It was a bit surprising to find out that Henry Bellamann's 1940 novel, 'King Row' was even able to be made during the restrictions of the Hays Production Code because of the disturbing topics dealt in the source material. The book dealt with really controversy topics such as incestuous relationship, mercy killing, homosexuality, and others. Sadly, most of the book topics were chop from the film due to being too gruesome or depressing. While the 1942 film from Warner Brothers is a sanitized version of Henry Bellamann's 1940 novel, it's still have that conflict that made it watchable. Directed by Sam Wood, the film tells a story of Paris Mitchell (Robert Cumming) growing up in a small American town call Kings Row during the turn of the century of the 20th century. While, Robert Cumming doesn't have the acting chops like others, he was alright in the role, despite what other critics might say about him. Parris is a medical student studying under Dr. Tower's (Claude Rains) psychiatry tutoring. Claude Rains as always is great in this role. Soon enough, Paris starts to see that something was unsettling between the relationship between Cassandra Towers (Betty Field) and her father. Betty Field's performance does make it feel as though she's holding something back, but still kinda over the top. Parris soon falls in love with her, but since Dr. Tower is against the relationship. Both teens are forced to keep the love affair, a secret, which lead to tragic results and her death. Feeling as if it was his fault, Parris flees to Vienna for medical school, only to come back and try to save his best friend, Drake McHugh (Ronald Reagan) from a similar fate. Without spoiling too much of the film, the film still dealt with strong themes such as insanity, homicide, suicide, euthanasia, amputation, malpractice, and embezzlement. If there is one thing good from the Production Code era, is how wise the filmmakers had to be, to show banned topics through the use of metaphor. Example of this in the movie is how the buggy rides by Drake representing sex. The movie also use the railroad tracks as physical dividing line between the poor representing by the Gordon family and the rich representing the Powers. Each comprised of a doctor, his wife and their only daughter. The film narrative become even more complex with this theme when the originally a poor man, Parris and a rich man, Drake exchange social classes throughout the film. There is a theme with both of the doctors presume to play God: to decide the fates of other people, even to the extent of who should live and who should die. But the film goes even further: when Parris returns to Kings Row as the new doctor, he almost have to be in the same way. The movie does somewhat become, Ronald Reagan's movie, half way in the film since Parris goes off to study psychiatry in Vienna as Drake's life really takes a dive. Ronald Reagan is amazing. "Where's the rest of me," scene was really sad. I'm glad, they took the cancer scene from the novel out of the film. It would be way too much. Charles Coburn as Dr. Gordon was menacing with his sadistic operations. Most of the supporting cast was pretty good. The female leads, Louise Gordon (Nancy Coleman) and Randy Monaghan (Ann Sheridan) were alright. Odd for an actress to get top billing for only being in the middle of the film do we get to see Randy. Kaaren Verne shows up near the tail end of Kings Row as Elise. She doesn't do much. I felt her character would had been written off. The acclaimed score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold seem a bit odd, but beautiful. Erich Wolfgang Korngold mistook the title for a fantasy medieval movie, and wrote the score like that. When he kinda heard of what the movie was going to be about, he didn't change it, and kept the original song. The song became really popular over the years as it was requested by the White House for the inauguration of President Ronald Reagan. Even Prolific film scorer John Williams drew inspiration from this film's soundtrack for his famous 1977's Star Wars opening theme. James Wong Howe's Black-and-White Cinematography is great. Don't watch the colorized version as it looks cheap. I love how Howe shot the scenes of Vienna. The production was cut down due to World War 2, but it was workable. There were some bad editing cuts and place where dialogue seem out of place. The entire ending seem a bit rushed and sloppy. Kings Row has been adapted for a seven episodes television series in 1955 with worst results. If remade in the modern sense, I hope the formerly censor sensitive topics would be shown with more character development, so it can be a more compelling story. Overall: It's a great melodramas of triumph, defeat and protest. That teach people of the ways of the world, and how to be acceptance on whatever life gives you.

I don't know why they chose two actresses for completely different roles that looked so much alike,if you watch closely the two actresses could pass as sisters, I suppose that if it had been in color it would have made all the difference in the world,I believe Sheridan was a redhead and Field was a blonde.Just wondered if anyone else thought they looked too much alike as I did.This is an excellent movie and in some ways it was ahead of its time. It has something for everyone who enjoys this type of genre.I understand how they squeaked past the Hayes coding, because of the subtleties of certain topics.I saw this a a young girl and much of it went right over my head,but now I understand the "strange" relationship of Cassie and Dr. Tower, her father.I felt so much sadness for her characters plight,it was heartbreaking to finally realize the implications of the strangeness of that house.Also Drake's fiancé seemed to definitely lost her mind toward the end in my opinion.

KINGS ROW is a very good but uneven movie. However, the overall film is well worth seeing despite its shortcomings.The film is set in the fictional town of KINGS ROW towards the end of the 19th century. It begins with several children and shows their adolescent dreams and friendships. Soon, the story jumps ahead a decade and you see them as young adults--noticing how they have changed for the better or worse.Parris Mitchell (Bob Cummings) is the star of the film--especially the first half. He has grown up with a reasonably wealthy family and has a dream of going to Vienna to study with the greatest doctors in the world. However, he needs to work with a local doctor, Dr. Tower (Claude Rains) to study to have any hope of passing the entrance exams. At the same time, he's infatuated with Tower's daughter, Cassandra (Betty Field)--though they've seen little of each other since they were young. This is because, oddly, Dr. Tower took Cassandra out of school at about age 10 and has kept her as a recluse of sorts in their home. Later, Parris and Cassandra begin seeing each other secretly--with hopes of marrying.Drake McHugh (Ronald Reagan) is a brash young man with a trust fund. He's Parris' best friend and he seems to live only to have a good time. He's not particularly serious but also a generally likable fellow. However, he's fallen for Dr. Gordon's daughter--and Gordon (Charles Coburn) absolutely refuses to allow his daughter to see him. As for Gordon, he's a a sanctimonious and judgmental old man who seems to have little regard for his patients--particularly the ones he finds morally "objectionable". With these despised patients, he often refuses to use anesthesia when operating--a way to pay them back for their wickedness! Later in the film, Doc Gordon has a chance to treat the hated Drake.Only around the middle of the film do we get to see Randy Monaghan (Ann Sheridan), though oddly she gets top billing. While Ann Sheridan did great in the film and you couldn't help but admire her performance, she was not the star of the movie. Instead, she and Drake begin dating and after Drake suffers a horrible accident, she is his strength and support.The movie is a very long and involved soap opera. I heard it once described as being a lot like PEYTON PLACE, though KINGS ROW seems to have less of an emphasis on sex (at least in the movie). Oddly, the first half of the movie or so is almost like a separate film. It's good, but the second half is much more exciting and emotionally charged. The first half is mostly devoted to Parris and his relationship with the Towers. The second half is more devoted to Drake, though Parris is still an important part of the film. There are many interesting plot elements I have not mentioned because getting into the plot with any more depth would spoil the film.As for performances, although the focus was mostly on Bob Cummings, his role was relatively unexciting to watch. He was a very good man and you liked him, but his emotional range didn't need to be great. However, despite receiving third billing, Ronald Reagan really stood out in the film--even more than Sheridan's fine performance. Although initially a rather dull character, later in the film his life underwent many tragedies and Reagan displayed a very believable emotional range--much greater than you'd see in his other films. Frankly, here he is great--whereas in most of his other films he's wooden and less than appealing. It's interesting to see that when given excellent material and direction, he was a fine actor.At the beginning of the review, I said that this was a good but uneven film. Part of this I have already alluded to--how it's like two separate films and the first one is far less compelling than the second. However, the real serious unevenness is because sometimes the director handled dramatic moments beautifully--such as the scene with Reagan in bed after his accident. This and many other moments were done with such deftness and grace that they really pull you into the film. I know I was nearly ready for a box of Kleenex at these moments! Sadly, though, there were some moments here and there that were just sappy as well. In particular, the very end was just terrible. As Reagan has his big dramatic breakthrough, you hear swells of almost angelic music and this huge burden disappears INSTANTLY!! This scene was done in about one minute--and should have been done in at least five to ten. The entire ending was rushed and sloppy. Perhaps since the movie had already gone on for over two hours they felt a need to do this. I would have been much happier had they either trimmed some off other parts of the film instead or just lengthened the film more. It was upsetting to invest this much time in the movie and just have a cheap and manipulative ending.Overall, despite my many complaints about the unevenness, the great moments are so many and the film is such a wonderful showcase for Reagan and Sheridan that I strongly recommend it. My teenage daughter usually doesn't love these sort of films but she watched it with me. In the beginning, she was a bit critical but towards the end, I could see her interest increase tremendously. She also said the movie was good but uneven--that's a chip off the old block!

I just watched this excellent melodrama two nights and was very impressed with it all round. Superb acting, gripping plot, and a memorable Korngald score.It reminds me heavily of Peyton Place, with the idyllic town hiding an dark underbelly of secrets. I understand that much of the original novel had to be watered down due to the Code, but the film still manages to touch in many subjects virtually taboo in the 40's. Pre-marital sex (the tortured Cassie and Parris' embrace and fade out to Korngald's score and the lashing storm), medical sadism, madness. The book apparently also touches on father-daughter incest.I guess this is Parris Mitchell's story, and his coming-of-age, but it could also be Drake McHugh's story. In a way, Drake is more sympathetic than Parris. Parris is almost unbelievably good, while we can relate more to Drake.We have three doctors in this tale, who all (at least to me) make the crucial mistake of mixing personal feelings with medical practice. Parris is the only one who overcomes this.I find it interesting that Warners cast three actors virtually untested in dramatic films for the three central roles in this major release. Ronald Reagan is especially good in what would have to be his best film performance. He never came close to matching his work here again. His work here was ceryainly worthy of an Oscar nomination. Cummings is an actor I have grown to like more every time I see him in something new-- he was capable of strong dramatic work in this, and films like "Black Book" and "The Lost Moment". But it is Ann Sheridan who holds the film together in the second half.But the whole cast is impressive. Charles Coburn, usually lovable, is truly frightening as the sadistic doctor. Judith Anderson normally leaves the audience trembling in her eerie wake, but here she is effectively silenced by her monstrous husband. Nancy Coleman and Betty Field both give affecting, disturbing portrayals of daughters driven mad by dominance and repression. Maria Ouspenskaya is touching as Parris' beloved grandmother. Claude Rains is mysterious. And Kareen Verne is refreshing as Parris' eventual love.Sam Wood, a very competent director, leads us through this nostalgic tale with flair. A wonderful film, 10/10.