The Prince of Peace
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| The Prince of Peace | |
|---|---|
 The Prince of Peace film poster, circa 1950. |
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| Directed by | William Beaudine Harold Daniels |
| Produced by | Kroger Babb J. S. Jossey |
| Written by | Mildred Horn Milton Raison Rev. A. Mark Wallock |
| Starring | Ginger Prince Forrest Taylor Millard Coody |
| Music by | Lee White |
| Cinematography | Henry Sharp |
| Editing by | Dick Currier |
| Distributed by | Hygienic Productions Modern Film Distributors |
| Release date(s) | 1948 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
- This is about a film. For the religious figure, see Jesus.
The Prince of Peace, also known as The Lawton Story, was a film that later made the exploitation rounds under the production of Kroger Babb. The film was based on a passion play created in 1948 in Lawton, Oklahoma. Filmed in Cinecolor, the film was a failure in almost every way, even thought it was presented in various forms in the years following its debut. The film also acted as the attempted introduction of the child actress Ginger Prince as a replacement for Shirley Temple.[1]
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[edit] Plot and production
The film's story revolves around a six year old girl (Prince) who becomes the positive influence in her town of Lawton. The girl, who lives with her grandfather in a small house, successfully convinces her great uncle, a ruthless mortgage lender, to see the performance of a passion play in Lawton, where the uncle is moved by the performance and changes his greedy and sinful ways.[2] The scenes with Prince, filmed over a six day period by William Beaudine in Lawton,[3] were interspersed with scenes from nearly four hours of footage of the real-life residents of Lawton annual performance of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.[4]
Similar to other roadshow-style film productions, such as Mom and Dad, presenters of the film often sold Bibles following performances in a scheme to make money, often with a lecture during intermission.[5] Presenter Babb had no issue with his attempts at making money off the religious topic, saying that "It's no sin to make a profit."[6]
Babb attempted to introduce Prince in this film as a replacement for the aging child star Shirley Temple. From Atlanta, Georgia, Prince was given four musical numbers in the production, and featured prominently in the advertising for the film, referring to the girl as "42 inches and 42 pounds of Southern Charm" and, in reference to a sensational bathing scene with Prince, "soap washes off dirt, but only God can wash away your sins."[7]
[edit] Reception
Even with the new, professionally-filmed parts, the quality of the film was considered so poor that telephone poles could be seen behind the crucifix, and upon release, it was described as "the only film that had to be dubbed from English to English."[8] The film would be recut and redubbed many times,[9] but eventually opened in Lawton to a respectable crowd, and, while it failed to be a hit, the film's run in New York City was so successful that the New York Daily News called it "the Miracle of Broadway."[10]
Other reviews were not as glowing, however. Variety, in a review, specifically criticized Prince's role in the film, saying the movie would have been better "had not producers seen fit to drag in a crass, commercial showcasing of a precocious moppet, apparently in an attempt to strike a broader popular market."[11]
[edit] Cast
- Ginger Prince - Ginger
- Forrest Taylor - Mark Wallock (Ginger's grandfather)
- Millard Coody - Millard Coody/Jesus
- Ferris Taylor - Uncle Jonathan Wallock
- Gwynne Shipman (credited as Gwyn Shipman) - Jane (as Gwyn Shipman)
- Darlene Bridges - Darlene Bridges/Virgin Mary
- Maude Eburne - Henrietta
- Willa Pearl Curtis - Willa Pearl
- Raymond Largay (credited as Ray Largay) - Dr. Martin (as Ray Largay)
- A.S. Fischer - A.S. Fisher/Simon Peter
- Hazel Lee Becker - Herself/Mary Magdalene
- William Ruhl - Mr. Nelson
- Russ Whiteman - Mr. Cole
- Knox Manning - Narrator
[edit] Works cited
- Feaster, Felicia; Wood, Bret (1999). Forbidden Fruit: The Golden Age of Exploitation Film. Baltimore, Maryland: Midnight Marquee Press. ISBN 1887664246.
- Friedman, David F. (1990). A Youth in Babylon: Confessions of a Trash-Film King. Buffalo, New York: Prometheus Books. ISBN 0-87975-608-X.
- Marshall, Wendy L. (2005). William Beaudine: From Silents to Television. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810852187.
- "Something for the Soul", Time, 1949-04-18. Retrieved on 2007-05-05.
- Turan, Kenneth. "Kroger Babb: Superhuckster", Los Angeles Times; reprinted in The Washington Post, 1977-11-11, p. 23.
- Variety review, April 6, 1949.
