Judge Priest
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Judge Priest |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1934 |
| length | 80 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | John Ford |
| script |
Irvin S. Cobb , Dudley Nichols , Lamar Trotti |
| production |
Sol M. Wurtzel for Fox Film Corporation |
| music | Samuel Kaylin |
| camera | George Schneiderman |
| cut | Paul Weatherwax |
| occupation | |
| |
Judge Priest is an American comedy film directed by John Ford and starring Will Rogers . It is based on the popular short stories by Irvin S. Cobb about the character of the Judge Priest.
action
Kentucky in 1890: William Priest has served as a small town judge for 25 years and is popular for his friendly manner. Only his longtime opponent, the inflated Senator Maydem, always wants to trip Priest. In the opening scene of the film, Senator Maydew accuses the somewhat simple-minded African American Jeff of stealing chicken and demands a long prison sentence. Judge Priest initially listens to Maydew's statements with boredom and then asks Jeff, whom he immediately finds sympathetic because they both like to go fishing. Priest then acquits Jeff, calls him in his house and goes fishing with him. He has the old-fashioned attitude of judging people by their character rather than the law.
Jerome Priest, the widowed judge's nephew, has completed his law degree and is now returning to the village. He loves Ellie May, his uncle's young neighbor, with whom he has been friends since childhood. But Jerome's snooty mother - the judge's sister-in-law - is against the relationship because, unlike the Priests, Ellie May does not come from a respected family: Ellie's mother died giving birth, the father is unknown. Instead, Jerome's mother wants to thread a relationship between him and Virginia, Senator Mayhew's superficial daughter. But Judge Priest is on the side of his nephew and uses tricky means to drive out Virginia and Ellie's other admirers. One night, Judge Priest feels lonely and visits the grave of his wife, who died many years ago. He happened to observe that the silent blacksmith Bob Gillis was laying flowers in front of Edna's mother's grave. From this, Priest concludes that Bob is Ellie's unknown father.
A little later, Judge Priest visits a barber shop where Bob Gillis is also sitting. The attractive Ellie May walks past the window, causing the uncouth hairdresser Talley and two other men to joke about Ellie and her dubious family background. Bob Gillis hits Talley over the remarks. Talley and the two other men want to take revenge on Gillis a little later and attack him from an ambush with billiards. Gillis then pulls his knife and injures Talley with it. Talley is bringing charges against him in court alleging that Gillis started the brawl. Jerome Priest is defending Gillis in his first case, while Senator Maydew, who will face Priest in the upcoming judge election, will stand up for the prosecution. Maydew demands an impartial judge and doubts Priest's correctness, whereupon he, disappointed, gives up the judge's seat to another man for the trial. The negotiation goes very badly at first, Gillis' testimony is against the three other men, and Gillis hides his motive because he doesn't want to involve Ellie May. That worsens Jerome's chances of winning the trial.
Judge Priest helps his nephew and joins the defense. He calls Reverend Ashby Brand to the stand, who knows Gillis' past. Reverend fire now says he before his ordination in the Civil War on the side of the Confederates fought. When the Confederates ran out of soldiers, then-officer Ashby also enlisted men from prisons who had been convicted of murder and other serious crimes. Among them was Gillis, who was able to rehabilitate himself in battle thanks to his particular bravery. Finally, Ashby explains that Gillis is Ellie May's father and that she regularly and tacitly paid him money to raise her daughter. Then the courtroom jubilantly takes the side of Gillis, who is acquitted. Ellie May and Jerome's mother also reconcile, and nothing stands in the way of a relationship between Jerome and Ellie. On this day there is also a parade of civil war veterans, in which Judge Priest also takes part. Gillis just watches, but is asked by other veterans to carry the Confederate flag.
background
Comedian Will Rogers and director John Ford were both signed to Fox Studios and both had a passion for rural America and the community in their films. They shot the three comedies Doctor Bull (1933), Judge Priest (1934) and Steamboat 'Round the Bend (1935) together in quick succession . The partnership ended tragically when Rogers was killed in a plane crash in 1935. There were occasional difficulties between the director and the leading actor, as Rogers liked to improvise in front of the camera, which made it difficult for the other actors to act. Nevertheless, in retrospect, Ford looked back positively on the collaboration with Rogers.
The plot of the film is loosely based on the stories of Judge Priest by Irvin S. Cobb , one of the most popular American authors at the time. Cobb, born in 1876, traced the old southern states of his childhood, the figure of the judge William Priest he also based on a real judge of that time named William Pitman Bishop.
Stepin Fetchit is often criticized for his stereotypical portrayal of the lazy and submissive African American Jeff, who can only make himself understood with a big accent. He played similar roles in many films of the 1930s, making him a controversial actor in US film history. Also of note is Hattie McDaniel as the judge's African American housekeeper. Although she also makes use of stereotypes, she appears smarter and more confident compared to Fetchit's character. The hitherto unknown Hattie McDaniel achieved her first acting recognition through her appearance in Judge Priest , five years later she was to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for Gone With the Wind (1939). Originally, McDaniel's role was much smaller, but Ford enlarged it after noticing McDaniel's acting talent.
continuation
1953 Ford shot the film whom the sun is shining ( The Sun Shines Bright ), a kind of continuation of this film, this time with Charles Winninger in the role of the judge. Stepin Fetchit played the role of Jeff again. In the remake, however, there is a scene in which a lynch mob tries to hang up a black man and the judge has to prevent this. Ford wanted to express criticism of the prevailing racism in the southern states. Ford wanted to include the attempted lynching in this film, but the producers were against it, because otherwise it would not fit the rather cheerful tone of the comedy. This was one of the main reasons why he turned Who the Sun Is Smiling for 19 years later .
reception
Judge Priest was one of the biggest box office hits of the year. The New York Times was also positive in its November 12, 1934 review. The film is "classic American humor in its top class", the main actor Will Rogers could convince with his warmth. Director Ford was particularly praised for his "high-class directing". The film convincingly embodies the sentimental warmth and melancholy that emanates from the figure of the judge. With a gap of many decades, film critic Leonard Maltin Judge Priest awarded three and a half stars out of four: It was an "extraordinary piece of Americana ", the characters were warm-hearted and funny. The appearance of Henry B. Wathall as pastor in the courtroom scene is touching.
Web links
- Judge Priest in the Internet Movie Database (English)