The Spirit of St. Louis

The Spirit of St. Louis 
Released Date: April 20, 1957
Director: Billy Wilder
Actors: James Stewart, Murray Hamilton, Patricia Smith, Bartlett Robinson, Marc Connelly, Arthur Space, Richard Deacon, and Charles Watts

     James Stewart (47 years old) was cast as the young Charles Lindbergh (25 years old). It was said that James Stewart had pretty much begged to play Lindbergh, for Stewart was a huge fan of his. Although, it was said that Stewart was very difficult to work with during filming, which was unusual because almost everyone working with him loved it, but coworkers thought it might have been that he realized he was not right for the part. Lindbergh actually wanted Anthony Perkins to play him. I will have to say on record that James Stewart did a great job!

     Charles 'Slim' Lindbergh (James Stewart) wanted to be the first pilot to go from New York to Paris in a solo transatlantic flight. He needs first, to find sponsors, and then he needs to find the plane that will take him from point A to point B. Lindbergh finds his sponsors, and his sponsors find a plane owner that will sell him a good enough plane to take him across the Atlantic. However, the seller (Richard Deacon) wants to pick the pilot, which of course he wants someone other than Lindbergh. He then takes a train back home to St. Louis to give his sponsors their money back, but they have for him, a train ticket to New York. They also tell him that they do not want any other pilot. So he gets on the train for New York, and he is to see a man that can build a plane from scratch. The catch is that Lindbergh needs this plane to be built in 90 days or less. They are able to do this. The plane is plain, for it has no bathroom, no excess weight of any kind. Lindbergh even settles for not having a parachute along, which would have been a safe thing to have with him. He even has flash backs during his trip, of a time when one came in handy during a trip in his beginning plane rides. Will he make it across the Atlantic Ocean? Or will he and his Spirit of St. Louis plummet into the Ocean? The only way to find out is by watching this amazing movie. It is one that I have to say, kept me on my toes, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I know you probably get tired of me saying a lot of the same things over, but I love James Stewart, and this movie, along with a great many others, is why I do. Charles Lindbergh is amazing, and is a great pilot. 

The FBI Story

The FBI Story
Released Date: 1959
Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Actors: James Stewart, Vera Miles, J. Edgar Hoover, Murray Hamilton, Larry Pennell, Nick Adams, Diane Jergens, Jean Willes, and Joyce Taylor

     J. Edgar Hoover did a cameo appearance and personally chose James Stewart to play the part of Chip Hardesty. The movie is about the FBI and their changes that they made. Did you know that the FBI use to be run down and not a very exciting place to work? Well with the help of J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI became a well respected organization. And one that was very exciting field to work for.  Also, another piece of cool information, there was always two FBI agents on the set at all times. My grandma and her sister worked for the FBI, they were told not to reveal any kind of information. And was also told not to even tell people that they worked for them, they were told just to say that they worked for the government. My grandma's sister is in this movie too. I wrote before that I had watched this and did not see her, but then I re-watched and saw her. That is pretty wild, huh?

     This movie follows a man, Chip Hardesty (James Stewart) as he goes through the changes of the FBI. His wife, Lucy (Vera Miles) even asked him in the beginning of his career, to leave. She asked him of this because it did not seem that all of his intelligence and schooling were being shown through his work. But when Chip went in to resign in Washington DC, he ended up sitting through a speech made done by J. Edgar Hoover. The speech made the FBI sound promising and it seemed to Chip that he needed to stay. When Chip goes to meet his wife for dinner, after having supposedly quit, she tells him she is pregnant and he tells her he never resigned but she ended up saying that he should go ahead and stay. Which was a great idea because the FBI did change, and for the better. We watch Chip Hardesty go through investigating gangsters, the KKK, Nazi agents, and war spies. We even watch him tackle down Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby Face Nelson, John Dillinger and Ma Barker. Then the war came, WWII, and his son enters in the war. Chip and his wife had three children, a son and two daughters. You will also get to see a very interesting case about a man named Jack Graham. He had killed his mother and 44 people by planting a bomb in her suitcase that went on plane. He did that so he could collect her life insurance. Little did he know, but the FBI can track down anyone. It was very cool and interesting how they figured it out. Just by finding particles.

     This movie is one of my favorite James Stewart films. And is very exciting and on the edge of your seat intertainning. One film that I would recommend to any one. I have always loved James Stewart, and I actually saw this movie for the first time today. I was pleased by the end of it, and was happy that I purchased such a masterpiece. Rent/buy or loan, this is a treasure.