Long before Peyton Place and Blue Velvet titillated America by exposing the seamy hidden world of idyllic looking small towns, Henry Bellamann (1882-1945) published Kings Row. This 1940 novel, set late in the 19th and early 20th centuries, is about childhood friends Parris Mitchell, Drake McHugh, and Jamie Wakefield, who grow up in a small town. Drake is a wealthy orphan, raised by an aunt. Parris is also orphaned, and lives with his grandmother. He speaks French, studies the piano, has excellent manners, and wants to be a psychiatrist. Jamie is sensitive, poetic, gay, and makes sexual advances on Parris. Although Parris is uncomfortable with the sexual intimacy, he is understanding and accepting of his friend. This sympathetic depiction of homosexuality was extremely rare at the time. Other characters include the brilliant Dr. Towers, who has an incestuous relationship with his daughter Cassandra; abusive Dr. Gordon, who butchers people he disapproves of; and a crooked banker.
Given the subject matter, Kings Row seemed unlikely material for a contemporary movie, but in 1942 it was adapted by Warner Bros and became a major studio release. Unfortunately, Casey Robinson's screenplay eliminated Jamie's character, changed the relationship between Dr. Towers and Cassandra, and emphasized the romances between Drake and Dr. Gordon's daughter Louise, and later, between him and Randy Monahan, a vivacious girl from the wrong side of the tracks. It simplified psychiatry to the point of making it simple-minded, but despite these shortcomings, it remains a fascinating if dated look at its era.
The large cast includes first-billed Ann Sheridan as Randy; Robert Cummings, best known to baby boomers from a successful television series in the late 1950s, as Parris; Ronald Reagan as Drake; the always fascinating Claude Rains as Dr. Towers; Betty Field as his daughter Cassandra; normally jocular Charles Coburn as the brutal Dr. Gordon; a chilling Judith Anderson as his snobbish wife; Nancy Coleman as their angry daughter; and the hilariously hammy Maria Ouspenskaya as Parris' noble grandmother. Sam Wood directed, swiftly getting beneath the idealized perception of small-town America to reveal unpleasant, even deadly truths.
Despite the script, there's an undercurrent of homoeroticism between Parris and Drake — their affection is more boldly demonstrated than in most movies of the era. This makes the viewer wish that Jamie's character had survived the transition to screen.
Brutal doc
Dr. and Mrs. Gordon strongly disapprove of Drake's playboy ways and forbid their daughter to date him. When Drake's inheritance is embezzled by the town banker, he becomes even less suitable for Louise, but befriends and ultimately falls in love with Randy. Her father helps him get work with the railroad. He's injured on the job, and brutal, vengeful Dr. Gordon unnecessarily amputates Drake's legs following the accident. After the surgery, he wakes up, looks down towards his feet, and exclaims, "Where's the rest of me?" the scene for which the movie is best remembered.
The screenplay makes Cassandra a victim of hereditary schizophrenia rather than incest, and reveals prejudices against mental illness that still plague society. Mrs. Towers is only glimpsed from a bedroom window. She's isolated, and her condition is a dark, closeted secret. Her death is unlamented. When Dr. Towers detects signs of the disease in Cassandra, he removes her from school and prevents her from socializing, although she and Parris have a few stolen moments together. Notably, Parris remains supportive. Dr. Towers agrees to tutor him, unaware that he is seeing Cassandra. Unable to accept his daughter's illness, Dr. Towers kills Cassandra and commits suicide, leaving his property to Parris.
Reagan is well cast and plays Drake with an affable charm, although he can't overcome the script to make his psychological recovery believable. The lovely Sheridan, a terrific actress with a warm, intelligent personality, is very good as Randy, totally convincing in her love for Drake, before and after the double amputation. Cummings, on the other hand, hardly suggests someone bright enough to have excelled in medical studies in Vienna. His Parris is noble and kind, but a bit dim. Like Reagan, Cummings was a right-wing, social conservative. It's ironic, then, to see them starring in a film that belied the myths of small-town America. Fields, Rains, Coburn, and Anderson are all splendid.
Both the novel and the movie had a huge impact at the time. The film was nominated for three Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. The book was reissued following the success of the movie. In the 50s, one of the stars of the famous, long-running drag show The Jewel Box Revue worked under the name Parris Mitchell.