Quite possibly the best...

I am not the first to say that Jimmy Stewart is one of the best actors to ever grace the silver screen and by far the most enjoyable to watch. He truly brings you in with his genuine emotion and passion. There is good reason why Jimmy Stewart always had monologues in his films - he draws you in so completely that your forget it is just a movie. His face tells an entire story with out really having to say a word, but his signature voice and use of words really completes the picture. By his own admition, "I am James Stewart, playing James Stewart. I couldn't mess around doing great characterization. I play variations of myself. Audiences have come to expect certain things from me and are disappointed if they don't get them." --James Stewart



I was recently reading his biography and had no idea that he was the first Hollywood actor to serve in WWII, and he also served in the Vietnam War.

"At age 33, Stewart enlisted as private and rose to colonel in the Air Force, leading one thousand plane strikes against Germany; Stewart won the Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross. In his later years he gradually rose in rank in the reserves until he retired a brigadier general.

After the war, Stewart contributed what is undoubtedly his best-known performance, in Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946), a film and a performance full of postwar angst and visions of youthful dreams dashed yet also showing the compensations bound up with overlooked achievements. " TCM.com

A few of my favorites are coming up on Turner Classic Movies: (Although I don't know that I could possibly pick a favorite because I love his films so much)

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939): An idealistic Senate replacement takes on political corruption.
August 30th 5:45 PM (EST)

You Can't Take It With You (1938): A girl from a family of freethinkers falls for the son of a conservative banker.
August 30th: 8:00 PM (EST)