Mann up!

This weekend I found a DVD four movie pack of Jimmy Stewart Westerns for $5.00.  The movies include Night Passage, The Rare Breed, Bend in The River and The Far Country.  Bend in The River and The Far Country are movies produced by Anthony Mann.  Out of the eight movies Stewart made with Mann, five were Westerns.  The other Westerns The Naked Spur, Winchester '73, and The Man From Laramie. 

As John Ford is to John Wayne - Anthony Mann is to James Stewart.  It was Mann that first made Stewart a cowboy in Winchester '73 (Another movie that I picked up for $5.00 at Wal-Mart).  Though James Stewart was already a  big star prior to Mann, it was Mann that directed Jimmy westward after WWII.  Anthony Mann was an up and coming director and Stewart picked Mann to direct '73.  Mann gave us a disillusioned - more violent Stewart character.  Even so - Stewart was still a likable fellow - even at his meanest.

Here's a piece of trivia for you.  Jimmy wore the same cowboy hat and rode the same horse (Pie) in all of his Westerns.  I've been keeping a lookout for Jimmy Stewart movies that were directed by both Anthony Mann and John Ford.  I'm also looking at completing my John Wayne collection directed by John Ford and Howard Hawks.  I've been on a Wayne and Stewart kick as of late.  If you see anything let me know.