Stars in My Crown

The 1950 movie Stars in My Crown stars Joel McCrea as a Civil War vet, Josiah Gray, who arrives in a Tenneesee town as the new pastor.

The story is seen through the eyes of the orphaned boy, John (Dean Stockwell), who Gray and his wife take in and raise. In spite of the dappled warmth and folksy aspect of the picture, it involves a cholera epidemic, a greedy strip miner, an angry, irreligious young doctor and a potential lynching. This was one of McCrea’s favorite pictures, and he worked with director Jacques Tourneur on two subsequent pictures as a result. The movie also features Amanda Blake (Gunsmoke’s Miss Kitty) and James Arness (Matt Dillon) in small parts.