Roseanna McCoy

I really expected to like Roseanna McCoy because it had a really good premise and fine actors. Unfortunately, the way the characters were developed left much to be desired. Johnse Hatfield is introduced as a stalker, which may have been acceptable in 1949. However, I have watched many movies from that era and the way Johnse behaved (supposedly)out of desire for her would never have been acceptable.

Johnse's actions concerning Roseanna McCoy may have been begrudgingly tolerated after a long courtship. But from his first several meetings with her, it is made clear that Johnse is a loathsome and dumb, albeit handsome, brute. I understood Roseanna McCoy was supposed to be extremely naive, but some of the ridiculous choices she made left me wanting to see bad things happen to her. It did not seem like Roseanna cared about anything or anyone, including herself.

The lovers' families were feuding just like in Romeo and Juliet, but that is where the similarities end. Johnse was certainly no Romeo and Roseanna was definitely not Juliette. The love story seemed very forced, and not just because Johnse takes what he wants, world be damned. In the third act, the movie tries to create sympathy for the two characters but it is far too late. Johnse and Roseanna were the two characters I cared about least in the movie.

As other reviewers have stated, the cinematography was excellent in Roseanna McCoy. I just wish the rest of the film had been as fine as the camera-work.

It's down to the old guard of Charles Bickford ("Hatfield") and Raymond Massey ("McCoy") to inject a bit of personality - bigoted and curmudgeonly - into this old feud western. Grudges galore have prevailed for generations between these two families until "Johnse" (Farley Granger) and the eponymous "Roseanna" (Joan Evans) start to fall for each other. Over their respective dead bodies, say the oldies, but the youngsters are made of solid stock and opinions and entrenchments are going to have to be reviewed if there is any chance of peace breaking out. Massey stands out for me here, he always did manage to portray the puritanical character rather well and he clashes well with Bickford's bloody-minded character too. The rest of this features the odd gunfight but is mostly a rather ponderously paced romantic drama with little chemistry between the lovers nor skill from them as actors either. Frank Loesser wrote the title song, and some of the dialogue is quaintly effective - like in a "Wile E. Coyote" cartoon but the rest of it is little better than standard afternoon feature fayre.

For this big, classy production, Sam Goldwyn transposed the Capulet/Montague conflict to the Hatfield/McCoy story. John Collier concocted a quirky screenplay with eccentric details of mountain magic, as well as some droll humor at the expense of the rustics ["Don't talk with your knife in your mouth!"] These efforts sink under the ploddingly literal direction of Irving Reis and the disastrous casting of Joan Evans in the title role [only marginally competent even as an ingenue]. Farley Granger has the appropriate dash for Romeo, but seems too squeaky clean for the squalid Hatfield family. It's still interesting for the exceptionally fine supporting cast and the graceful location camerawork of old master Lee Garmes.

Call it a guilty pleasure, but I find this movie satisfying on several levels. I was hooked from the opening shot with Lee Garmes' cinematography capturing writer John Collier's evocation of the mysticism of the mountains, enhanced by the choral version of Frank Loesser's theme song. The fact that Joan Evans was a complete unknown discovered in a New York City High School worked for me. She seemed confused and overwhelmed much of the time, which was natural, given Farley Granger's heavy breathing and bodice-ripping efforts in her direction. As previously discussed, the supporting cast is terrific, with Raymond Massey and Charles Bickford as the patriarchs of the opposing families. They clearly enjoyed chewing up the scenery in their respective roles. Aline MacMahon is wonderful as Ma Hatfield, working tirelessly to end the hostility between the families, to little avail. Mention must be made of the youngsters, played by Gigi Perreau, Peter Miles and William Mauch (formerly Billy of the Mauch twins), for whom I felt concern whenever the bullets started to fly. I was most fortunate to view a beautiful 16mm print of the film. Lee Garmes' lighting and compositions are stunning indeed.

Out picking flowers, pretty Joan Evans (as Roseanna McCoy) gets stung by not only a hornet, but also handsome Farley Granger (as Johnse Hatfield). Guess you could call it love at first bite. Of course, their feudin' families ("The Hatfields and the McCoys") are against the young duo getting hitched... The meeting of the hillbilly "Romeo and Juliet" is one of the couple's few good scenes, with Mr. Granger leaping to Ms. Evans' aid, and sucking insect poison from her arm. The original casting idea, to star Cathy O'Donnell from Granger's "They Live by Night" (1948), might have worked. Richard Basehart (as Mounts Hatfield) easily goes to the head of a strong supporting cast. Little Peter Miles (as Randall McCoy) has a memorable shooting scene. And, many of the locations, by Lee Garmes, are beautiful.

***** Roseanna McCoy (8/18/49) Irving Reis ~ Joan Evans, Farley Granger, Richard Basehart, Peter Miles