James Mitchell (1920-2010)

James Mitchell, an accomplished dancer and actor on stage, screen, and TV passed away this weekend. He appeared on Broadway in Oklahoma, Brigadoon, and Paint Your Wagon and was long associated with legendary Agnes Demille and her ballet theater. His film credits in musicals and westerns in the 1950s were mostly supporting roles, with one exception being the western The Peacemaker in 1956 where he played lead. On television, he earned 7 Emmy nominations during his 30 years on TV's All My Children. He was also an acting and dance professor at Yale and Drake and was awarded an honorary doctorate in fine arts.

Filmography:

Colorado Territory (1949)
The House Across the Street (1949)
Border Incident (1949)
Stars in My Crown (1950) -- Watch video clip with James Mitchell below
The Toast of New Orleans (1950)
The Prodigal (1955)
Oklahoma! (1955)
Devil's Doorway (1950)
The Band Wagon (1953)
Deep in My Heart (1954)
The Peacemaker (1956)
A Touch of Magic (1961)
The Turning Point (1977)

This is one of my favorite scenes from "Stars in My Crown", when his Dr. Harris character removes a fish hook from the leg of a screaming kid:

Stars In My Crown (1950)

From MGM: One of the several Western gems directed by Jacques Tourneur. IMO this film, which takes place in a small town right after the civil war, is one of the most underrated from this era, and one of Tourneur's and star Joel McCrea's best. This movie and "No Way Out" with Sidney Poitier (also released in 1950) were two Hollywood dramas ahead of their time dealing with the subject of racism. Tourneur was very sensitive to the issue, and in his films, black characters were always portrayed positively. McCrea is new-in-town, tough-but-compassionate preacher Josiah Gray, and Dean Stockwell plays his young adopted son John. Josiah comes to the town to build a church and provide spiritual comfort for the sick. An unseen, adult John narrates the film; in one scene we're treated to a very entertaining sequence -- my favorite in the movie -- where young John is called on stage to be a traveling showman's assistant in his magic show. But the rest of the film's tone is a serious one; John describes how his best fishing buddy was Uncle Famous (played by Juano Hernandez), a freed slave and one of the major supporting characters in the film. Throughout the movie he's threatened by the racist townfolk, but finds encouragement in the friendship of Josiah and his family. Meanwhile, the faith of town doctor Dr. Harris (played by All My Children's James Mitchell) is tested when the town breaks out with a contageous disease, which may or may not have been spread by young John. With Ellen Drew as Josiah's wife, Lewis Stone as Dr. Harris' father, and Ed Begley, who does not play a very nice person in this. When does he ever? This is not your average "stranger-in-town-who-touches the-lives-of-the-townsfolk" picture. The ending is powerfully moving. The film is unforgettable. Based on the novel by Joe David Brown, who also wrote Kings Go Forth and Addie Pray.

Postscript: James Mitchell passed away on January 23, 2010. Read a tribute by Laura at her blog here.

A review from the blog Just a Cineaste here.