Judge Priest (1934)

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

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Irvin S. Cobb (based on: character of "Judge Priest"), Dudley Nichols (screen play)

Stars:

Will Rogers, Tom Brown, Anita Louise

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Will Rogers	...	Judge Priest
Tom Brown	...	Jerome Priest
Anita Louise	...	Ellie May Gillespie
Henry B. Walthall	...	Rev. 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

Storyline

Judge William "Billy" Priest lives in a very patriotic (Confederate) southern town. Priest plays a laid-back, widowed judge who helps uphold the law in his toughest court case yet. In the meantime, he plays matchmaker for his young nephew.

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Plot Keywords:

judge | confederate | kentucky | post bellum | small town | 

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Taglines:

Enough laughs to make your head spin!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 September 1934 (USA)

Also Known As:

El juez

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min (copyright length)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Working title was "Old Judge Priest" based on the title of the novel by humorist Irvin S. Cobb.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

Opening card: 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 especially 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 likenesses of him and his neighbors and the town in which we lived. An old Kentucky town in 1890. --- --- Irvin S. Cobb

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Connections

Featured in Classified X (1998)

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Soundtracks

Aunt Dilsey's Improvisation
(1934) (uncredited)
Written and Performed by Hattie McDaniel

User Reviews

Excellent subtle '30's John Ford comedy.

'30's comedies aren't exactly known for their subtlety and they mostly consist out of physical humor. This movie forms a great and wonderful exception to this.

This is one great subtle comedy that is mostly funny thanks to its very amusing and extreme stereotyped characters. It of course also really helps that they are being portrayed by some really great actors and are being directed by one great director; John Ford.

Will Rogers was totally great in his role. He seemed very natural with his acting but at the same time managed to play his character in a comical way. He was a greatly talented comedy actor, who was already a popular one during the silent era. He would had continued to play many more comical roles I'm sure, had he not died one year after this movie, in a plane crash piloted by the one-eyed pioneer aviator Wiley Post. Hattie McDaniel also does in this movie what she is best known for, playing a likable maid role. She is best known for her Acedemy Award winning role in "Gone with the Wind", which also made her the first black actor winning the great award.

Even though John Ford began directing movies as early as 1917, it wasn't until the '30's that his career really took off and he gained a real big celebrity status. He also isn't best known for comedies but mostly for his western's, often starring John Wayne. Till this date he is still the director with the most Academy Awards for best directing (4 of them). I think that says already enough about the qualities of this man. With this movie he also really seemed ahead of its time, by picking an all different and very humble approach of the story and comedy.

The story is actually quite simple but oh so great. It actually is quite well layered, even though the movie its simplicity might make you overlook this. It features lots of different element involving the characters in this movie, on both the comical as well as the more dramatic level. I also especially really like how the judge tries to hook up his cousin with his neighbor girl.

The movie also truly benefits from its typical southern atmosphere. The movie is set in a southern town, which shows in the movie its characters, their accents and just overall atmosphere of the entire movie.

This movie was a great pleasant surprise!

9/10

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