The best James Stewart’s crime movies

James Stewart

James Stewart

20/05/1908- 02/07/1997
James Maitland "Jimmy" Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime Achievement award. He was a major MGM contract star. He also had a noted military career and was a World War II and Vietnam War veteran, who rose to the rank of Brigadier General in the United States Air Force Reserve. Throughout his seven decades in Hollywood, Stewart cultivated a versatile career and recognized screen image in such classics as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Philadelphia Story, Harvey, It's a Wonderful Life, Shenandoah, Rear Window, Rope, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Vertigo. He is the most represented leading actor on the AFI's 100 Years…100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) and AFI's 10 Top 10 lists. He is also the most represented leading actor on the 100 Greatest Movies of All Time list presented by Entertainment Weekly. As of 2007, ten of his films have been inducted into the United States National Film Registry. Stewart left his mark on a wide range of film genres, including westerns, suspense thrillers, family films, biographies and screwball comedies. He worked for a number of renowned directors later in his career, most notably Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford, Billy Wilder, Frank Capra, George Cukor, and Anthony Mann. He won many of the industry's highest honors and earned Lifetime Achievement awards from every major film organization. He died at age 89, leaving behind a legacy of classic performances, and is considered one of the finest actors of the "Golden Age of Hollywood". He was named the third Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute.
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Rope

Rope
7.9/10
Two men attempt to prove they committed the perfect crime by hosting a dinner party after strangling their former classmate to death.

The Man Who Knew Too Much

The Man Who Knew Too Much
7.4/10
A widescreen, Technicolor remake by Hitchcock of his 1934 film of the same title. A couple vacationing in Morocco with their young son accidentally stumble upon an assassination plot. When the child is kidnapped to ensure their silence, they have to take matters into their own hands to save him.

Call Northside 777

Call Northside 777
7.4/10
  • Genre: CrimeDrama
  • Release: 13/02/1948
  • Character: P.J. 'Jim' McNeal
In 1932, a cop is killed and Frank Wiecek sentenced to life. Eleven years later, a newspaper ad by Frank's mother leads Chicago reporter P.J. O'Neal to look into the case. For some time, O'Neal continues to believe Frank guilty. But when he starts to change his mind, he meets increased resistance from authorities unwilling to be proved wrong.

Anatomy of a Murder

Anatomy of a Murder
8/10
Semi-retired Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler takes the case of Army Lt. Manion, who murdered a local innkeeper after his wife claimed that he raped her. Over the course of an extensive trial, Biegler parries with District Attorney Lodwick and out-of-town prosecutor Claude Dancer to set his client free, but his case rests on the victim's mysterious business partner, who's hiding a dark secret.

After the Thin Man

After the Thin Man
7.6/10
Nick and Nora Charles investigate when Nora's cousin reports her disreputable husband is missing, and find themselves in a mystery involving the shady owners of a popular nightclub, a singer and her dark brother, the cousin's forsaken true love, and Nora's bombastic and controlling aunt.

Carbine Williams

Carbine Williams
6.9/10
  • Genre: CrimeDrama
  • Release: 01/05/1952
  • Character: Marsh Williams
David Marshall Williams is sent to a prison farm where he works in the tool shop and eventually develops the precursor of the famous M-1 Carbine automatic rifle used in World War II.

The Big Sleep

The Big Sleep
5.8/10
  • Genre: CrimeThriller
  • Release: 13/03/1978
  • Character: General Sternwood
Private eye Philip Marlowe (Robert Mitchum) investigates a case of blackmail involving the two wild daughters of a rich general, a pornographer and a gangster. This neo-noir remake of the iconic 1946 Bogart film transfers the setting of Raymond Chandler's novel from 1940s California to 1970s London.

The Murder Man

The Murder Man
6.8/10
Steve Grey, reporter for the Daily Star, has a habit of scooping all the other papers in town. When Henry Mander is investigated for the murder of his shady business partner, Grey is one step ahead of the police to the extent that he often dictates his story in advance of its actual occurrence. He leads the police through an 'open and shut' case resulting in Mander being tried, convicted and sentenced to death. Columnist Mary Shannon is in love with Steve but she sees him struggle greatly with his last story before Mander's execution. When she starts typing out the story from his recorded dictation, she realizes why.

It's a Wonderful World

It's a Wonderful World
6.8/10
Detective Guy Johnson's client, Willie Heywood, is framed for murder. While Guy hides him so he can catch the real killer, both of them are nabbed by the police, tried, convicted and sentenced to jail: Guy for a year with Willie to be executed. On the way to jail, Guy comes across a clue and escapes from the police.

The Last Gangster

The Last Gangster
6.7/10
A crime boss goes searching for his ex-wife and son after a ten-year prison stint. His old gang has other plans though, and use the child to try and make him disclose the location of the loot he hid before going to the slammer.

Death and the Maiden

Death and the Maiden
7.1/10
James Stewart stars as Billy Jim Hawkins, a crime-solving attorney, in this first of 8 television films. Teamed with Strother Martin as his cousin, RJ, he defends a young woman accused of familicide, with three dead bodies.

Die, Darling, Die

Die, Darling, Die
Hawkins defends a woman who is accused of murdering her wealthy elderly husband, who was bedridden with an incurable disease. She admits to not giving him the medicine he needed, but refuses to discuss her motives. While many believe it was a mercy killing, an ambitious assistant district attorney is trying to prove she did it because of the two million dollars she would inherit.

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