1939 was definitely James Stewart's break out year with Destry Rides Again and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington putting him once and for all in the ranks of biggest film stars. Unfortunately he also was in Ice Follies of 1939 which was a dud and It's A Wonderful World which didn't help or hurt his career.
In their one and only screen pairing, Stewart gets Claudette Colbert as a leading lady. He's a private detective hired by Ernest Truex who swears he's been framed by an evil woman Frances Drake for murder. Stewart hides out Truex, but they both get caught and Stewart gets sent up for aiding and abetting a fugitive. He escapes the cops and continues his investigation.
He also meets up with Claudette Colbert who's doing a pale imitation of her role from It Happened One Night. She's a poetess/heiress also on the run and she's more of a hindrance than a help although her quick thinking does save the situation in the end.
It's A Wonderful World is enjoyable however for the presence of three wonderful characters. Guy Kibbee as Stewart's hapless partner in his detective agency who seems always to be around to get clobbered. And the best is Edgar Kennedy and Nat Pendleton as the police pursuing Stewart.
Those two really save this film. Thank God these two were such a pair of dim bulbs. Neither of these guys exactly plays Rhodes scholars on the screen, but here they really outdo themselves. They were excellent together, why MGM or other studios didn't team them more is a mystery.
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