The Sun Shines Bright (1953)

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Irvin S. Cobb (stories)
Laurence Stallings (screenplay)

Release Date:

2 May 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

John Ford weaves three "Judge Priest" stories together to form a good- natured exploration of honour...

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Charles Winninger	...	Judge William Pittman Priest
Arleen Whelan	...	Lucy Lee Lake
John Russell	...	Ashby Corwin
Stepin Fetchit	...	Jeff Poindexter
Russell Simpson	...	Dr. Lewt Lake
Ludwig Stössel	...	Herman Felsburg (as Ludwig Stossel)
Francis Ford	...	Feeney (Old Backwoodsman)
Paul Hurst	...	Army Sgt. Jimmy Bagby
Mitchell Lewis	...	Sheriff Andy Redcliffe
Grant Withers	...	Buck Ramsey
Milburn Stone	...	Horace K. Maydew
Dorothy Jordan	...	Lucy Lee's mother
Elzie Emanuel	...	U.S. Grant 'You Ess' Woodford
Henry O'Neill	...	Joe D. Habersham
Slim Pickens	...	Sterling, Lanky Backwoodsman

Runtime:

90 min | USA:92 min (original theatrical version) | 100 min (video version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved | Argentina:Atp | West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Argosy Pictures

Quotes:

[the prayer he says at the funeral of Lucy Lee's mother]
Ashby Corwin: Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, / look upon a little child. / Pity her simplicity; / suffer her to come to thee. / Amen.

Movie Connections:

Version of Judge Priest (1934)

A brilliant work of political philosophy

I will make an introductory, Autobiographical comment.I am , by training, a Political Theorist and a student of American Institutions.A long time ago, I saw a list of the ten greatest films ever made. The only one I had never heared of was The Sun Shines Bright...Only later did I discover that Ford listed it, with Wagonmaster, as one of his two favorite films. I wrote an essay on Fords "democratic poetics" for a course on Tocqueville(!)In the essay, I analyzed Wagonmaster and the Sun Shines Bright. Wagonmaster(implicitly) and The Sunshines Bright(explicitly)are films about politics, and about democracy. Wagonmaster is ,in fact a pilgrimage narrative, while The Sunshines Bright takes place in a "polis", the tiny Kentucky town of Fairfield,during an election.The whole story is, in fact, a meditation on democracy, leadership, compassion and tradition.Charles Winninger is superb. The Prostitutes funeral,with its closing scene in the church,where Priest quotes the Bible, is simply grand.The parade at the end is very touching, and the final shot of the lonely, but beloved Priest walking alone into his house, is almost equal to the end of The Searchers....Ford was indeed the grand lion of the cinema.