Very entertaining John Ford flick about Dr. Samuel Mudd, who treated John Wilkes Booth for a broken leg after Booth had assassinated Lincoln. Mudd was convicted of being part of the conspiracy and was sentenced to life in prison at the Dry Tortugas, just off the coast of Florida. Warner Baxter is outstanding as Mudd. I've always felt Baxter was a competent performer, but never in the top tier of actors. His performance here has me rethinking that; maybe he just needed the right material. Fine support comes from John Carradine as a brutal soldier at the prison, and Harry Carey as the prison commandant who asks for Baxter's help during a yellow fever epidemic. Claude Gillingwater, as Baxter's father-in-law, gives a hilarious performance as a Southern Colonel. Little Rascal Stymie Beard has a cameo. At about 95 minutes long, there is never a dull moment. I highly recommend this one.
Review of The Prisoner of Shark Island
The Prisoner of Shark Island
(1936)
A good showcase for Warner Baxter's acting talent
11 September 2018