There is perhaps no other film which contrasts how mainstream Hollywood looked upon vital questions of social justice, racial tolerance and Southern history from a bygone pre-politically correct cinematic era than the movie Judge Priest.
Judge Priest is a 1934 American film starring the great Will Rogers. The film was directed by the legendary John Ford, produced by Sol M. Wurtzel in association with Fox Film, and based on humorist Irving S. Cobb’s character Judge Priest. The picture is set in post-Reconstruction Kentucky and the marvelous supporting cast features Henry B. Walthall, Hattie McDaniel (who would go on to win an Academy Award for her memorable performance in Gone With The Wind), and Stepin Fetchit.
Will Rogers portrays Judge Priest. The film played a major role in earning Roger’s recognition as the number one box office star of 1934. Rogers received critical praise for his role, some noting that Rogers simply fell right into the role with his heart-warming personality. Rogers managed a balance of comedic one-liners with serious dramatics. The Tulsa Daily World summed up the famous Oklahoman’s performance: “The star’s portrayal of Judge Priest has the mark of authenticity upon it . . . the unique blending of unique talent with a rich and splendid role.”
Judge Priest is an eccentric judge in a small Kentucky town. Although his wife died 19 years before the film takes place, he shows no interest in remarrying. He sometimes stumbles his words, but he shows his wit throughout the film. The Judge, despite all his talk of being a Confederate veteran, finds his best friend to be the black Jeff Poindexter, portrayed by Stepin Fetchit. Judge Priest has pride in his tolerance for others. Walthall’s powerful court-room speech at the conclusion is not to be missed.
Rogers was killed in a plane crash on August 15, 1935, just a year after the release of Judge Priest.
As Wikipedia notes:
5:42 am on February 15, 2022The Sun Shines Bright is a 1953 American drama film directed by John Ford, based on material taken from a series of Irvin S. Cobb “Judge Priest” short stories featured in The Saturday Evening Post in the 1910s, specifically “The Sun Shines Bright”, “The Mob from Massac”, and “The Lord Provides”.
Ford had adapted some of the same material in 1934 in his film Judge Priest. That film originally had a scene depicting an attempted lynching of Poindexter (and Priest’s condemnation of the act), but it was cut by 20th Century Fox. The omission was one of the reasons Ford loosely reshaped the Cobb stories two decades later as The Sun Shines Bright for Republic Pictures, this time including Judge Priest’s defusing of the mob determined to lynch a young black character named Woodford. In both films, Stepin Fetchit plays the part of Judge Priest’s assistant, Jeff Poindexter. Ford often cited The Sun Shines Bright as his favorite among all his films, and in later years, it was championed by critics such as Jonathan Rosenbaum and Dave Kehr, who called it “a masterpiece.
Cast
- Charles Winninger as Judge William Pittman Priest
- Arleen Whelan as Lucy Lee Lake
- John Russell as Ashby Corwin
- Stepin Fetchit as Jeff Poindexter
- Russell Simpson as Dr. Lewt Lake
- Ludwig Stössel as Herman Felsburg (as Ludwig Stossel)
- Francis Ford as Feeney (Old Backwoodsman)
- Paul Hurst as Army Sgt. Jimmy Bagby
- Mitchell Lewis as Sheriff Andy Redcliffe
- Grant Withers as Buck Ramsey
- Milburn Stone as Horace K. Maydew
- Dorothy Jordan as Lucy Lee’s mother
- Elzie Emanuel as U.S. Grant ‘You Ess’ Woodford
- Henry O’Neill as Joe D. Habersham
- Slim Pickens as Sterling, Lanky Backwoodsman
- James Kirkwood as General Fairfield
- Ernest Whitman as Pleasant ‘Uncle Plez’ Woodford
- Trevor Bardette as Rufe Ramseur
- Eve March as Mallie Cramp
- Hal Baylor as Rufe Ramseur Jr.
- Jane Darwell as Mrs. Aurora Ratchitt
- Ken Williams as Maydew’s Henchman
- Clarence Muse as Uncle Zack
- Mae Marsh as G.A.R. Woman at the Ball
