The Lawton Story (1949)

Drama set around the annual passion play in the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma.

Directors:

William Beaudine, Harold Daniels

Writers:

Scott Darling (screenplay), Mildred Horn (story) (as Mildred A. Horn)

Stars:

Ginger Prince, Forrest Taylor, Millard Coody

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ginger Prince	...	Ginger
Forrest Taylor	...	Uncle Mark Wallock
Millard Coody	...	Millard Coody / Jesus
Ferris Taylor	...	Uncle Jonathan Wallock
Gwynne Shipman	...	Jane (as Gwyn Shipman)
Darlene Bridges	...	Darlene Bridges / Virgin Mary
Maude Eburne	...	Henrietta
Willa Pearl Curtis	...	Willa Pearl
Raymond Largay	...	Dr. Martin (as Ray Largay)
A.S. Fischer	...	A.S. Fisher / Simon
Hazel Lee Becker	...	Herself / Mary Magdalene
William Ruhl	...	Mr. Nelson
Russ Whiteman	...	Mr. Cole
Knox Manning	...	Narrator
Lydia McKim

Storyline

Drama set around the annual passion play in the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma.

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Plot Keywords:

passion play | oklahoma | filmed play | christianity | biblical | 

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Taglines:

The screen's FIRST great Passion Play!

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Genres:

Drama | Family

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 June 1950 (Australia)

Also Known As:

The Prince of Peace

Filming Locations:

Hal Roach Studios - 8822 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hallmark Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Cinecolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shot in 14 days.

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Connections

Referenced in Schlock! The Secret History of American Movies (2001)

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Soundtracks

Right Under My Nose
Written by Steven Edwards and Andy Page

User Reviews

Truly a Legendary Movie

I first heard about this movie 60 years ago when I was 14 years old. Last night I found it by channel hop on TV. The movie is 4 hours and I saw just part of it, but I'd like to add Review #2 to IMDb. This played "roadshow" just like "Mom and Dad." With Mom and Dad (reputed to be the only movie to have an actual sex scene, which it DID NOT in fact have) the film is interrupted while they hawk sexual hygiene books to the audience. With "Lawton Story" they did the same think, selling Bibles. My understanding is that each film played only one theater in the US at any given time; along with the book selling scheme.

"Lawton Story" is a beautiful film to watch. The Cinecolor looks way better than you'd expect. The first thing you notice is the acting. You might say it's amateur-like; but that's because 100% of the cast are amateurs, people living in Lawton, Oklahoma; where the film was made. In a few minutes, a person can get used to this. The good point is that the dialog is NOT Hollywood style, but entirely taken verbatim from the New Testament.

After 65 years, this is still a remarkable and unique film. Particularly in light of such dreadful and stupid 2014 flops --- Son of God, Noah, Exodus --- three Bible films which have nothing much to do with the Bible.