A small town in Kentucky, 1890. William Priest is a kind, amicable man who works as the only judge in the small town. When an African-American, Pointdexter, is charged before the court for stealing a chicken, Priest acquits him and even becomes his friend. Priest's nephew, Jerome, is in love with Ellie, but Jerome's mother objects to their relationship since Ellie's father is unknown. When some men make rude comments about Ellie's heritage, a certain Gillis attacks them to protect Ellie's reputation, but is charged with assault in front of the court. The Prosecutor, Maydew, makes sure that Priest is removed from the position of the judge for this case, citing conflict of interest, while Gillis is defended by Jerome. In order to help them all, Priest brings a Reverend to testify, who confirms that Gillis was a brave, noble man fighting in the Civil War, and that he is Ellie's father. Upon that, a patriotic feel breaks out and Gillis is acquitted of all charges.
One of John Ford's forgotten films, "Judge Priest" is indeed one of his 'lighter' achievements that isn't a classic, yet even in his weaker edition, the master director still has enough charm and spark to deliver a good film. A gentle, nostalgic 'slice-of-life' comedy, a one that tries to illustrate the life and mentality of small, but lovable people of the South at the turn of the 20th century, "Judge Priest" owes 90 % of its charm to its main actor, excellent comedian Will Rogers, who unfortunately died a year later, and thus some view this as one of his finest performances by pure default. In one the best moments, Priest wants to help Ellie get rid of a primitive suitor, Flem, in order to be with her beloved Jerome: the Priest thus hides behind the bushes and changes his voice to imitate, ostensibly, a conversation between two men talking about Ellie's jealous lover who is coming to shoot Flem ("There ain't a thing that I can do about it, my job don't start until they get him all laid out in the morgue..."), while Flem "accidentally" overhears everything while sitting at the porch, and congruently flees as fast as he can. While the episodic storyline is a tad overstretched, uneventful and without a clear purpose, all until the intriguing 20-minute finale in the courtroom, some dialogues still reveal that typical Ford-ian excellence (when accosted at trial by the Prosecutor, Gillis replies:"I ain't the one looking for trouble. But I ain't the one to run away from it, either!"), thus helping alleviate some less inspired periods of the narrative, while the actors are great.
Grade:++
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