
Kings Row
1942, Drama, 2h 7m
17 Reviews 1,000+ RatingsYou might also like
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Where to watch
Kings Row Photos
Movie Info
In the 1890s, friends from both sides of the tracks in the village of Kings Row look for love despite the barriers of family and class. Aspiring doctor Parris Mitchell (Robert Cummings) loves the mysterious Cassandra Tower (Betty Field), despite her dark family secrets. Drake McHugh (Ronald Reagan) loses his trust fund and must go to work, but when his legs are amputated after an accident, his depression colors his relationship with feisty working-class girl Randy Monaghan (Ann Sheridan).
Cast & Crew
Ann Sheridan
Randy Monaghan
Randy Monaghan
Ronald Reagan
Drake McHugh
Drake McHugh
Bob Cummings
Parris Mitchell
Parris Mitchell
Betty Field
Cassandra "Cassie" Tower
Cassandra "Cassie" Tower
Claude Rains
Dr. Alexander Q. Tower
Dr. Alexander Q. Tower
Judith Anderson
Mrs. Harriet Gordon
Mrs. Harriet Gordon
Critic Reviews for Kings Row
Audience Reviews for Kings Row
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Nov 15, 2013Reagan's leap to stardom through this? Well its okay. It's a bit too much like a soap opera but we have passable acting with neurotic folks throughout.John B Super Reviewer
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Jan 13, 2013Based on a dark, soapy bestselling novel, this is definitely one of Ronald Reagan's best performances, if not THE best. Like "Peyton Place", the original novel focused on the dark secrets underlying an outwardly nice, moral, family-oriented town. Unfortunately, unlike "Peyton Place," the subject matter had to be way watered down to get past the censors at the time this was made, leaving one of the key storylines - a doctor's incestuous relationship with his daughter - so vague that the first time I saw this film prior to reading the book, I didn't understand what was going on with that subplot. The other weird thing about this movie is that Kings Row manages to have not one, but TWO messed-up doctors: one's the aforementioned incest committer (played by Claude Rains) and the other (played by Charles Coburn) is a sadist who enjoys amputating limbs and wreaking vengeance on patients he doesn't like. Reagan plays "Drake", a dashing rich party-boy who falls victim to the sadistic doc but then manages to have a decent life thanks to the tender mercies of his childhood friend "Randy" (Ann Sheridan), the girl literally from the wrong side of the tracks. I thought Reagan and Sheridan pretty much carried the film, with the other main part, their friend "Parris" (Robert Cummings) finishing a very distant third. As someone else noted, the amputation theme was timely due to WWII even though this book is set in an earlier era. A decent soap opera for its time, but not quite as good as the book due to all the controversial (for then) issues that had to be presented very obliquely or left out entirely.. 5 StarsBruce B Super Reviewer
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Mar 18, 2008Good film could have been great with better male leads, the female stars are excellent though.jay n Super Reviewer
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