A new movie documenting the life of Hollywood star and genuine American hero Jimmy Stewart, is heading for the big screen although it’s only in the pre-production stages. Under the working title of A Truly Wonderful Life, it seeks to tell the story of not only Jimmy’s acting career, but also his Christian faith and his immense courage serving his country as a bomber pilot during World War II.
That working title is in tribute to one of the most-watched Christmas movies of all time — A Wonderful Life — which features Jimmy playing an ordinary man called George Bailey, who just like himself had a strong faith in God and a selfless concern for others.
Filmmaker Aaron Burns told CBN News: “We just announced that we’re partnering with the Stewart family — Jimmy’s daughter and her family — to bring his life to the big screen. He’s known as the everyman of America.” Mr. Burns said he, like so many other Americans, has long known Jimmy Stewart as an actor, but his perspective was widened a few years ago when he stumbled upon an article detailing the performer’s back story — a decision to fight in World War II that took the movie star out of Hollywood and onto the battlefield. “The storyteller in me just was so intrigued by this,” he explained.
The director and producer also learned that Jimmy grew up in a small Pennsylvania town and had a faithful father who was a deacon in the Presbyterian church. “His Dad just prayed for his son, raised him, invested in him. And, all of a sudden, Jimmy winds up making it as an actor, heading off to Hollywood, and rising through the ranks to become a huge star,” Aaron Burns recounted.
Jimmy Stewart went on to win an Oscar for best actor and four more nominations and star in a swag of classic films, yet he often felt somewhat of a “hollowness” about his life, Mr. Burns discovered, adding that Jimmy simply wasn’t sure if he was a “fake movie star” or a “real hero.” The actor’s often quoted as saying: “I wanted to be something more than just a Tinseltown hero. I wanted to serve my country, serve my fellow Americans.” He added that he wanted to be remembered for hard work and love of his country, his family and his community.
In the early 1940s, war had begun in Europe and “war clouds were on the US horizon,” prompting the Hollywood star to enlist in the US Army Air Corps. Jimmy who already had a private pilot’s licence quickly rose through the ranks to become a squadron commander which involved leading thousands of men in bombing raids over German targets in the face of fierce enemy resistance. CBN News reports that on every combat mission he always carried a copy of Psalm 91 given to him by his father. Its prayer of protection includes the unforgettable verse: The Lord is my refuge and my fortress.
“It’s about the Lord’s comfort and the Lord being with you. His Dad said: I have confidence and I will be praying for you the whole time you’re away that God will be with you. And you’ll make it home safely. Jimmy kept that with him in his uniform pocket on every mission that he went on,” Mr. Burns revealed.
The actor did make it back home, but he suffered from serious post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after seeing hundreds of his pilots and crew being shot down. Jimmy’s Hollywood contract had expired and the big studios didn’t want to know him, so he wondered whether he’d ever be an actor again. He refused an offer to play himself as a bomber pilot in the war.
When it looked like he had run out of acting options, he was approached by director Frank Capra who had also served in the war. He claimed he had just the role for Jimmy. Mr Burns told CBN News: “Capra says: I’ve got the perfect part for you, Jimmy. I was struggling, too. I was in the war. Nobody wants me either, but maybe together we could do this project, It’s a great story.” So, Jimmy accepted the part of George Bailey.
The rest is history. Despite its lukewarm initial reception,“It’s a Wonderful Life became a transformative movie for Frank and Jimmy even as it became a transformative movie for all Americans,” Aaron Burns explained while noting he’s excited to tell the story behind the story of the movie that the American Film Institute acclaimed as “the most inspirational movie” of all time.
The film resurrected Jimmy’s acting career and he went on become one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood, collaborating with legendary directors like Alfred Hitchcock, Otto Preminger and John Ford in some of the most memorable movies from the 1950s and 1960s. He kept appearing in films and TV shows well into the 1980s. At the same time, he kept serving in the US Air Force Reserve — even flying a giant B-52, before retiring as a Brigadier-General in 1968. Jimmy Stewart died in 1997 at the age of 89.
Aaron Burns told CBN News he is motivated to make the biopic because: “I want my kids to be able to know the hero that Jimmy Stewart was and to see what he went through, the sacrifice he made for us, and to see what the powerful prayers and love of a father for their son and the impact that that can make. So that’s a story that we’re helping to tell.”
Jimmy’s daughter Kelly Stewart-Harcourt said: “Our family is thrilled that Aaron and his team approached us about bringing Dad’s story to life on the big screen. Everyone loved him as George Bailey. Now they can learn how that movie intertwined with other parts of his life in so many important ways.”
