Writer Irvin S Cobb explains, "The figures in this story are familiar ghosts of my own boyhood. The War between the States was over, but its tragedies and comedies haunted every grown man's mind, and the stories that were swapped took deep root in my memory. There was one man 'Down Yonder' I came specially to admire for he seemed typical of the tolerance of that day and the wisdom of that almost vanished generation. I called him 'Judge Priest', and I tried to draw reasonably fair likeness of him and his neighbors and the town in which he lived. An old Kentucky town in 1890."
The fair-minded judge is Will Rogers (as William "Billy" Priest), who reads the newspaper in his circuit courtroom while ex-Confederates try to jail sleepy ex-slave Stepin Fetchit (Jeff Poindexter) for stealing chickens. "Judge Priest" diverts the prosecutors with old Confederate stories, and takes the vagrant Mr. Fetchit back to his home, after a fishing trip. Meanwhile, singin' and dancin' "Mammy" Hattie McDaniel (as "Aunt" Dilsey) welcomes the Judge's handsome son Tom Brown (as Jerome "Rome" Priest) home. Mr. Brown has just received his law degree, from a college "up North"
Brown loves pretty neighbor Anita Louise (as Ellie May Gillespie), but a secret about her parentage threatens their relationship. All is resolved by the good Judge with help from town Reverend Henry B. Walthall (as Ashby Brand). It ends with a rousing celebration of the old Confederacy by director John Ford; he pointedly triggers the final parade with a mesmerizing Mr. Walthall, who bravely fought for the South in D.W. Griffith's "The Birth of a Nation" (1915).
The Walthall connection would not have been lost on audiences in 1934, who made "Judge Priest" one of the year's biggest box office hits. That, and the racially insensitive impressions made by Fetchit and Ms. McDaniel, have sent this film to the back of the bus. "Judge Priest" was seen relatively rarely over the years, and still has the potential to offend. Fetchit's "Jeff" became a classic of its kind, unfortunately; at least, Mr. Rogers softens him. McDaniel is not able to infuse her "Mammy" with much depth or dignity (she would eventually accomplish this). Mr. Ford once called this his favorite film.
Great moments include Rogers talking to his deceased wife - the scene where he speaks to the wall portrait of "Margaret" and their two dead children is classic. And, that "lonesome kind of sound" of the whippoorwill, as described by Brown, possibly lingered with likely young cinema goer Hank Williams. Fox Film's clout in the "Academy Awards" process had dimmed by 1934, or Rogers and Ford might have received "Best Actor" and "Best Director" nominations; and, if "Supporting Actor" awards were offered, Walthall's dramatic courtroom performance would have certainly been considered for one.
******* Judge Priest (9/28/34) John Ford ~ Will Rogers, Tom Brown, Henry B. Walthall, Stepin Fetchit
The fair-minded judge is Will Rogers (as William "Billy" Priest), who reads the newspaper in his circuit courtroom while ex-Confederates try to jail sleepy ex-slave Stepin Fetchit (Jeff Poindexter) for stealing chickens. "Judge Priest" diverts the prosecutors with old Confederate stories, and takes the vagrant Mr. Fetchit back to his home, after a fishing trip. Meanwhile, singin' and dancin' "Mammy" Hattie McDaniel (as "Aunt" Dilsey) welcomes the Judge's handsome son Tom Brown (as Jerome "Rome" Priest) home. Mr. Brown has just received his law degree, from a college "up North"
Brown loves pretty neighbor Anita Louise (as Ellie May Gillespie), but a secret about her parentage threatens their relationship. All is resolved by the good Judge with help from town Reverend Henry B. Walthall (as Ashby Brand). It ends with a rousing celebration of the old Confederacy by director John Ford; he pointedly triggers the final parade with a mesmerizing Mr. Walthall, who bravely fought for the South in D.W. Griffith's "The Birth of a Nation" (1915).
The Walthall connection would not have been lost on audiences in 1934, who made "Judge Priest" one of the year's biggest box office hits. That, and the racially insensitive impressions made by Fetchit and Ms. McDaniel, have sent this film to the back of the bus. "Judge Priest" was seen relatively rarely over the years, and still has the potential to offend. Fetchit's "Jeff" became a classic of its kind, unfortunately; at least, Mr. Rogers softens him. McDaniel is not able to infuse her "Mammy" with much depth or dignity (she would eventually accomplish this). Mr. Ford once called this his favorite film.
Great moments include Rogers talking to his deceased wife - the scene where he speaks to the wall portrait of "Margaret" and their two dead children is classic. And, that "lonesome kind of sound" of the whippoorwill, as described by Brown, possibly lingered with likely young cinema goer Hank Williams. Fox Film's clout in the "Academy Awards" process had dimmed by 1934, or Rogers and Ford might have received "Best Actor" and "Best Director" nominations; and, if "Supporting Actor" awards were offered, Walthall's dramatic courtroom performance would have certainly been considered for one.
******* Judge Priest (9/28/34) John Ford ~ Will Rogers, Tom Brown, Henry B. Walthall, Stepin Fetchit