TO MANY OF US OF A CERTAIN AGE, James Stewart looked his most natural under his battered “lucky” Stetson, astride his chestnut gelding, Pie. Although not originally a western star, the 6-foot-3 lanky, laconic actor became one of the Cowboy Tetrad — alongside Henry Fonda, Gary Cooper, and the Duke — whom we grew up watching at the Saturday matinees and still watch in reruns whenever possible.

Even excluding his westerns, the list of Stewart’s essential films (two of them holiday staples) is impressive. In fact, the American Film Institute has placed five of his films — , , , , and — on its America’s 100 Greatest Movies list. Add the movies in which he rode a horse and wore the hat and that legacy takes on even more character and