Stewart appeared in only one film released in 1951, playing a scientist in Koster's British production "No Highway in the Sky", which was one of the first airplane disaster films ever made. Filmed in England, it became a box office success in the United Kingdom, but failed to attract audiences in the United States. Stewart took a small supporting role as a troubled clown in Cecil B. DeMille's "The Greatest Show on Earth" (1952), which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Critics were curious why Stewart had taken such a small, out-of-character role; he responded that he was inspired by Lon Chaney's ability to disguise himself while letting his character emerge. In the same year, Stewart starred in a critically and commercially failed biopic "Carbine Williams" (1952), and continued his collaboration with Mann in "Bend of the River" (1952), which was again a commercial and critical success.Stewart followed "Bend of the River" with four more collaborations with Mann in the next two years. "The Naked Spur" (1953), "Thunder Bay" (1953), and "The Far Country" (1954) were all successful with audiences and developed Stewart's screen persona into a more mature, ambiguous, and edgier presence. The films featured him as a troubled cowboy seeking redemption while facing corrupt cattlemen, ranchers and outlaws; a man who knows violence first hand and struggles to control it. The Stewart–Mann collaborations laid the foundation for many of the Westerns of the 1950s and remain popular today for their grittier, more realistic depiction of the classic movie genre. In addition, Stewart starred in the Western radio show "The Six Shooter" for its one-season run from 1953 to 1954. He and Mann also collaborated on films outside the Western genre, the first of which was "The Glenn Miller Story" (1954), a critically acclaimed biopic in which he starred opposite June Allyson. It garnered Stewart a BAFTA nomination, and continued his portrayals of 'American heroes'.