85. Judge Priest (1934)

Directed By John Ford

Synopsis

In a sleepy idealised Southern town there is a laid back judge, plenty of stereotypical black and white people. All goes apeshit when there is a case that the nephew of the judge will have to defend. Due to conflict of interests the Judge has to step down but still saves the day in Boston Legal fashion.

Review

Not to be confused with Judas Priest, this is not a very well known film, but it is John Ford and there is something special to it. The ideology in the film is quite shocking today, Black people are either mentally impaired or Hattie McDaniel doing her traditional mammy role for which she would win an oscar in Gone With The Wind. However, and I was thinking about this while watching the film, white people with the exception of the Judge don't come out much better, the city is populated with drunkards, tobacco chewers and characters that remind you of Blazing Saddles' Gabby Johnson and to quote Mr. Johnson so you get an idea: "I wash born here, an I wash raished here, and dad gum it, I am gonna die here, an no sidewindin bushwackin, hornswaglin, cracker croaker is gonna rouin me bishen cutter. "

So, if you apply a bit of cultural relativism and can get over the constant glorification of the Confederacy you can get through the film. And it is worth it in the end. Frankly up until the last minutes there isn't much to be said about the direction, in fact there are some cuts which are so badly done that people are suddenly behind the actors, or the actors in a completely different position finishing a sentence. This is particularly evident when the Judge is talking to the Reverend on the porch. The good bit of direction comes in the big reveal at the end, when the Reverend is testifying in court. The superimposition of images here is great and there is a lot of emotional power to the scene.

Other than this the film is populated with memorable characters, mainly the Judge himself, who is just lovely. So in the end it is worth watching, get it from Amazon UK or US.

Final Grade

7/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Ford's attitude to McCarthyism in Hollywood is expressed by a story told by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. A faction of the Director's Guild of America led by Cecil B. DeMille had tried to make it mandatory for every member to sign a loyalty oath. A whispering campaign was being conducted against Mankiewicz, then President of the Guild, alleging he had communist sympathies. At a crucial meeting of the Guild, DeMille's faction spoke for four hours until Ford spoke against DeMille and proposed a vote of confidence in Mankiewicz, which was passed. According to Mankiewicz, Ford's words were:

"My name's John Ford. I make Westerns. I don't think there's anyone in this room who knows more about what the American public wants than Cecil B. DeMille - and he certainly knows how to give it to them. But I don't like you, C.B., and I don't like what you've been saying here tonight."


John Ford being his informative self: