‘This film is the diary’: Jimmy Stewart’s daughter says wartime diary inspired new biopic 

Jimmy Stewart’s daughter, Kelly Stewart Harcourt, said the new biopic about her father’s life was inspired by the wartime diary he kept, which his family discovered after his death.

Speaking at a Washington, D.C., premiere of the biopic Jimmy, Harcourt said her sister Judy found their father’s diary and that the discovery helped prompt the film.

“He left it by his bed for a reason,” Harcourt said, adding that she believed her father “wanted this story told and for it to be found.”

Harcourt said she and her sister had not previously known what their father went through during the war. She added that she had always worried a film about her father would present an unsavory impersonation of him.

“It would be impossible not to just have somebody do a Jimmy Stewart impersonation for two hours,” she said. “No one wants to see that. And the other thing was that dad would never have said yes to a movie made about his life, because it just seemed so egotistical. It just wasn’t him.”

But when she was approached with a treatment for the script, it told a story she had learned from his wartime diary.

“This film is the diary,” said Harcourt, who is an executive producer of the film. “I do believe my father would be honored by all of this.”

Jimmy also depicts how It’s a Wonderful Life played a role in Stewart’s faith journey after his return home from the war. The film’s director, Aaron Burns, previously explained to Heartlander News his approach to depicting Stewart’s faith in the film.

The film depicts Stewart’s book of Psalms, which he carried with him through the war. Psalm 91 was reportedly particularly important to Stewart.

Kara Killmer, the actress who plays Stewart’s fictional love interest while he is stationed in England, said she wrestled with the psalm because it references “long life,” which many of World War II’s heroes were not privileged to have. That was until she discovered a translation stating that God will “satisfy” one’s days.

New Zealand native KJ Apa, who also played Christian singer Jeremy Camp in I Still Believe, stars as Stewart in the film.

Apa said he did not grow up watching It’s a Wonderful Life as many Americans have, but he knew who Stewart was and watched the film as soon as he was pitched the project. He then watched more than 80 of Stewart’s other films to prepare.

Apa said he was “shocked” by Stewart’s journey when he read the script. He found his story “incredible.”

Jimmy has received mixed reviews from critics, yet earned a soaring audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. The film opened at No. 10 at the box office over the weekend, according to the Christian Broadcasting Network.

(Image credit: Photo by Audrey Streb, Heartlander News)