The film's putative source is the famed 1893 play of the same title by Charles Turner Dazey (1855-1938). Set in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the play concerns Madge Brierly, a poor and illiterate young mountain girl whose father was murdered years ago. A neighbor named Holten conspires to take away her family's land but Frank Layson, a well-to-do young Lexington man on vacation, intervenes. Madge falls in love with Layson and rescues his racehorse Queen Bess from a fire. Later, when Layson runs Queen Bess in a race in a desperate bid to rescue his fortune, she replaces his jockey at the last minute and brings the horse to victory. In Old Kentucky became one of the most popular plays of the era, running more or less continuously on different stages across the country for decades. It was revived in Stockbridge, Massachusetts in August 1935, shortly after Rogers' death and a few months before the film opened nationwide. Dazey later wrote the scripts for the Douglas Fairbanks vehicle Manhattan Madness (1916), the William S. Hart Western Wolf Lowry (1917), The Mysterious Client (1918) starring Irene Castle, and Shifting Sands (1918) starring Gloria Swanson. In Old Kentucky was adapted into film no less than four times: 1909, 1919, 1927 and 1935. The 1927 film version makes Madge's (living!) father Jimmy Brierly a returning vet from World War I.
George Marshall's 1935 version is set in the present and retains only a few of the play's basic plot elements: a feud over land, the young heroine who is a talented rider, the romance and a climactic horse race. Rather, the film serves mainly as a vehicle for Will Rogers' unique screen presence. Rogers had appeared in dozens of films since 1918, but it was really during the sound era that he was able to use his persona to full advantage. By 1934, he was the top grossing star in Hollywood and earned over $187,000 per picture. His natural, self-effacing acting style contrasts with the theatrical performances of the other players and his improvisations at times seem to flummox them, but his persona remains appealing even today. If the film's location looks suspiciously like Southern California rather than the Bluegrass territory of Kentucky, there's a good reason: in his May 12, 1935 newspaper column Rogers noted that the film was shot in California, partly at the ranch of Carleton Burke, then the head of the California state racing commission. The racing sequence was shot at the Santa Anita racetrack.
Besides Rogers, the other main reason to watch In Old Kentucky today is to see the great Bill "Bojangles" Robinson in action as Rogers' tap dancing servant Wash Jackson. Robinson had appeared previously in Dixiana (1930) and had starred in the race film Harlem Is Heaven (1932), but 1935 was his real breakthrough year, with roles in the Shirley Temple vehicle The Little Colonel, Hooray for Love, The Big Broadcast of 1935 (also known as The Big Broadcast of 1936), and In Old Kentucky. Although In Old Kentucky was not his first film produced that year, the role was considered significant enough that it earned a mention in the African-American newspaper Atlanta Daily World, which characterized it as "his best chance in motion pictures thus far." As Rogers himself acknowledged in a congratulatory speech that he delivered during a party held at Robinson's home, Robinson stole the show with his virtuosic dance numbers.
After Rogers' death, the Los Angeles Times reported that Twentieth Century Fox was "divided" on whether to release Rogers' last two films. While it had already invested a substantial sum in both productions and wanted to recoup the costs, it was concerned that the public might reject the idea of going to see Rogers perform in comedies after his death. Posthumous releases of films by other stars were typically unsuccessful, with a few notable exceptions such as Rudolph Valentino's The Son of the Sheik (1926). Ultimately they decided to release the films, but requested that the Los Angeles premiere engagements of In Old Kentucky not advertise the film until after Rogers' memorial service. Regardless, the film was well received by the critics. The reviewer in Variety characterized the film as "a delightful comedy" and "one of [Rogers'] best." He further singled out Bill Robinson for praise but also liked the other supporting actors as well. Frank Nugent of the New York Times wrote that "Mr. Rogers has seldom found himself in finer fettle or in more agreeable company." He especially admired Charles Sellon as the shotgun-toting grandpa and Etienne Girardot as the eccentric scientist Pluvious J. Aspinwall.
Producer: Edward Butcher
Director: George Marshall
Screenplay: Sam Hellman, Gladys Lehman, Henry Johnson
Based on the play by Charles T. Dazey Photography: L. W. O'Connell
Art Director: William Darling
Costumes: William Lambert
Music Director: Arthur Lange
Principal Cast: Will Rogers (Steve Tapley), Dorothy Wilson (Nancy Martingale), Russell Hardie (Dr. Lee Andrews), Charles Sellon (Ezra Martingale), Louise Henry (Arlene Shattuck), Esther Dale (Dolly Breckenridge), Alan Dinehart (Slick Doherty), Charles Richman (Pole Shattuck), Etienne Girardot (Pluvious J. Aspinwall), John Ince (Sheriff), Bill Robinson (Wash Jackson).
BW-86m.
by James Steffen
SOURCES
"Bill Robinson wins role in Old Kentucky." Atlanta Daily World. April 26, 1935, p.2.
"Sepia film actors sorrowed by Will's death." Atlanta Daily World. August 29, 1935, p.2.
"In Old Kentucky" (Film review.) Variety. December 4, 1935.
Nugent, Frank S. Review of In Old Kentucky. New York Times. November 29, 1935, p.24. Scott, John. "Two last Rogers films give theaters serious problem." Los Angeles Times. August 25, 1935, p.A1.
Yagoda, Ben. Will Rogers: a biography. New York: Knopf, 1993.
The Writings of Will Rogers. Series IV/6 (The Weekly Articles: The Roosevelt Years, 1933-1935). Stillwater : Oklahoma State University Press, 1973-1983.
