The Lawton Story
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''The Lawton Story of "The Prince of Peace"'', originally released as ''The Lawton Story'' and later reissued as ''The Prince of Peace'', is a religious-themed film that later made the
roadshow Roadshow theatrical release is a practice in which a film opened in a limited number of theaters in large cities. Road show or Road Show may also refer to: *''Antiques Roadshow'', a BBC TV series where antiques specialist travel around the country ...
rounds presented by
exploitation Exploitation may refer to: *Exploitation of natural resources *Exploitation of labour **Forced labour *Exploitation colonialism *Slavery **Sexual slavery and other forms *Oppression *Psychological manipulation In arts and entertainment *Exploita ...
pioneer
Kroger Babb Howard W. "Kroger" Babb (December 30, 1906 – January 28, 1980) was an American film producer and showman. His marketing techniques were similar to a travelling salesman's, with roots in the medicine show tradition. Self-described as "America's ...
. Filmed in
Cinecolor Cinecolor was an early subtractive color-model two-color motion picture process that was based upon the Prizma system of the 1910s and 1920s and the Multicolor system of the late 1920s and the 1930s. It was developed by William T. Crispinel and ...
in 1948, it is based on an annual passion play in
Lawton, Oklahoma Lawton is a city in and the county seat of Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Ce ...
, "The Prince of Peace," created in 1926 by Rev. A. Mark Wallock. This Easter pageant became immensely popular among locals, attracting as many as 250,000 people. The film was presented in various forms through the years following its debut. It also served as the debut film of child actress Ginger Prince, who was touted as her generation's
Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple;While Temple occasionally used "Jane" as a middle name, her birth certificate reads "Shirley Temple". Her birth certificate was altered to prolong her babyhood shortly after she signed with Fox in ...
.


Plot and production

The basis of the film is the annual Easter Sunday performance of the
crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...
of
Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
, as performed by real-life residents of Lawton. These scenes were filmed by local director Harold Daniels. The finished film ran less than one hour, and producer Kroger Babb saw a chance to expand this amateur footage into a full-length feature film. He recruited Hollywood rewrite specialist
W. Scott Darling William Scott Darling (May 28, 1898 – October 29, 1951) was a Canadian-born writer and a pioneer screenwriter and film director in the Hollywood motion picture industry. He is often known in Hollywood histories as Scott Darling, though he was ...
to prepare a new framework using Hollywood character actors Forrest Taylor, Maude Eburne, Ferris Taylor,
Lee "Lasses" White Leroy Robert White (August 28, 1888 – December 16, 1949), better known as Lee "Lasses" White or Leroy (sometimes Le Roy or Lee Roy) "Lasses" White, was an American vaudeville pianist, songwriter and entertainer who became an actor of the stage, ...
,
William Ruhl William Harris Ruhl (October 25, 1901 – March 12, 1956) was an American character actor of the 1930s, 1940s, and early 1950s. Early life Born on October 25, 1901, in Colfax, Washington, Ruhl entered films in the small role of a shopper i ...
, and
Willa Pearl Curtis Willa Pearl Curtis (March 21, 1896 – December 19, 1970) was an American actress in film and television. She was active in the Negro Motion Picture Players Association in Los Angeles. Curtis started as a performer in theater and music in Texas. ...
. Veteran director
William Beaudine William Washington Beaudine (January 15, 1892 – March 18, 1970) was an American film actor and director. He was one of Hollywood's most prolific directors, turning out films in remarkable numbers and in a wide variety of genres. Life and car ...
staged the new scenes, which were photographed by Henry Sharp and edited by Richard C. Currier. The amplified film ran 101 minutes, with the last half devoted to the Christ story. 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 A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any pu ...
lender, to see the performance of a passion play in Lawton. The uncle is moved by the performance and changes his greedy and sinful ways. The new scenes with Prince were filmed over a six-day period by William Beaudine in Lawton. It was marketed in a manner similar to other
roadshow Roadshow theatrical release is a practice in which a film opened in a limited number of theaters in large cities. Road show or Road Show may also refer to: *''Antiques Roadshow'', a BBC TV series where antiques specialist travel around the country ...
-style film productions, such as '' Mom and Dad''. Promoters of the film often sold
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
s and faith pamphlets following screenings to capitalize on the religious element, often with a lecture during intermission. Kroger Babb had no issue with his attempts at making money off the religious topic, saying that "It's no sin to make a profit." Babb, always alert for exploitation opportunities, decided to emphasize the young Ginger Prince as the screen's new Shirley Temple. The added footage emphasizes her contribution with many dialogue scenes and four songs. A native of
Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, Prince was featured prominently in the film's advertising and promotion, which referred to her as "42 inches and 42 pounds of Southern Charm" and, in reference to a bathing scene with Prince, "soap washes off dirt, but only God can wash away your sins."


Reception

Even with new, professionally filmed segments, the pageant footage had technical flaws -- telephone poles could be seen behind the
crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...
—but viewers overlooked them and focused on the documentary aspects of the film. The local performers' Oklahoma accents were so strong that the producer decided to erase the soundtrack and re-record the dialogue with professional actors. ''The Lawton Story'' was described as "the only film that had to be dubbed from
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
to English." The original narration by DeVallon Scott was re-recorded by radio's
Knox Manning Charles Knox Manning (January 17, 1904 – August 26, 1980) was an American film actor. He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts and died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. He and Annette North Manning are interred at Ivy Lawn Cemete ...
. The film premiered in Lawton to a respectable crowd. While it failed to be a mainstream hit because of its specialized subject matter, it did succeed regionally; the film's run in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
was so successful that the ''
New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...
'' called it "the Miracle of Broadway." Reviews praised the native pageant footage but criticized the Hollywood-staged portions. ''Modern Screen'' wrote: "The Pageant itself, filmed in the dawn against a natural setting of mountains, is stirring. The cast for the most part is composed of citizens of Lawton who know their Bibles better than their profiles. It's the sincerity of their nonprofessional acting which comes across, and turns the enactment of the life of Christ (played by Millard Coody) into a moving experience."''Modern Screen'', June 1949, p. 107. '' Varietys review specifically criticized Prince's performance 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."


Cast

* Ginger Prince - Ginger * Forrest Taylor - Mark Wallock (Ginger's grandfather) * Millard Coody - Himself/Jesus * Ferris Taylor - Uncle Jonathan Wallock *
Gwynne Shipman Gwynne Shipman (born Beulah McDonald; November 8, 1909 – September 11, 2005) was an American film actress.Pitts p.362 She was married to the screenwriter Barry Shipman. They had a daughter Nina, who became an actress. Selected filmography * ...
(credited as Gwyn Shipman) - Jane (Ginger's Mother) * Darlene Bridges - Herself/
Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
* Maude Eburne - Henrietta *
Willa Pearl Curtis Willa Pearl Curtis (March 21, 1896 – December 19, 1970) was an American actress in film and television. She was active in the Negro Motion Picture Players Association in Los Angeles. Curtis started as a performer in theater and music in Texas. ...
- Willa Pearl * Raymond Largay (credited as Ray Largay) - Dr. Martin * A.S. Fischer - Himself/ Simon Peter * Hazel Lee Becker - Herself/
Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...
*
William Ruhl William Harris Ruhl (October 25, 1901 – March 12, 1956) was an American character actor of the 1930s, 1940s, and early 1950s. Early life Born on October 25, 1901, in Colfax, Washington, Ruhl entered films in the small role of a shopper i ...
- Mr. Nelson * Russ Whiteman - Mr. Cole *
Knox Manning Charles Knox Manning (January 17, 1904 – August 26, 1980) was an American film actor. He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts and died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. He and Annette North Manning are interred at Ivy Lawn Cemete ...
- Narrator


References


External links

* * * Wooley, John, ''Shot in Oklahoma: A Century of Sooner State Cinema'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2011), in the chapter entitled "Jesus in the Wichitas," pp. 103–114
readable on-line through Google Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawton Story, The 1948 films 1948 drama films Films directed by William Beaudine Cinecolor films American drama films 1949 drama films 1949 films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films