Well, the whole cast is superb but it was Mitchell who really stood out as the tragic Kid (but then he is always spot on in everything!). I think his best scenes were the ones he had with Cary Grant - I really believed they were best pals!. I think that Mitchell was/is one of the greatest actors EVER!
share[deleted]
I just finished watching OAHW and thought it was fabulous. I felt the relationship between TM and Cary Grant was the real heart of the movie, no disrespect to Jean Arthur intended. 1939 sure was a great year for movies.
share"Thomas Mitchell is AWESOME in this!"
He has been awesome in everything I have ever seen him in.... I liked him the most perhaps in "The Hurricane"....
Read My Lips!!!!
SPOILERS BELOW...
There was an analysis of this film somewhere online, and they wrote that the real heart/love story of the film was that of Kidd and Geoff. Notice that Geoff only lets Bonnie into his heart when Kidd dies and she's about to leave. Kidd better understood the soul of being a pilot better than Bonnie did or even ever will. I think that he just doesn't want to be alone, like the rest of the human race.
Did he train you? Did he rehearse you? Did he tell you exactly what to do, what to say?!
I agree - although it's hard to single out any single performance when the cast is as uniformly great as this. My only complaint would be that I'd like to see more of Jean Arthur's character. It seems there are long stretches of the movie where she's nowhere to be found. Kind of odd.
What's the Spanish for drunken bum?
Thomas Mitchell won the supporting actor Oscar for "Stagecoach." He should have won for this movie instead. A much more interesting character. Probably the best work of his career.
shareMitchell was outstanding in Stagecoach. But I agree that he could have won his Oscar for Angels (as well as for 2-3 other films in 1939).
shareHis best work I've seen so far. I have not seen Stagecoach yet.
shareI have not seen Stagecoach yet.
This is one of my all-time favorite movies. I love the world that Howard Hawks creates with the location and his cast. As I watch this again and again, I really notice more of the secondary characters, and how fine they are played, such as "Sparks," "Tex" and even "Pancho."
shareReally.
Oh, thee irony.......
I love Mitchell but I don't like his character in this film. He's a tough cookie in this film and I prefer the lovable, adorable, cute and homely Mitchell!
JeSkuNk
The character doesn't have to be likeable to be well-performed. Mitchell was great in this movie. Oh, what irony?
shareIn the year of 1939 Thomas Mitchell appeared in Stagecoach, Only Angels Have Wings, Mister Smith Goes to Washington, Gone With the Wind and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I don't think too many actors have ever topped a string of classics like that in a single year of releases. HIs performance in Only Angels Have Wings may be the best of them all, but it's a close contest.
shareIMHO Mitchell's work in STAGECOACH, alone, merits a Best Supporting Actor award.
Secret Message, HERE!--->CONGRATULATIONS!!! You've discovered the Secret Message!
He was so good in everything he appeared in. And he and Jean Arthur worked very well together, as in this movie. But yes, his work in Stagecoach was a gem.
When evil is viewed as good, righteousness is viewed as evil.
And yet, while Mitchell was, as usual, splendid in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE,
he seems to be best remembered for the drunken and incompetent "Uncle Billy" than for any other role he played - so perhaps he isn't sought after so much, nowadays, by modern film aficiandos who suppose they'll just get more of the same from Mitchell in his other movies. (Of course, you and I know that Mitchell had far stronger acting chops than to be an "Uncle Billy" in every single flick he was ever in, but a lot of people haven't yet learned that about him.)
Secret Message, HERE!--->CONGRATULATIONS!!! You've discovered the Secret Message!
He's simply too good to be neglected!
When evil is viewed as good, righteousness is viewed as evil.
i should see it.
share
Yes he was! Good ol' Uncle Billie!
😎