The Sun Shines Bright (1953) on Netflix
Approved19531h 42mComedyDramaWestern
In a turn-of-the-century Kentucky town, Judge William Pittman Priest is running for another term. U. S. Grant Woodford is blamed for an assault, and a lynch mob gathers.
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- Netflix3.2/5
- IMDb6.9/102,072 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes60%
Trailer
Plot summary
Ashby Corwin comes home to Kentucky by steamboat, a black sheep back in his native town. On the way he meets Lucy Lee, the young ward of Dr. Lake. In court, Judge Billy Priest, who wants another term in office, works through his docket, including the request that he find work for U. S. Grant Woodford, the idle nephew of Uncle Plez. Townspeople say General Fairfield is Lucy's grandfather, though the general denies it. When Buck Ramsey taunts Lucy about her parentage, Ashby goes at him with a whip, and the judge breaks it up. Horace K. Maydew, a Yankee, is the man hoping to take the judge's seat.
Cast
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Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Sun Shines Bright (1953)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- John Ford had filmed the same Irvin S. Cobb material in 1934 as Judge Priest, but 20th Century Fox cut its attempted-lynching scene; when he remade the stories as The Sun Shines Bright for Republic Pictures, he again included Judge Priest's defusing of the lynch mob.
- Herbert J. Yates, the head of Republic Pictures, had about ten minutes cut from The Sun Shines Bright against John Ford's wishes.
- The full 100-minute version of the film, which had played in theaters overseas, was recovered when Republic Pictures accidentally used it as the master for the 1990 videotape release.
