''The Vanishing Virginian'' is a 1942 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Frank Borzage Frank Borzage (; April 23, 1894 – June 19, 1962) was an Academy Award-winning American film director and actor, known for directing '' 7th Heaven'' (1927), '' Street Angel'' (1928), '' Bad Girl'' (1931), ''A Farewell to Arms'' (1932), '' Man's ...

and starring

Frank Morgan Francis Phillip Wuppermann (June 1, 1890 – September 18, 1949), known professionally as Frank Morgan, was an American character actor. He was best known for his appearances in films starting in the silent era in 1916, and then numerous sound ...

and

Kathryn Grayson Kathryn Grayson (born Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick; February 9, 1922 – February 17, 2010) was an American actress and coloratura soprano. Ronald Berganbr>Obituary ''London Guardian'', February 19, 2010. From the age of twelve, Grayson train ...

. It is based on the memoirs of Rebecca Yancey Williams and set in

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner John Lynch, the city's population was 79,009 at the 2020 census. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mount ...

, from 1913 to 1929.

Synopsis

Based on the true story of turn-of-the-century Robert Yancey, lawyer and ever-popular politician in Virginia. The film starts with the statement, "This is the story of a vanishing era when simple men so loved their country, their families and their friends that America became a better place in which to live. Such a man was Cap'n Bob Yancey." The film is based on a 1940 memoir of the same name by Rebecca Yancey Williams. The book's central figure was her father, Robert Davis Yancey, and detailed the story of Cap'n Bob Yancey, his charming and absent‐minded wife and all the Yancey children. The film explores societal roles in plantations of the "Old Dominion" around Lynchburg and their socio-economic implications, as well as the movement for women’s suffrage, among other things. It is also the town's story, and various eminent Virginians cross the pages, including

Carter Glass Carter Glass (January 4, 1858 – May 28, 1946) was an American newspaper publisher and Democratic politician from Lynchburg, Virginia. He represented Virginia in both houses of Congress and served as the United States Secretary of the Trea ...

, General Jubal Early, Lady Astor's father, "Chilly" Langhorne, and others. Katharine Alexander portrays an outspoken woman who moved north and got a divorce; the character is held to be loosely based on Nancy Langhorne Astor.

Cast

as Robert Yancey *

as Rebecca Yancey *

Spring Byington Spring Dell Byington (October 17, 1886 – September 7, 1971) was an American actress. Her career included a seven-year run on radio and television as the star of '' December Bride''. She was a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player who appeared in ...

as Rosa Yancey * Natalie Thompson as Margaret Yancey * Douglass Newland as Jim Shirley (as Douglass Newland) * Mark Daniels as Jack Holden * Elizabeth Patterson as Grandma *

Juanita Quigley Juanita Quigley (24 June 1931 – 29 October 2017) was an American child actress in motion pictures of the 1930s and 1940s. She had a sister, Rita Quigley, who was also a child actress. Career Juanita Quigley was billed as "Baby Jane" in severa ...

as Caroline Yancey *

Scotty Beckett Scott Hastings Beckett (October 4, 1929 – May 10, 1968) was an American actor. He began his career as a child actor in the ''Our Gang'' shorts and later costarred on ''Rocky Jones, Space Ranger''. Early life and career Born in Oakland, Califo ...

as Joel Yancey *

Leigh Whipper Leigh Rollin Whipper (October 29, 1876 – July 26, 1975) was an American actor on the stage and in motion pictures. He was the first African American to join the Actors' Equity Association, and one of the founders of the Negro Actors Guild of ...

as Uncle Josh *

Louise Beavers Louise Beavers (March 8, 1902 – October 26, 1962) was an American film and television actress. From the 1920s until 1960, she appeared in dozens of films and two hit television shows. She was most often cast in the roles of a maid, servan ...

as Aunt Emmeline *

Katharine Alexander Katharine Alexander (September 22, 1898 - February 10, 1981) was an American actress on stage and screen. She appeared in 44 films between 1930 and 1951. Her first name was sometimes spelled Katherine in billing. Biography Alexander was born ...

as Marcia Templeton * J.M. Kerrigan as John Phelps * Harlan Briggs as Mr. Rogard * Katharine Alexander as Marcia Marshall

Box office

According to MGM records, the film earned $589,000 in the U.S. and Canada, and $316,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $63,000.

Trivia

A promotional poster for the film makes the claim that "Millions Read the Book", and also refers to the film as an "American Masterpiece" having "Heart-Throbs, Laughs, ndThrills". In addition, a 1942 issue of ''Photoplay'' referred to the book as "delightful". ''The Vanishing Virginian'', the book the film is based on, was published a second time in London in 1941, this time under the title ''Father Was a Handful''. This version was published by Michael Joseph, a British writer and publisher who was part of the publishing company that would later become

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House. On April 2, 2020, Bertelsmann announced the completion of its purchase o ...

. The story told in ''The Vanishing Virginian'' is continued in Rebecca Yancey Williams' second and final novel ''Carry Me Back'', which further chronicles the life of the family, focusing on Rebecca Yancey Williams' experiences during the country summers of 1913-14 in Lynchburg. In addition, some of the content in this novel was adapted from Williams' own diary she kept when she was 15 years of age.

References

External links

*
''The Vanishing Virginian''
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vanishing Virginian, The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1942 films Films directed by Frank Borzage 1942 comedy-drama films American comedy-drama films Films produced by Frank Borzage American black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films