The Sun Shines Bright

John Ford's 1953 film is set in a small Kentucky town at the turn of the twentieth century. Judge Priest is running for re-election; in the same days a young woman of unknown identity arrives, an attempt is made to lynch a young Black man and the judge's memories of the Civil War return. It is Ford's remake of one of his own films and he is known to have said it was among his favourites. The scene in which the judge stands alone against the lynch mob is at the centre. Against that, the film draws its Black characters with the habits of its period and Stepin Fetchit's role is uncomfortable today; the contradiction between Ford's intentions and the representation itself remains a matter of argument. The tone is nostalgic and the humour plentiful. Who it's for: viewers curious about Ford's less known work. Who it's not for: anyone unable to set aside the racist representations of the period.