Jimmy Stewart, Accordion-Toting Cowboy

I remember reading that Jimmy Stewart got his start by playing accordion, but I had never him play until I found this clip from the 1957 Western, Night Passage. In the film, Stewart plays an ex-railroad man (and traveling accordion player) who tries to prove himself by defending a payroll train from a gang of outlaws. Unfortunately, this clip is dubbed in Spanish, but you can still hear Stewart squeezing and singing “You Can’t Get Far Without a Railroad”:

Posted June 27th, 2008 in Bizarro!, Movies, Videos · 2 Comments

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2 Comments:

  1. I gotta see this movie!

    Looking at the off-kilter bass buttons, might that be one of those odd Belgian accordions? If so, the basses are upside down, I wonder if Jimmy played it for real?

    Maybe he was just frustrated, thus explaining his sacrificial act at the end there.

    by Bruce Triggs on June 28th, 2008

  2. I knew Jimmy Stewart played and have a beautiful picture of him from a magazine, with his accordion. However, I didn’t know he ever actually played in a movie. Thanks for sharing the clip!

    by Cheri Thurston on July 28th, 2008

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