Whom the sun shines
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Whom the sun shines |
| Original title | The Sun Shines Bright |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1953 |
| length | Theatrical Version: 92 minutes; Director's Cut : 100 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | John Ford |
| script | Laurence Stallings |
| production |
Merian C. Cooper , John Ford for Republic Pictures |
| music | Victor Young |
| camera | Archie Stout |
| cut | Jack Murray |
| occupation | |
| |
Whom the Sun Is Shining for is an American feature film by John Ford with dramatic and comical elements from 1953. The plot is based on the story of Irvin S. Cobb about the character of Judge Priest, which is also the basis for the also directed by Ford resulting film Judge Priest (1934) were.
Although a relatively unknown work in Ford's oeuvre, Whom the Sun Is Shining is considered a masterpiece by many film critics. John Ford considered the film a personal favorite.
action
The small town of Fairfield County in Kentucky around 1900: The friendly old judge William "Billy" Priest stands for re-election against his rival Horace K. Maydew, and the election result is by no means certain. In court, the opponents clash when the youthful black Grant Woodford is accused of spending more time with his banjo than with honest work. While Maydew demands punishment, Woodford plays Dixie on his banjo , to the delight of Priest and his old Confederate friends in the hall . Priest gets the boy a decent job and lets him go. Woodford is later accused, under a rather shady burden of evidence, of raping a white girl. A white lynching mob - led by Mr. Ramseur, the girl's father, and her admirer Buck Ramsey - appear outside the prison and only Priest's brave efforts and his shotgun prevent the mob from lynching the boy.
Another storyline revolves around Lucy Lee Lake, a beautiful young woman from Fairfield. She grows as a ward with Dr. Lake, a doctor friend of Priest. Since her origin is a secret, she is often viewed critically in the village. Ashby Corwin, a son of the town who has just returned from university, is fascinated by Lucy Lee's beauty, but would ruin his reputation if he were to enter into a relationship with her. When Buck Ramsey and his friends make fun of Lucy Lee on the street, Corwin challenges him to a whip fight. Judge Priest has to separate the two men and then tells Corwin about Lucy Lee's family history: Her father died in a fight for Lucy's mother, and the child was not born into a marriage. That's why Lucy Lee's grandfather, the elderly Southern General Fairfield, refuses to have anything to do with Lucy Lee. A short time later, a terminally ill woman returns to Fairfield on the ferry: It is Lucy Lee's mother, who had worked as a prostitute for many years and now takes one last look at her daughter before she dies. Lucy Lee finally knows about her origins.
Election day in Fairfield is approaching: Judge Priest and his circle of friends, consisting of other old southern war veterans, fear a rather poor outcome of the election, as Priest had not made himself popular with his work against the lynch mob. Things seem to get worse for Priest when Mallie Cramp - the owner of the local brothel - is seen in Priest's house. Mallie asks the judge to arrange for an orderly burial for Lucy Lee's mother and thus grant her last wish. Meanwhile, Lucy Lee is invited to a cadet ball by Ashby, but insulted because of her origins and wants to go home. Rufe Ramseur's daughter appears and identifies Buck Ramsey as her rapist. Ramsey tries to escape in the carriage Lucy had just sat in, but an old friend of Priest manages to shoot Ramsey. Lucy Lee's carriage gets out of hand and Ashby rescues her.
On election day, Priest attends the little funeral for Lucy Lee alongside the other prostitutes. This initially causes horror in the small town and Maydew sees himself on the road to victory. Gradually, however, more and more respected citizens of Fairfield are joining the funeral procession. In a black church , the priest gives a funeral speech full of compassion and tolerance. Suddenly General Fairfield appears, who sits down next to Lucy Lee, recognizing her as his granddaughter. As a result, Lucy Lee's reputation in the village has now been restored. In the election it looks like Maydew will win, but members of the lynch mob appear and vote for Priest, which is now a tie. They thank him for rescuing them from themselves. Priest must be reminded that he himself has not yet voted, and so he can personally decide the election for himself with one vote ahead. In the evening, a long line of villagers passed Priest's house and thanked him for his commitment. Tired but happy, the old judge retires to his house.
background
In the 1934 film Judge Priest , which was also based on the popular stories by Irvin S. Cobb, John Ford had initially planned a scene in which the black man played by Stepin Fetchit was to be lynched. The studio bosses rejected this idea, however, to the annoyance of Ford, as too risky and gloomy. This was one of the main motivations for Ford 19 years later to shoot Whom the Sun Is Shining, in which the scene with the attempted lynching is present.
John Ford completely dispensed with big stars in the cast, he entrusted the main role to character actor Charles Winninger , who otherwise mostly only took on supporting roles. Many of his longtime regular actors appear in supporting roles. Ford's brother Francis Ford and Paul Hurst came here for their last film appearances, both of which died a little later.
Frank Hotaling was responsible for the production design , and Adele Palmer was responsible for the costumes . Patrick Wayne , the son of Ford's good friend John Wayne , can be seen in a minor supporting role as a cadet.
Awards
At the British Academy Film Awards in 1954 , Whom the Sun Smiles was nominated for Best Picture.
Reviews
For the German premiere in July 1953, Der Spiegel wrote: “The four-Oscar director John Ford's slow-hearted democracy lecture. Slightly tearful, but type-blessed and saturated with humor. ”Film critics such as Jonathan Rosenbaum and Dave Kehr regard Whom the Sun Shines as a masterpiece today. The Lexicon of International Films writes that Ford was drawing the "delicately ironic portrayal of a small American town at the turn of the century". The focus is on the figure of the original district judge, the "humorous and human drawing of this exemplary fair and kind man makes the film worth seeing". John Baxter wrote that the film is dominated by the "concept of forgiveness and liberation", which also shows Ford's Catholic character: a young black man is acquitted in court, a man repents of his sins and a terminally ill prostitute returns home.
Web links
- Whom the sun shines in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ The Sun Shines Bright at Turner Classic Movies
- ↑ Whom the sun shines in the mirror
- ↑ Johnathan Rosenbaum on The Sun Shines Bright , essay from 2004
- ↑ Judge Priest at Chicago Reader
- ↑ Whom the Sun Shines in the Lexicon of International Films
- ^ John Baxter: John Ford: The legendary Hollywood director , Heyne Filmbibliothek, Munich 1980, p. 67