The Judge Steps Out (1949) - Turner Classic Movies

Brief Synopsis

A judge flees the pressures of professional and family life for a job as a short-order cook.

Cast & Crew

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Boris Ingster

Alexander Knox

Judge [Tom] Bailey [also known as Tom Brown]

Ann Sothern

George Tobias

Sharyn Moffett

Florence Bates

Film Details

Also Known As

Indian Summer

Genre

Comedy

Drama

Release Date

Jun 11, 1949

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Distribution Company

RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 31m

Sound

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Film Length

8,218ft

Synopsis

On his birthday, Tom Bailey, a hardworking Boston probate judge, learns from his fellow jurists that he has been assigned to the troublesome Winthrop custody case. Tom then discovers that his wife Evelyn and grown daughter Catherine have forgotten his birthday, but have bought expensive hats for themselves. Claiming that he is merely following the dictates of the law, Tom rules against Joan Winthrop, a widow from a lower-class family who is fighting with her rich father-in-law for custody of her son. Later, Evelyn informs Tom that Catherine has become engaged to wealthy heir John Struthers III and must have fine clothes for her trousseau. Although Tom protests his wife's extravagances and social ambitions, he pays for a lavish wedding and agrees to consider a job as chief counsel at John's father's bank. On the train to Washington, D.C., however, where he is to do some preliminary work for Struthers, Tom feels suddenly ill and disembarks in the next town. There Tom is told by small-town doctor Charles P. Boyd that his only problem is an unfulfilling home life. Tom protests Boyd's diagnosis, but finally accepts his offer to go fishing for a few days. The absentminded Tom forgets to mail Evelyn a telegram explaining his change of plans and is shocked to read in the newspaper three days later that he has been reported missing. As Tom is boarding a Boston-bound train, he gives Boyd another telegram to send to Evelyn, but the stubborn doctor tears it up. When Tom finally arrives at his house, he overhears Evelyn nonchalantly discussing his disappearance with her friends and, without revealing himself, turns and leaves. Sometime later, Tom, now a drifter, arrives in central California and meets Peggy, the divorced owner of a roadside diner. The kindhearted Peggy at first believes that Tom, who calls himself Tom Brown, is a petty thief, but soon deduces that he is both honest and educated. Respecting Tom's desire for privacy, Peggy asks him no questions and offers him a job as a short-order cook. Soon, Tom is reveling in the tranquility of his new life and begins dating the popular Peggy. After he realizes he has fallen in love with her, Tom feels compelled to reveal that he is married. Although Peggy insists that Tom's marital status is unimportant to her, Tom is disturbed by the situation. When Peggy then learns that her application to adopt Nan, an orphan she has befriended, has been rejected because she is single and runs a diner, Tom becomes determined to obtain a divorce and marry her. After assuring Peggy he will return soon, Tom goes to Boston and finds that, during his absence, Catherine has given birth, and in her reduced circumstances, Evelyn has become a kind and thoughtful woman. The reformed Tom then determines to overturn his Winthrop decision, which is being appealed by Mrs. Winthrop. With help from his loyal assistant, Hector Brown, Tom scours his law books for a precedent with which to reverse his own ruling, but is unsuccessful. Tom is about to concede defeat when Peggy calls and inadvertently uses the word "prejudice" to describe his old attitudes. Inspired, Tom rushes to the courthouse and convinces the panel of judges that his previous decision was invalid because he was prejudiced against Mrs. Winthrop. The case eventually winds up in the state Supreme Court, where Mrs. Winthrop is finally awarded custody. Back in California, Peggy learns that, as a result of Tom's legal success, she will be allowed to adopt Nan. Tom is then offered a position on the Supreme Court, but turns it down, still determined to return to Peggy. To complete his mission, Tom signs his divorce papers and says goodbye to Evelyn, whose dignified graciousness deeply touches him. At the train station, Tom overhears a woman referring to him as an "old man" and suddenly begins to re-evaluate his recent life. Realizing that his time in California was only an "Indian summer," Tom is about to leave the station when he is stopped by Peggy, who has flown to Boston to see him. Peggy, too, has become convinced that his place is with his family and his courtroom, and nobly insists that he remain in Boston. Acknowledging the wisdom of her words, Tom gives Peggy his train ticket and, after bidding her a sad farewell, returns home for good.

Director

Boris Ingster

Cast

Alexander Knox

Judge [Tom] Bailey [also known as Tom Brown]

Ann Sothern

George Tobias

Sharyn Moffett

Florence Bates

Frieda Inescourt

Myrna Dell

Mrs. [Joan] Winthrop

Ian Wolfe

H. B. Warner

Chief Justice Haynes

Martha Hyer

Catherine Bailey [Struthers III]

James Warren

John Struthers III

Whitford Kane

Dr. [Charles P.] Boyd

Harry Hayden

Anita Bolster

Harry Harvey Butler

Leza Holland

Ruth Lee

Jack Lee

Mary Gordon

Elena Warren

Fred Nurney

Charles Flynn

Paul Bryar

Mickey Simpson

Jean "babe" London

Ellen Corby

Joan Wells

James Moffett

Billy Gray

Carol Leeds

Peggy Miller

Robert Bray

Tom Fadden

William Davidson

Ben Erway

Douglas Wood

Jack Gargan

Edward Keane

Earl Dewey

Gail Davis

Richard Powers

Mrs. Winthrop's lawyer

Paul Harvey

John Struthers II

George Chandler

Norman Mayes

Boyd Cabeen

Mary Forbes

Mary Newton

Lillian Bronson

John Hamilton

George Meader

Broderick O'farrell

Dining car steward

Ivan Browning

Dining car steward

Robert Clarke

Ray Toone

Don Kerr

Graham Covert

Elevator operator

Paul Everton

Supreme Court justice

Russell Hicks

Supreme Court justice

Milton Parsons

Supreme Court justice

Elmer Jerome

Supreme Court justice

Charles Miller

Supreme Court justice

Boyd Davis

George Carleton

Evelyn's lawyer

Tom Kennedy

Information attendant

Carl Kaulkner

Phil Dunham

Crew

C. Bakaleinikoff

Gordon Bau

Makeup Supervisor

Charles Burke

Camera Operator

M. S. Burns

James Casey

Production Manager

Russell A. Cully

Special Effects

Albert S. D'agostino

Harry D'arcy

Assistant Director

Ruby Felker

Robert De Grasse

Director of Photography

Feild Gray

Leigh Harline

Karl Herlinger Jr.

Boris Ingster

Boris Ingster

Based on a Story by

Alexander Knox

Michel Kraike

Anna Malin

Les Millbrook

Jack Mills

Clem Portman

Sid Rogell

Executive Producer

Hazel Rogers

Ollie Sigurdson

Darrell Silvera

Edward Stevenson

Mercy Weireter

Script Supervisor

Frank Williams

Earl A. Wolcott

Film Details

Also Known As

Indian Summer

Genre

Comedy

Drama

Release Date

Jun 11, 1949

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Distribution Company

RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 31m

Sound

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Film Length

8,218ft

Articles

The Judge Steps Out

April 1, 2014

Canadian-born Alexander Knox created an opportunity for himself in this comedy drama, the second he wrote and starred in for RKO Pictures (the first was the 1946 Sister Kenny, with Rosalind Russell). In this film, he took a lighter approach as a Boston judge facing a mid-life crisis. Fed up with his snooty wife and daughter (Frieda Inescort and a young Martha Hyer), he takes off to find himself. When his telegraph home never arrives, he's declared missing and decides to go even further afield. He ends up in California, where a job as a short-order cook leads to romance with diner owner Ann Sothern. But how long can he shirk his duties to his family? Knox is charming in his role, and Inescort, usually typecast as airheaded snobs, gets a chance to show some character growth as she adapts to her husband's disappearance. But the real honors go to Sothern, who turns in a warm and sympathetic performance. Sothern had just left MGM, where her low-budget Maisie films often out-grossed the studio's prestige pictures. Sadly, her career was not helped when this picture sat on the shelf for two years, a victim of the chaos that followed Howard Hughes' purchase of RKO Pictures in 1948.

By Frank Miller

The Judge Steps Out

The Judge Steps Out

Canadian-born Alexander Knox created an opportunity for himself in this comedy drama, the second he wrote and starred in for RKO Pictures (the first was the 1946 Sister Kenny, with Rosalind Russell). In this film, he took a lighter approach as a Boston judge facing a mid-life crisis. Fed up with his snooty wife and daughter (Frieda Inescort and a young Martha Hyer), he takes off to find himself. When his telegraph home never arrives, he's declared missing and decides to go even further afield. He ends up in California, where a job as a short-order cook leads to romance with diner owner Ann Sothern. But how long can he shirk his duties to his family? Knox is charming in his role, and Inescort, usually typecast as airheaded snobs, gets a chance to show some character growth as she adapts to her husband's disappearance. But the real honors go to Sothern, who turns in a warm and sympathetic performance. Sothern had just left MGM, where her low-budget Maisie films often out-grossed the studio's prestige pictures. Sadly, her career was not helped when this picture sat on the shelf for two years, a victim of the chaos that followed Howard Hughes' purchase of RKO Pictures in 1948. By Frank Miller

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

The working title of this film was Indian Summer. According to Hollywood Reporter news item, production on the picture was delayed for six months. Although the film was completed in March 1947, RKO held up its American release until June 1949. RKO borrowed Alexander Knox from Columbia for the production and Ann Sothern from M-G-M.

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