Mississippi (1935)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Directors:

Wesley Ruggles
A. Edward Sutherland

Writers:

Claude Binyon (writer)
Jack Cunningham (writer)

Release Date:

22 March 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Plot:

A young pacifist after refusing on principle to defend her sweetheart's honor and being banished in disgrace...

Plot Keywords:

Riverboat | Beautiful Woman | Showboat

Cast

Bing Crosby	...	Tom Grayson
W.C. Fields	...	Commodore Jackson
Joan Bennett	...	Lucy Rumford
Gail Patrick	...	Elvira Rumford
Queenie Smith	...	Alabam'
Claude Gillingwater	...	Gen. Rumford
John Miljan	...	Maj. Hilary Patterson
Fred Kohler	...	Capt. Blackie
Edward Pawley	...	Joe Patterson
Theresa Maxwell Conover	...	Miss Markham
Paul Hurst	...	Hefty
John Larkin	...	Rumbo
Libby Taylor	...	Lavinia
The Cabin Kids	...	The Inki Kids - Musical Ensemble

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #540)

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

Quotes:

Commodore Jackson: Never mind what I told you! You do as I tell you!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hoi Polloi (1935)

Soundtrack:

The Old Folks at Home

Why, O Why is this film not on video?

"Mississippi" is the culmination of everything Paramount wanted to put in a film. It has a handsome singing star, Bing Crosby. It has a great comedy element with W.C. Fields. It is set in the south on a riverboat, has early Bing songs, Fields as the flim-flam captain, a bunch of Southerners interested in keeping their honor, and throw in a few bad guys, a couple of fights, and that is what Paramount was "paramount" in doing in those days. Bing is cast as a northerner set to marry a southern woman who lives in one of those great plantations, and who has a prettier younger sister. He is challenged by an evil ex-suitor, but won't duel with him. So Bing is cast out in disgrace to sing on Fields' riverboat. Bing has to somehow survive Fields' influence, get back on shore and re-claim his marital "prize". But she is married to the "bad guy". What does Bing do? What is his relationship with the cute younger sister? There just has to be a solid reason for no video never being made of this film. The racial inferences are mild for its day. Crosby is cast as "The Singing Killer" by Fields, quite out of Bing's character, especially later on. The rules of southern honor must have been quite different for a singer from Spokane. All in all this is a very entertaining movie with something for everyone.

If it gets to be on television, tape it. Universal owns the rights to it and has shown not to put it on video yet. For Bing and Fields' fans, this would be a great film to own and to see on a lazy Sunday summer afternoon.