Judge Priest (1934)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Irvin S. Cobb (character "Judge Priest")
Dudley Nichols (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

28 September 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Mellow as a mint julep and twice as refreshing.

Plot:

Judge Priest, a proud Confederate veteran, uses common sense and considerable humanity to dispense justice in a small town in the Post-Bellum Kentucky.

Plot Keywords:

Judge | Kentucky | Veteran | Nephew | Sister In Law

Cast

Will Rogers	...	Judge William 'Billy' Priest
Tom Brown	...	Jerome Priest
Anita Louise	...	Ellie May Gillespie
Henry B. Walthall	...	Reverend Ashby Brand
David Landau	...	Bob Gillis
Rochelle Hudson	...	Virginia Maydew
Roger Imhof	...	Billy Gaynor
Frank Melton	...	Flem Talley
Charley Grapewin	...	Sergeant Jimmy Bagby
Berton Churchill	...	Senator Horace Maydew
Brenda Fowler	...	Mrs. Caroline Priest
Francis Ford	...	Juror No. 12
Hattie McDaniel	...	Aunt Dilsey (as Hattie McDaniels)
Stepin Fetchit	...	Jeff Poindexter

Runtime:

80 min (copyright length)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

Canada:G (Ontario) | USA:Approved (PCA #111) | USA:TV-G (TV rating)

Company:

Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Stepin Fetchit reprised his role for the 1953 remake, The Sun Shines Bright (1953).

Quotes:

[first lines]
Judge William 'Billy' Priest: Hear! Hear! Hear! Court's called to order!

Movie Connections:

Version of The Sun Shines Bright (1953)

Soundtrack:

(I Wish I Was in) Dixie's Land

The Little Colonel Meets Colonel Sanders

In the South, Kentucky circa 1890, we meet Judge Priest (played by Will Rogers), laid-back circuit court judge who dresses like Colonel Sanders and has bigger interests than court trials - namely lawn croquet, mint juleps, Confederate veteran social gatherings, taffy pulls, and his new-found friendship with an accused chicken thief (played by Stepin Fetchit) put on trial in his courtroom, who gives the judge tips on fishing for catfish. The judge also enjoys matchmaking for his nephew Rome (Tom Brown), a young man who has just graduated from law school and who is in love with the pretty girl next door in spite of his stuffy mama's protests (seems the girl isn't good enough for the mighty "Kentucky Priest's", mama has her eye on someone else for her son). Soon the film switches gear when our young lawyer gets his first case and defends a local man put on trial.

This film was actually quite a bit better than I was expecting - Will Rogers, whose role dominates this film (aside from Henry B. Walthall, who has a smaller, but important piece here) was more interesting in this than I have seen him in other roles, probably because he comes across as more like himself than a character. Henry B. Walthall, the handsome "Little Colonel" in "The Birth of a Nation", still looks attractive here nearly 20 years later, a real silver fox to my eyes. Hattie McDaniel plays a stereotypical black mammy, singing and hanging laundry and preparing the judge yet another mint julep in most of her scenes, yet comes across with loads of charm. Really quite an interesting film.