Kings Row

US (1942): Drama/Romance

The highest expression of the soap-opera device of tearing the facade from small-town life to discover the seething pit of rivalries, petty jealousies, and squalid affairs that lie beneath. In pre-WW I mid-America, two young men (Ronald Reagan and Robert Cummings) grow tangled roots in a small town touched by madness and murder. Considered to be Reagan's best performance (not including Commander-in-Chief). Sam Wood directs a cast that also includes Ann Sheridan, Betty Field, Charles Coburn, Claude Rains, Judith Anderson, Maria Ouspenskaya and Harry Davenport.

Cinematographer James Wong Howe gave production designer William Cameron Menzies full credit for the look of Kings Row: "He did the sketches for the shots; he'd tell you how high the camera should be. I simply followed orders." (amctv.com)

 Use this link to view the trailer for the theatrical re-issue of Kings Row on TCM.com.

3 nominations