Stars in My Crown (1950)

In 1865, the small Southern town of Walsburg has become so dangerous, that Parson Josiah Doziah Gray gives his sermons while holding a gun.

Director:

Jacques Tourneur

Writers:

Joe David Brown (novel), Joe David Brown (adaptation)

Stars:

Joel McCrea, Ellen Drew, Dean Stockwell

Cast

Cast overview:
Joel McCrea	...	Josiah Doziah Gray
Ellen Drew	...	Harriet Gray
Dean Stockwell	...	John Kenyon
Alan Hale	...	Jed Isbell
Lewis Stone	...	Dr. Daniel Kalbert Harris, Sr.
James Mitchell	...	Dr. Daniel Kalbert Harris, Jr.
Amanda Blake	...	Faith Radmore Samuels
Juano Hernandez	...	Uncle Famous Prill
Charles Kemper	...	Prof. Sam Houston Jones
Connie Gilchrist	...	Sarah Isbell
Ed Begley	...	Lon Backett
Jack Lambert	...	Perry Lokey
Arthur Hunnicutt	...	Chloroform Wiggins
Marshall Thompson	...	Narrator (voice)

Storyline

Civil War veteran Josiah Grey comes to a small town to be a gospel minister. In time he has a family and many friends, but he also finds friction with a few of his parishioners. A young doctor grates at what he feels is the parson's interference in the scientific treatment of patients, and a mine owner resents Grey's protection of an old sharecropper whose small plot of land stands in the way of his continued mining. Grey must face a public health crisis and a lynch mob as a result, all seen and described through the eyes and memory of Grey's young nephew John.

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Plot Keywords:

minister | american civil war | parson | land | sharecropper | 

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Taglines:

Take your choice ... either I speak ... or my pistols do !

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Genres:

Drama | Family | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Cast includes a young James Arness and Amanda Blake. They appeared together for 19 (of 20) seasons on the television series Gunsmoke (1955) as Matt Dillon and Kitty Russell.

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Quotes

Josiah Doziah Gray: Perry puts me in mind of a colonel I had once. He never learned to protect his rear.

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Connections

Referenced in The Vanquished (1953)

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Soundtracks

Nut Brown Maiden
(uncredited)
Traditional

User Reviews

A nice film

STARS IN MY CROWN is a nice slice of life movie about the life about a country preacher in the years immediately following the Civil War. Joel McCrea plays the preacher and Dean Stockwell plays an orphan that is taken in by the preacher and his wife. However, the film isn't just about them but about the people in the town. It focuses quite a bit on a young and somewhat cocky doctor as well as a gentle and beloved Black man (played exceptionally by the wonderful character actor, Juano Hernandez).

Both plots are exceptional--particularly the one involving Hernandez because the film dared in 1950 to attack prejudice--something Hollywood was seldom willing to do at that time. Often, when Blacks were in mainstream films, they were one-dimensional and the racial divide in America was ignored. For 1950, this was a brave film--though some will no doubt notice that the film is perhaps a bit overly idealistic in how it portrayed how the White Southerners generally loved Hernandez.

The plot involving the doctor was also rather touching and had a lot to say about the supposed gap between faith and science. I particularly liked how McCrea AND the doctor struggled with this divide.

STARS IN MY CROWN reminds me of another film that is also about a small town preacher (ONE FOOT IN HEAVEN) and both have a nice gentle spirit but also aren't preachy or saccharine despite being films about the clergy. I especially like how both ministers (in this case, Joel McCrea and in the other film, Frederic March) were human beings--not dull caricatures. Some may be offended because the films AREN'T really religious movies (you get no Gospel or Bible-thumping here) but for a general audience these films are sure to please. I recommend both heartily because they were written so well and the acting was on target. See these films.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 September 1950 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Stars in My Crown

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,175,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1