct it,” the studio representative told the actor. O’Hara was an established name by this point. She had her own reputation and power, but she never had any intention of taking over, nor would anyone really have believed she could when playing alongside a name as big as Stewart’s. But he didn’t seem to get that.
“I couldn’t believe it. I had never tried to direct a picture I was in, ever,” O’Hara wrote, “I said, ‘How the hell could he possibly think that? I barely spoke to him the entire day. I said ‘Good morning, Mr. Stewart,’ and that was it. I did only one walk-by!” It was baffling for her and, obviously, hurtful.
He couldn’t kick her off the film though, meaning that the rest of the shoot was pretty uncomfortable. Eventually though, O’Hara realised what was happening. “I learned a few things about working with Jimmy Stewart on Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation. I discovered that in a Jimmy Stewart picture, every scene revolves around Jimmy Stewart,” she said as she realised that really, the star was selfish. She could have no level of spotlight as she added, “I was never allowed to really play out a single scene in the picture.”
Still though, O’Hara wouldn’t bad mouth his talent as she concluded, “He was a remarkable actor, but not a generous one.”
