The Keeper of the Bees

Disillusioned, world-weary war veteran Jamie McFarland believes he has only a few months to live. He decides to leave the hospital where he is being treated for battlefield injuries and takes a joyride to Chicago. Along the way, he is sidetracked by the bucolic village of Peaceful Bay. He makes the acquaintance of a kindly old beekeeper who gradually convinces him that life is worth living. His relationship with the old man and the townsfolk deepens, leading to unexpected developments he could scarcely imagine.

Based on the popular novel by Gene Stratton Porter, Monogram's 1935 Keeper of the Bees was the second of three film versions, and a follow-up to Girl of the Limberlost, the studio's very profitable Porter adaptation released the previous year. This wholesome film, extolling the virtues of rural life, was a success with family audiences and still reflects credit on everyone involved in its making. A prestige production for the small company, Keeper of the Bees was also a comeback for silent star Neil Hamilton, a fine dramatic actor who attained stardom as a protege of director D. W. Griffith. Today he is best remembered as Commissioner Gordon in the TV show "Batman."

• drama