James Stewart: Worst Miscast in Film History

I was thinking of making a post about this matter. In the abstract, I actually like Stewart in this role; his leanness matches that of the canoe in which he is introduced and the river through which he is riding. Indeed, that introduction is wonderful, especially in its elegant visual contours, of which Stewart is a part.

On the other hand, Stewart playing a twenty-seven-year old when was actually twice that age certainly strains credulity a bit. But that is the downside of All-Star casting, kind of like Anne Hathaway playing a brainy astronaut in Interstellar. Yeah, right ...

The drama in the first half of the film is very banal, I agree. It held my attention for the most part, but only lightly, as it constituted a routine mix of romance, attraction, and adventure. The second half, while hardly significant, is somewhat better and offers more historical themes, plus a little occasional irony.

Haven't you seen John Wayne's the conqueror where he plays Genghis Kahn, I think that's the worst miscast I've ever seen.

I agree that he was badly miscast, but I'm not sure I would call it the very worst in history. For example, Henry Fonda in War & Peace was also a seriously bad choice.

How old was Will Geer in Jeremiah Johnson? Stewart's not shown in the harshest conditions. A man in his forties or fifties is perfectly capable of paddling a canoe, making camp, riding a horse, and trapping beaver. Not every trapper was living the life of "Liver-Eating" Johnson (or a barbarian).

As for worst miscasting in history? One hell of an overstatement.

I agree that it was ridiculous. I mean, George Peppard was also too old for his initial role, even older than his on-screen mother, but at least with his character it makes sense, because we see him progress for the next 15 years or so. For the Linus Rawlings character I have absolutely no idea why they cast Stewart.

The only ones who should be critiquing a movie made in 1962 are members of the American Film Institute. I saw the film as a young girl and thought it was the best thing since Gone With The Wind. For those brought up on Star Wars, The Terminator, Spiderman, Iron Man and the like really have no business voicing their distaste for an epic film of this magnitude. It was the times, and our choices were limited. But we were happy with it all because that was the only escapism we had. Can you imagine the kids of today being limited to watching Tarzan, The Three Stooges and Shirley Temple movies on a Saturday afternoon and being content? Believe me, I have adapted and am a huge fan of Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead and all the Marvel movies, but to read of someone's distaste for a movie and its casting when that person wasn't even around in that time period....well, it's a waste of anyone's time...unless that person holds a Ph.D. in American Cinema, but I doubt that's the case here.

"If I were any closer to you, I'd be in back of you"

If you have any familiarity with actual historical Mountain Men, you'll realize that Jimmy Stewart was a GQ worthy glamor boy by comparison. Not quite as pretty-boy as DeCaprio in The Revenant, but not the grizzled old caveman-looking wildman of history, either.