Kings Row (1942)

Director:

Sam Wood

Writers:

Casey Robinson (screen play)
Henry Bellamann (from the novel by)

Release Date:

18 April 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Romance

Tagline:

Perfect Players . . . in the 4 Star Best-Seller Story now becomes your Top Screen Triumph! . . . in Kings Row

Plot:

The dark side and hypocrisy of provincial American life is seen through the eyes of five children as they grow to adulthood at the turn-of-the-century.

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Doctor | Turn Of The Century | Secret | Small Town

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars.

Cast

Ann Sheridan	...	Randy Monaghan
Robert Cummings	...	Parris Mitchell
Ronald Reagan	...	Drake McHugh
Betty Field	...	Cassandra Tower
Charles Coburn	...	Dr. Henry Gordon
Claude Rains	...	Dr. Alexander Tower
Judith Anderson	...	Mrs. Harriet Gordon
Nancy Coleman	...	Louise Gordon
Kaaren Verne	...	Elise Sandor
Maria Ouspenskaya	...	Madame von Eln
Harry Davenport	...	Colonel Skeffington
Ernest Cossart	...	Pa Monaghan
Ilka Grüning	...	Anna (as Ilka Gruning)
Pat Moriarity	...	Tod Monaghan
Minor Watson	...	Sam Winters
Ludwig Stössel	...	Professor Berdorff (as Ludwig Stossel)
Erwin Kalser	...	Mr. Sandor
Egon Brecher	...	Dr. Candell
Ann E. Todd	...	Randy Monaghan - as a Girl (as Ann Todd)
Scotty Beckett	...	Parris Mitchell - as a Boy
Douglas Croft	...	Drake McHugh - as a Boy
Mary Thomas	...	Cassandra Tower - as a Girl
Julie Warren	...	Poppy Ross
Mary Scott	...	Jinny Ross
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Leah Baird	...	Aunt Mamie (uncredited)
Walter Baldwin	...	Deputy Constable (uncredited)
Henry Blair	...	Willie (uncredited)
Joan Duvalle	...	Louise Gordon - as a Girl (uncredited)
Eden Gray	...	Mrs. Tower (uncredited)
Ludwig Hardt	...	Porter (uncredited)
Herbert Heywood	...	Arnold Kelly (uncredited)
Danny Jackson	...	Benny Singer (uncredited)
Payne B. Johnson	...	Boy in Party Scene (uncredited)
Fred Kelsey	...	Bill Hockinson (uncredited)
Hank Mann	...	Stable Keeper (uncredited)
Frank Mayo	...	Conductor (uncredited)
Frank Milan	...	Bank Teller (uncredited)
Jack Mower	...	Freight Conductor (uncredited)
Hattie Noel	...	Daisy - Gordon Family Maid (uncredited)
Emory Parnell	...	Harley Davis (uncredited)
Bertha Powell	...	Esther (uncredited)
Thomas W. Ross	...	Patterson Lawes (uncredited)
Hermine Sterler	...	Secretary (uncredited)
Elizabeth Valentine	...	Nurse (uncredited)

Directed by
Sam Wood

Writing credits
Casey Robinson		(screen play)
Henry Bellamann		(from the novel by)

Produced by
David Lewis	....	associate producer
Hal B. Wallis	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Cinematography by
James Wong Howe		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ralph Dawson		(film editor)

Production Design by
William Cameron Menzies

Art Direction by
Carl Jules Weyl

Costume Design by
Orry-Kelly		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist
Helen Stinton	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Joe Stinton	....	makeup (uncredited)

Production Management
Lonnie D'Orsa	....	production manager (uncredited)
Frank Mattison	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Emmett Emerson	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Sherry Shourds	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
G.W. Berntsen	....	assistant props (uncredited)
George James Hopkins	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Lyle B. Reifsnider	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Robert B. Lee	....	sound

Special Effects by
Robert Burks	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Wesley Anderson	....	second camera (uncredited)
Clifford Hutchison	....	best boy (uncredited)
Madison S. Lacy	....	stills (uncredited)
William Reinhold	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Ed Rike	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Warren Yaple	....	grip (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Martha Giddings	....	wardrobe woman (uncredited)
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)
Rydo Loshak	....	wardrobe man (uncredited)

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	musical director
Hugo Friedhofer	....	orchestral arrangements
Ray Heindorf	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Bernhard Kaun	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Milan Roder	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Eugene Busch	....	script clerk (uncredited)
Don King	....	publicist (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros (presents) (as Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.) (A Warner Bros. First National Picture)

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1942) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros (1946) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Dominant Pictures Corporation (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Warner Bros. (1943) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1947) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:S | Australia:PG (TV rating) | USA:Approved (certificate #7337) | Canada:PG (video rating) | USA:Not Rated | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Kings Row, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros

Trivia:

20th Century Fox attempted to buy the book's rights to turn it into a vehicle for Henry Fonda.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Randy sends Parris a letter in Europe, the return address reads "Kings Row, USA" with no street address or state mentioned.

Quotes:

Dr. Alexander Q. Tower:In the 13th Century, man was happier and more comfortable in his world than he is now. I'm speaking of psychic man and his relationship with his whole universe.
Parris Mitchell:I get it, sir. Everything was so simple then
Dr. Alexander Q. Tower:That was it, Parris. That was it. But in this modern complicated world, man breaks down under the strain, the bewilderment, disappointment, and disillusionment. He gets lost, goes crazy, commits suicide. I don't know what's going to happen to this world in the next hundred years or so, but I can guarantee you life isn't going to get any simpler. Worry and doubt bring on a bellyache. Mankind's building up the biggest psychic bellyache in history.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Between Two Worlds: Erich Wolfgang Korngold (2001) (TV)

Soundtrack:

My Gal Is a High-Born Lady

The Unbearable Complexity of Being

I have never been to America, but this movie seems so familiar. It reminds me so much of the apartment building I grew up in Calcutta. Maybe because people everywhere are essentially the same, or maybe because every character in this movie is a carefully thought out archetype. The Good Grandson who is the apostle of virtue, the Sacrificing Best Friend, the Spunky Girl, the men who live on the wrong side of the tracks but are still nobler than the rich old townspeople, the Old Man with Something to Hide, the Evil Man with an Honorable Facade, etc. In fact just the crowd u'd meet anywhere u live. That's what, I feel, gives this movie its timelessness. Add to it James Wong Howe's lustrous b&w photography like an old family photo polished everyday by the doting old maid, the assured editing that pieces together scenes straddling across time [Parris, the good little boy to Parris the good young man] & space [Americana to Vienna, like the new year msg in Parris' letter from Vienna dissolving into another msg scratched out on the snow in King's Row], Sam Wood's confident direction [he had done 'Our Town' too] & brilliant all round acting. Reagan blew my mind & so did Anne Sheridan. Wish Robert Cummings was less wimpy, but you can't take it all, can you?

A great movie, see it!