{"id":27202,"date":"2012-09-12T12:16:08","date_gmt":"2012-09-12T19:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=27202"},"modified":"2020-12-29T10:13:42","modified_gmt":"2020-12-29T17:13:42","slug":"kings-row-1942","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=27202","title":{"rendered":"Kings Row (1942)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Now, in this modern and complicated world, man breaks down under the strain and bewilderment, disappointment and disillusionment &#8212; gets lost, goes crazy, commits suicide.&#8221; <\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Poster-196x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"196\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-27203\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Poster-196x300.jpg 196w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Poster-83x128.jpg 83w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Poster.jpg 580w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 196px) 100vw, 196px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nIn a small American town near the turn of the 20th century, an aspiring psychiatrist (Robert Cummings) loves the troubled daughter (Betty Field) of a renowned doctor (Claude Rains) who mentors him in his new career. Meanwhile, his happy-go-lucky childhood friend (Ronald Reagan) hopes in vain to marry the daughter (Nancy Coleman) of the town&#8217;s surgeon (Charles Coburn), but turns to another lifelong friend (Ann Sheridan) for companionship.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ann Sheridan Films<\/li>\n<li>Betty Field Films<\/li>\n<li>Charles Coburn Films<\/li>\n<li>Claude Rains Films<\/li>\n<li>Friendship<\/li>\n<li>Judith Anderson Films<\/li>\n<li>Robert Cummings Films<\/li>\n<li>Ronald Reagan Films<\/li>\n<li>Sam Wood Films<\/li>\n<li>Small Town America<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nBased on the best-selling <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Henry_Bellamann#Kings_Row\">novel by Henry Bellamann<\/a>, <em>Kings Row<\/em> is primarily known as the film where Ronald Reagan gave the best performance of his career &#8212; and though I haven&#8217;t seen all of Reagan&#8217;s movies, it would be hard to argue with that assertion. Indeed, while the movie&#8217;s nominal protagonist (&#8220;Parris Mitchell&#8221;) is played by Robert Cummings, Reagan&#8217;s &#8220;Drake McHugh&#8221; remains a much more fascinating individual to watch, as he shifts from a carefree existence as a trust-fund playboy to a young man with surprising levels of depth, loyalty, and honor; we can&#8217;t help but become inextricably involved in the arc of his troubled existence. Supporting performances by the large cast are fine as well &#8212; including Ann Sheridan as the girl from the &#8220;wrong side of the tracks&#8221; who falls for Drake, and Nancy Coleman as the daughter of a &#8220;mad&#8221; surgeon (Coburn) and his wife (Judith Anderson). <\/p>\n<p>The multifaceted storyline &#8212; involving numerous romantic longings, family secrets, mental breakdowns, and other squalid details &#8212; was (not surprisingly) toned down quite a bit from the original novel, with a resulting screenplay that feels generally sordid yet a tad opaque at times. For instance, while we see how overly protective Dr. Tower (Rains) is of his sheltered daughter (played first by Mary Thomas, then Betty Field), the film doesn&#8217;t share with us the fact of their incestuous relationship (as revealed in the novel); instead, we&#8217;re left simply with countless &#8220;Don&#8217;t ask!&#8221; retorts by the increasingly disturbed Field, who is mysteriously forced by Rains to stay home from school at an early age. Indeed, Rains&#8217; performance feels the most confusing in the film &#8212; he&#8217;s portrayed as a willing mentor to Cummings, yet clearly is ruining his daughter&#8217;s life, and thus can&#8217;t be seen as the type of life-altering &#8220;hero&#8221; Cummings builds him up to be. <\/p>\n<p>Regardless, <em>Kings Row<\/em> remains an admirable counterpart to other cinematic depictions of small-town American life at the time, given that it concedes the need for psychiatric intervention at a time when &#8220;psychiatry&#8221; was an unknown term, and daringly portrays the presence of a &#8220;mad&#8221; surgeon whose nefarious practices are clearly far from Hippocratic. Meanwhile, both James Wong Howe&#8217;s atmospheric cinematography and William Cameron Menzies&#8217; strategically designed sets contribute to the creation of a world which feels both familiar and spooky at the same time. Also of note is Erich Wolfgang Korngold&#8217;s soaring score, which was apparently a direct influence on John Williams&#8217; work for <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=9345\"><em>Star Wars<\/em> (1977)<\/a> years later. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ronald Reagan as Drake<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Reagan.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Reagan.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"352\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27211\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Reagan.png 480w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Reagan-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Reagan-300x220.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Fine supporting performances<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Sheridan.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Sheridan.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"352\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27207\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Sheridan.png 480w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Sheridan-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Sheridan-300x220.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Coleman.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Coleman.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"352\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27210\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Coleman.png 480w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Coleman-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Coleman-300x220.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Anderson.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Anderson.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"352\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27208\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Anderson.png 480w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Anderson-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Anderson-300x220.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>James Wong Howe&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"352\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27209\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Cinematography.png 480w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Cinematography-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Cinematography-300x220.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>William Cameron Menzies&#8217; sets<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Sets.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Sets.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"352\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27205\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Sets.png 480w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Sets-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Sets-300x220.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Sets2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Sets2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"352\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27206\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Sets2.png 480w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Sets2-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Kings-Row-Sets2-300x220.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, for Reagan&#8217;s tour-de-force performance, and as a fine melodrama in its own right. Listed as a film with Historical importance in the back of Peary&#8217;s book.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Good Show<\/li>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0034946\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/movies.nytimes.com\/movie\/review?res=9903E2DE143BE33BBC4B53DFB4668389659EDE\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.filmsite.org\/kingr.html\">FilmSite Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s2075row.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/movies.tvguide.com\/kings-row\/review\/103296\">TV Guide Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/80395\/kings-row#articles-reviews?articleId=17922\">TCM Article (spoiler alert)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/hAtFt64PPjw\">Tired Old Queen at the Movies Video Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Now, in this modern and complicated world, man breaks down under the strain and bewilderment, disappointment and disillusionment &#8212; gets lost, goes crazy, commits suicide.&#8221; Synopsis: In a small American town near the turn of the 20th century, an aspiring psychiatrist (Robert Cummings) loves the troubled daughter (Betty Field) of a renowned doctor (Claude Rains) who mentors him in his new career. Meanwhile, his happy-go-lucky childhood friend (Ronald Reagan) hopes in vain to marry the daughter (Nancy Coleman) of the&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=27202\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27202"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60327,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27202\/revisions\/60327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}