Fighting Father Dunne
| Fighting Father Dunne | |
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Theatrical poster of the film
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| Directed by | Ted Tetzlaff |
| Produced by | Phil L. Ryan |
| Screenplay by | Martin Rackin Frank Davis |
| Story by | William Rankin |
| Starring | Pat O'Brien Darryl Hickman Charles Kemper Una O'Connor Arthur Shields Harry Shannon Joe Sawyer Myrna Dell Ruth Donnelly |
| Music by | Roy Webb (composer) Constantin Bakaleinikoff (director) |
| Cinematography | George E. Diskant |
| Edited by | Frederic Knudtson |
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Running time
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93 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Fighting Father Dunne is a 1948 American biographical film about the life of Father Peter Dunne, and the creation of his News Boys Home in St. Louis, Missouri. Directed by Ted Tetzlaff, the screenplay was written by Martin Rackin and Frank Davis, based on an original story by William Rankin. The film stars Pat O'Brien as Fr. Dunne, along with Darryl Hickman, Charles Kemper, Una O'Connor, Arthur Shields, Harry Shannon, Joe Sawyer, Myrna Dell, and Ruth Donnelly.
Contents
Cast
- Pat O'Brien as Father Peter J. Dunne
- Darryl Hickman as Matt Davis
- Charles Kemper as Emmett Mulvey
- Una O'Connor as Miss O'Rourke
- Arthur Shields as Mr. Michael O'Donnell
- Harry Shannon as Thomas Lee
- Joe Sawyer as Steve Davis
- Anna Q. Nilsson as Mrs. Olaf Knudson
- Donn Gift as Jimmy
- Myrna Dell as Paula Hendricks
- Ruth Donnelly as Kate Mulvey
- James Nolan as Policeman Danny Briggs
- Billy Cummings as Tony
- Billy Gray as Chip
- Eric Roberts as Monk
- Gene Collins as Lefty
- Lester Matthews as Archbishop John Joseph Glennon
- Griff Barnett as Governor
- Jason Robards Sr. as J.J. Sonin
- Rudy Wissler as Boy Soloist
Production
RKO announced that they would be releasing the film for industry screenings on May 11, 1948.[2] In May 1948, Matthew L. Davis sued RKO for $300,000, stating his reputation had been damaged by the portrayal of the character Matt Davis (played by Darryl Hickman) in the film.[3]
Reception
The Film Daily gave the film a positive review, calling it "well done", and saying it "seizes the audience's attention at the outset and maintains it until the very end and getting off en route a few dozen compassionate, comic, slick and at various times intense moments of drama." They praised O'Brien's performance, as well as both the direction by Tetzlaff and Phil Ryan's production. The magazine felt that Rackin and Davis had done a fine job of adapting the story by Rankin.[4] The picture also received a good review from Harrison's Reports, which called it a "fine drama, with strong emotional appeal". They compared it favorably to Boys Town, which had been released a decade earlier. Calling O'Brien's performance excellent, they applauded the way the film blended pathos and comedy.[5] Modern Screen was less kind. Although they had an overall positive review, they felt that O'Brien's performance was simply adequate, and the script was mediocre. They did enjoy Una O'Connor's performance, and felt Hickman was brilliant as the young murderer.[6]
References
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