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James Stewart and Anthony Mann Conflict

#1
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7/5/08 at 3:29pm
  • Joined: February 2006
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The long explained story of the split between James Stewart and Anthony Mann was that there was a conflict between the two during the filming of "Night Passage" and Stewart had Mann discharged as director. While I can speculate what happened, the truth is what I am interested in. Any know what the conflict was over and how serious the split was or would remain?
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#2
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7/5/08 at 3:55pm
  • Joined: December 2006
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Re: James Stewart and Anthony Mann Conflict

I've always been interested in this and have been sceptical about the usual explanations. The most common explanation is that Anthony Mann didn't like Borden Chase's screenplay for Night Passage, This has never seemed credible to me because Mann went on to make Man Of The West which has a very similar story line but a less polished screenplay.

Borden Chase told Richard Corliss that Mann deserted the Night Passage project because the political tide was turning in Hollywood and people like Chase who had supported right wing causes and the blacklist were themselves blacklisted. I've no idea if Chase's explanation is any more sensible than any other.
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#3
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7/6/08 at 11:37am
  • Joined: January 2005
  • Location: Springfield, Missouri
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Re: James Stewart and Anthony Mann Conflict

On the "Furies" DVD, Mann is interviewed by the BBC in '67 and said (about
leaving "Night Passage") that sometimes you can't do the same thing over
and over. I'm guessing he had problems with the script and Stewart had
problems with him directing at that point, so they just split. Hitchcock blamed
the failure of "Vertigo" on Stewart, so maybe Jimmy was reaching a point
where people no longer thought of him as God on earth in terms of box
office power (i.e. his decisions and thoughts about a film work in the end).
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#4
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7/7/08 at 3:25am
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Re: James Stewart and Anthony Mann Conflict

I had also read that Mann had an issue with Jimmy playing the accordian too much in Night Passage, whch in effect, took away a lot of the film's dramatic punch.
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#5
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7/7/08 at 1:53pm
  • Joined: May 2001
  • Location: North Central Texas
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Re: James Stewart and Anthony Mann Conflict

The quote about the accordion was that Mann said Stewart was so blinded by the fact that he was going to get to perform musically that he didn't notice how bad the script was. Other than Duryea's over-the-top performance, though, I really enjoyed the film. The scenery alone makes it worthwhile, with highlights being the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and the ore car roundhouse.
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