Watch The Sun Shines Bright (1953) Free Online

Release Date: 1953

Cast: Ludwig Stössel, Charles Winninger, Russell Simpson, Stepin Fetchit, John Russell, Arleen Whelan

Categories: Movies, Comedy, Americana, Black-and-white

The Sun Shines Bright is a 1953 comedy film directed by John Ford, based on material taken from a series of Irvin S. Cobb stories. Ford had adapted some of the same material in 1934 in his film Judge Priest. That film originally had a scene depicting the lynching of Stepin Fetchit’s character (and Priest’s condemnation of the act), but it was cut by 20th Century Fox. The omission was one of the reasons Ford loosely reshaped the Cobb stories two decades later as The Sun Shines Bright for Republic Pictures, this time keeping the lynching scene (and Fetchit in a supporting role). Ford... MORE

The Sun Shines Bright is a 1953 comedy film directed by John Ford, based on material taken from a series of Irvin S. Cobb stories. Ford had adapted some of the same material in 1934 in his film Judge Priest. That film originally had a scene depicting the lynching of Stepin Fetchit’s character (and Priest’s condemnation of the act), but it was cut by 20th Century Fox. The omission was one of the reasons Ford loosely reshaped the Cobb stories two decades later as The Sun Shines Bright for Republic Pictures, this time keeping the lynching scene (and Fetchit in a supporting role). Ford often cited The Sun Shines Bright as his favorite among all his films, and in later years, it was championed by critics such as Jonathan Rosenbaum and Dave Kehr, who called it "a masterpiece." The film was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival. Herbert J. Yates, the head of Republic Pictures, had about ten minutes cut from the film against Ford's wishes. According to film historian Joseph McBride, the full 100 minute version (which did play theatrically overseas) was rediscovered when Republic inadvertently used it as a master for the 1990 videotape release. This full version is currently LESS