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Kings Row Directed by Sam Wood Produced by Hal B. Wallis Written by Casey Robinson Henry Bellamann (novel) Starring Ann Sheridan Robert Cummings Ronald Reagan Betty Field Charles Coburn Claude Rains Judith Anderson Maria Ouspenskaya Music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold Cinematography James Wong Howe Editing by Kings Row is a 1942 drama film, directed by Sam Wood, which tells the story of young people growing up in a small town beset by dark secrets, and the tragedies they experience. The film, which was Ronald Reagan's most notable role during his early acting career at Warner Brothers[1], was adapted by Casey Robinson from a best-selling 1940 novel of the same name by Henry Bellamann. It also starred Ann Sheridan, Robert Cummings, Betty Field, Charles Coburn and Claude Rains. The musical score was composed by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, and the cinematographer was James Wong Howe. In the film, Ronald Reagan's character, Drake McHugh, has both legs amputated by a sadistic surgeon, played by Coburn. When he wakes from anesthesia, he says, "Where's the rest of me?" Reagan used that line as the title of his 1965 autobiography. Reagan, along with many film critics, considered Kings Row to be his best movie.[1] Reagan called Kings Row a "slightly sordid but moving yarn" that "made me a star."[2] Contents [hide] 1 Plot summary 2 Cast notes 3 Production notes 4 Kings Row and the Hays Code 5 Themes 6 Critical reaction 7 Awards 8 Television series 9 References Plot summary Drake McHugh (Ronald Reagan) with two lady friends in Kings Row. The film commences in 1890 in the small town of Kings Row, focussing on five children. They are Parris Mitchell (Cummings), who lives with his French grandmother (Maria Ouspenskaya); Cassandra Tower (Field), daughter of Dr. Alexander Tower (Rains); the wealthy orphan Drake McHugh (Reagan); Louise Gordon (Nancy Coleman), daughter of the sadistic town physician Dr. Henry Gordon (Coburn), who performs operations without anesthetic; and the tomboy Randy Monaghan (Sheridan), whose father is a railroad worker. [3] Parris is attracted to Cassandra, who the other children avoid because the family is strange: her mother is confined to the house and never seen. Dr. Tower takes Cassie out of school and Parris does not see her again until years later, when he begins his medical studies under Dr. Tower's tutelage.[3] Dedicated young doctor Parris Mitchell (Bob Cummings) is secretly in love with his mentor's daughter. Parris' best friend, Drake, intends to marry Louise despite the disapproval of her father. Louise, however, will not defy her parents and will not marry him. Parris and Cassie begin a secret romance, seeing each another at Drake's house. At about this time, Parris' grandmother becomes ill from terminal cancer, and dies as he is about to go to Vienna for | ||||
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