Judge Priest (1934)

Judge Priest (1934)

„Judge Priest“ is a 1934 comedy film directed by John Ford. The screenplay by Dudley Nichols and Lamar Trotti is based on humorist Irvin S. Cobb’s character Judge Priest.

Judge William „Billy“ Priest, an amiable Civil War veteran living in small-town Kentucky. While the widowed Judge Priest, a proud former Confederate, dispenses justice in his court, he also finds time to help his nephew, Jerome, and woo Ellie May Gillespie, the girl of his dreams. He also memorably performs with the doting Aunt Dilsey, making for a rousing depiction of postwar Southern living.

Judge Priest is a peculiar slice of 1930s cinema that awkwardly marries its antique charm, with storytelling, and an overt nostalgia for a South that never truly existed – a mythical realm where neighborly kindness, quaint humor, and racial harmony supposedly flourished under the Confederate flag.

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
• Stepin Fetchit – Jeff Poindexter
• George Reed – Black Servant
• Melba Brown – Black Singer
• Thelma Brown – Black Singer
• Vera Brown – Black Singer
• Beulah Hall Jones – Black Singer
• Gladys Wells – Black Singer
• Duke R. Lee – Deputy
• Paul McAllister – Doc Lake
• Matt McHugh – Gabby Rives
• Patricia Walthall – Girl at Garden Party
• Margaret Mann – Governess
• Mary Rousseau – Guitar Player
• Hyman Meyer – Herman Feldsburg
• Vester Pegg – Joe Herringer
• Winter Hall – Judge Floyd Fairleigh
• Si Jenks – Juror No. 10
• Ernest Shields – Milan
• Grace Goodall – Mrs. Maydew
• Louis Mason – Sheriff Birdsong
• Robert Parrish – Taffy Puller at Festival
• Robert Milasch – Tall Member of the Jury
• Pat Hartigan – Townsman in Saloon
• Frank Moran – Townsman in Saloon
• Constantine Romanoff – Townsman in Saloon
• Harry Tenbrook – Townsman in Saloon
• Harry Wilson – Townsman in Saloon
• Lillian Lawrence – Townswoman at Trial
• Paul McVey – Trimble

„Judge Priest“ ist eine Filmkomödie aus dem Jahr 1934 unter der Regie von John Ford. Das Drehbuch von Dudley Nichols und Lamar Trotti basiert auf der Figur des Richters Priest des Humoristen Irvin S. Cobb.

Richter William „Billy“ Priest, ein liebenswürdiger Bürgerkriegsveteran, lebt in der Kleinstadt Kentucky. Während der verwitwete Richter Priest, ein stolzer ehemaliger Konföderierter, in seinem Gerichtssaal Recht spricht, findet er auch Zeit, seinem Neffen Jerome zu helfen und Ellie May Gillespie, das Mädchen seiner Träume, zu umwerben. Auch seine Auftritte mit der vernarrten Tante Dilsey sind denkwürdig und sorgen für eine mitreißende Darstellung des Lebens im Süden nach dem Krieg.