Steamboat Round the Bend Outtakes, Promo Photos, and Behind the Scenes Anne Shirley as Fleety Belle with John McGuire as Duke in an affectionate pose. John McGuire as Doc's nephew, the pilot DUKE Anne Shirley as Duke's bride the "Swamp Gal" FLEETY BELLE Irvin S. Cobb as ELI, Captain of the PRIDE OF PADUCAH Publicity still, evidently from the "happy ending" of the 1935 film after Will Rogers and his crew had won the PRIDE OF PADUCAH from Irvin. S. Cobb in the steamboat race and saved Rogers' nephew Duke from the gallows with the aid of the New Moses who had witnessed Duke's fight with the man he was accused of murdering. The prop department forgot to darken the inside of the bowl of Rogers' corn cob pipe which is in bright mint condition, so it had obviously never been smoked by Rogers or anyone else. Anne Shirley looks so attractive in that dress. For most of the movie she was dressed in either boy's clothes or in an old Civil War era frock with a skirt that was too short and her legs covered with absurd pantalettes. The actress was born Dawn Evelyn Paris in New York in 1918, so she was 17 when she made STEAMBOAT ROUND THE BEND. She changed her name after playing the character Anne Shirley in ANNE OF GREEN GABLES made in 1934, the year before she played Fleety Belle here. Will Rogers was a big fan of aviation but was grounded from flying while he made this movie for fear that something might happen to him before the movie was finished but after the movie was wrapped up he and Wiley Post flew up to Alaska where both men were killed in the crash of Post's plane at Point Barrow on August 15, 1935. Stepin Fetchit as Jonah, Will Rogers as Doctor John Pearly and former prize fighter John Lester Johnson in his uncredited role as Uncle Jeff in the scene where the CLAREMORE QUEEN was approaching the steamboats lined up for the race. Uncle Jeff is holding the lead line like he's fixin' to take some soundings. 8 x 10 press photo of STEAMBOAT ROUND THE BEND author Ben Lucien Burman. Rubber stamped on the back August 8, 1939 along with the initials N.E.A. which probably stood for National Education Association Text of the caption which was printed under a cropped version of the photo in newspapers: When a distinguished committee gave Ben Lucien Burman's most recent novel, "Blow for a Landing," the Southern Authors' Award for the best book of 1938, it was recognition of the authenticity of his writing. For Burman - pictured above at the helm of the river steamer GORDON C. GREENE - actually has served as a cub pilot on the Mississippi. (The steamboat that Ben was a cub pilot on was the TENNESSEE BELLE according to a note hand written by him preceding his autograph which he inscribed in a copy I have of his novel STEAMBOAT ROUND THE BEND]. Ben Lucien Burman next to the bell with pilot house behind him on the TENNESSEE BELLE Ben Lucien Burman smoking a cigarette next to the bell on the TENNESSEE BELLE in 1939, pilot house visible behind Burman. 8 x 10 press photo of STEAMBOAT ROUND THE BEND author Ben Lucien Burman. Rubber stamped on the back August 8, 1939 along with the initials N.E.A. which probably stood for National Education Association Text of the caption which was printed under a cropped version of the photo in newspapers: When a distinguished committee gave Ben Lucien Burman's most recent novel, "Blow for a Landing," the Southern Authors' Award for the best book of 1938, it was recognition of the authenticity of his writing. For Burman - pictured above at the helm of the river steamer GORDON C. GREENE - actually has served as a cub pilot on the Mississippi. (The steamboat that Ben was a cub pilot on was the TENNESSEE BELLE according to a note hand written by him preceding his autograph which he inscribed in a copy I have of his novel STEAMBOAT ROUND THE BEND]. Will Rogers as Doc Pearly fishin' from the top deck of the PRIDE OF PADUCAH. He was in the same pose seated in the same chair with fishin' rod and all in the very last scene in the movie but the railing was not fancy like this, it consisted of plumbed pipes and joints and the camera was looking from a point of view suspended above the river. This is a detail from the insert inside the DVD case for the 2006 20th Century Fox DVD release of the movie. I cropped in on this to focus on the "Floating Museum" banner on the CLAREMORE QUEEN and Fleety Belle and Duke sitting on the river bank admiring the spectacle. Don't believe this set up was ever put on motion picture film, probably a publicist directed the still photographer to shoot a number of stills that could be used to promote the actress and actor, the boat and the river scenery. "Swamp gal" Fleety Belle (Anne Shirley) with Dr. Pearly's nephew, the steamboat pilot Duke (John McGuire). The "engaged couple" were photographed on the foredeck of the CLAREMORE QUEEN. Anne Shirley was born Dawn Evelyeen Paris, in New York City on April 17, 1918. She began her career as a child actress under the name Dawn O'Day, She adopted the name of the character Anne Shirley that she played in the first film version of ANNE OF GREEN GABLES in 1934. Among her films was STELLA DALLAS (1937), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She retired from acting in 1944, at the age of 26. She remained in Los Angeles, where she died at the age of 75 on July 4, 1993. John McGuire was born on October 22, 1910. As an actor he was best known for STANGER ON THE 3RD FLOOR (1940), SANDS OF IWO JIMA (1949) and INVISIBLE GHOST (1941). McGuire died on September 30, 1980 in Dublin, Ireland. This was the last movie for Will Rogers. He died in an airplane crash shortly before the release of Steamboat Round the Bend. Will Rogers looking into the wrong end of the telescope in the pilot house of the PRIDE OF PADUCAH. Irvin S. Cobb as Cap'n Eli and Vester Pegg as the pilot Mink are feigning great amusement. Irvin S. Cobb, Cap'n Eli of the PRIDE OF PADUCAH evidently really fishing or just posing for a publicity still during shooting of STEAMBOAT ROUND THE BEND on the Sacramento River. Irvin S. Cobb as Cap'n Eli seems to be listening to somebody on another boat or on shore while he holds a speaking trumpet. Could be that Cobb was listening to instructions from director John Ford. The twin smokestacks on the Sacramento River steamer which played the PRIDE OF PADUCAH were added to the boat to make it resemble a Mississippi River style boat. The pilot house and other details are very reminiscent of the DELTA QUEEN's which was in the same fraternity (or should it be "sorority"?) of Sacramento River boats. Photo Courtesy of Murphy Library at the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse Steamboat Collection Photographs When Rogers signs up for the race, he bets the CLAREMORE QUEEN against Cap'n Eli's PRIDE OF PADUCAH. Am not sure that this particular set up was included in the movie since John Ford shot it long with a lot more comedy scenes and Darryl Zanuck, head of 20th Century Fox cut out a lot of Ford's favorite scenes. Judging from the expressions on the faces of the Captains and Judges they're all rather amused with something that Will Rogers said or did when this photo was taken. The setting was an interior set of some waterfront building where steamboat commerce was managed, looks more like a warehouse than a commercial building but a pilot wheel hanging on the wall to the right of a stove pipe lends the place a nautical air. Round the Bend Efe and Moses go ashore from PRIDE OF PADUCAH This is a scene cut from the original film. They may have decided to do so because Moses would probably have smelled the alcohol on Efe's breath (from the POCAHONTAS REMEDY) which had to wait until the steamboat race sequence in which they burned up the store of REMEDIES to stoke the fire in order to save Duke and win the race, Turns out there is one more still from this French release in which we see Moses on the PADUCAH with a banner advertising his evangelistic services. Judge Priest - filmed just previous to Steamboat Round the Bend with Will Rogers, Irvin S. Cobb, Berton Curchhill, and Stepin Fetchet . . . directed by John Ford . . . Photo of Will Rogers (in costume as "Judge Priest"), Irvin S. Cobb and Director John Ford during the filming of JUDGE PRIEST in 1934, the year before STEAMBOAT ROUND THE BEND was filmed on the Sacramento River with Rogers and Cobb as Doctor John and Cap'n Eli. JUDGE PRIEST was adapted from Irvin S. Cobb's short stories about a small town Kentucky Judge with Will Rogers as Judge William 'Billy' Priest. Screenplay written by Dudley Nichols and Lamar Trotti who also co-wrote also the script for ROUND THE BEND the following year). Francis Ford (John Ford's brother who played "Efe" in ROUND THE BEND) also played a juror in JUDGE PRIEST." Cobb's Judge Priest anthologies: Back Home: Being the Narrative of Judge Priest and His People - 1912 collected stories Old Judge Priest - 1916 collected stories REVIEW OF JUDGE PRIEST: Presenting Dr. Rogers. NEW YORK TIMES review October 12, 1934 The photoplay which Fox has assembled around Dr. Will Rogers, the eminent newspaper columnist, presents the cowboy Nietzsche in one of the happiest réles of his screen career. Based on Irvin S. Cobb's brief histories of the homespun Kentucky judge, it shows the native American humor at its best. "Judge Priest" is also fortunate in its staging and in the superior direction of John Ford. It has the mellowness of the judge's favorite brand of corn whisky, the sentimental warmth of the honeysuckle outside his front porch and the plaintive melancholy of the Priest whippoorwills. In its closing scenes the new film makes a pretty shameless assault upon the lachrymal glands, and it would be less than accurate to describe how the Music Hall's audience laughed through "Judge Priest" without also reporting the tearful collapse of the lady film reviewer when the camera faded out on the heartbreaking parade of the Confederate veterans. This is a comedy of character as much as of incident and some of the screen's most ingratiating players have been enlisted to support the excellent Mr. Rogers. That cloudy streak of greased lightning, Stepin Fetchit, is riotous as the judge's man of all or no work and he is always threatening to drop the auditors into the Music Hall's plush aisles. Charles Grapewin is fighting Shiloh and Gettysburg all over again wherever two or three are gathered together. As the bleary-eyed juror who finds it necessary to liquidate his baccy in open court, Francis Ford provides the Broadway cinema with its most hilarious moment since Mae West posed as the Statue of Liberty. Berton Churchill is the classic expression of pompous insincerity as the judge's political opponent. For sentiment there are Henry B. Walthall, the little colonel of "The Birth of a Nation," as the Civil War veteran and town preacher, and David Landau as the grim blacksmith with the tragic and heroic past. But mostly it is the Judge's show and the lovable old fellow is a constant joy. He is the very best of company. A philosopher and a gentleman, he lives alone in the house which holds the memories of his dead wife and child, presides over his court with fine simplicity and joins the Negro washerwomen in song at the taffy pull. The story tells how he saves his young nephew from a match-making mother and the taciturn blacksmith from jail. The court-room climax threatens for a while to plunge the whole enterprise into beery sentiment, but the film fortunately retains its sense of humor and rescues itself from bathos. In the romantic parts, Tom Brown and Anita Louise are an agreeable pair of lovers. Put "Judge Priest" down as a thoroughly delightful sentimental comedy, and let it remind you Will Rogers, although he bears the burdens of the nation on his shoulders, continues to be a remarkably heart-warming personality. JUDGE PRIEST based on Irvin S. Cobb's character of "Judge Priest" Screenplay Dudley Nichols and Lamar Trotti directed by John Ford; a Fox production. music and lyrics by Cyril J. Mockridge Judge Priest . . . . . Will Rogers Jerome Priest . . . . . Tom Brown Ellie May Gillespie . . . . . Anita Louise Reverend Ashby Brand . . . . . Henry B. Walthall Bob Gillis . . . . . David Landau Virginia Maydew . . . . . Rochelle Hudson Billy Gaynor . . . . . Roger Imhof Flem Tally . . . . . Frank Melton Sergeant Jimmy Bagby . . . . . Charles Grapewin Senator Horace Maydew . . . . . Berton Churchill Mrs. Caroline Priest . . . . . Brenda Fowler Juror No. 12 . . . . . Francis Ford Aunt Dilsey . . . . . Hattie McDaniels Jeff Poindexter . . . . . Stepin Fetchit SCREEN WRITERS Dudley Nichols and Lamar Trotti worked on Steamboat Round the Bend. They also co-wrote the script for JUDGE PRIEST. imdb.com Dudley Nichols (1895-1960) In addition to STEAMBOAT ROUND THE BEND and JUDGE PRIEST, Nichols worked on 12 other screenplays for director John Ford including THE INFORMER (1935) and STAGECOACH (1939). Nichols was under contract at Fox (1929-35) and RKO (1935-38 and 1943-47). Nichols was the first Academy Award winner to refuse the Oscar when he won Best Screenplay for John Ford's THE INFORMER (1935). He declined the award because of antagonism between several industry guilds and the academy over union matters. Before becoming a screenwriter, Nichols was a star reporter and feature writer for the New York Post. Dudley Nichols in his own words: "It is the writer who is the dreamer, the imaginer, the shaper. He works in loneliness with nebulous materials, with nothing more tangible than paper and a pot of ink; and his theatre is within his mind. He must generate phantoms out of himself and live with them until they take on a life of their own and become, not types, but characters working out." imdb.com Lamar Trotti (1900-1952) The following was derived from the IMDb Mini Biography by I.S.Mowis: Author and screenwriter, often preoccupied with American history as viewed from a Southern perspective. Born in Atlanta, Georgia Trotti studied writing at Columbia University and was also the first person to graduate from the University of Georgia's Henry Grady School of Journalism. In 1923, he became the youngest editor employed by a newspaper owned by the Hearst Press, The Georgian. From 1925, Trotti worked in New York for the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, moving on to Hollywood in 1932. He spent virtually his entire career at 20th Century Fox as writer/producer, from 1933 until his untimely death in 1952. He wrote screenplays for a wide range of genres, including war films, westerns, comedies and biopics. The majority of these were critical and box office hits. Recurring motifs in Trotti's work are life in a romanticized Deep South such as STEAMBOAT ROUND THE BEND (1935), CAN THIS BE DIXIE? (1936). He wrote the script for John Ford's YOUNG MR. LINCOLN (1939) which starred Henry Fonda in the title role Trotti's screenplays benefited from a profound knowledge of American history and politics and his keen eye for characterization. His peers in the industry regarded Trotti as a man of considerable integrity. He was generally described as of quiet, self-effacing nature, possessed of strong moral convictions. His contributions were recognized thirty-one years after his death with a prestigious Screen Laurel Award from the Writer's Guild of America. Return to Steamboat Round the Bend Program All captions provided by Dave Thomson, Steamboats.com primary contributor and historian.