FAQ

Handsome young Parrish McLean (Troy Donahue) and his widowed mother Ellen (Claudette Colbert) move to a tobacco plantation run by widower Sala Post (Dean Jagger) in the Connecticut River Valley. When Ellen marries Sala's rival, tobacco tycoon Judd Raike (Karl Malden), Parrish finds himself caught in a vicious feud between Judd and Sala, who has been teaching Parrish about growing tobacco. Meanwhile, Parrish has his own problems romancing three different women -- farmhand Lucy (Connie Stevens), Sala's daughter Allison (Diane McBain), and Judd's daughter Paige (Sharon Hugueny).

Parrish (1958) is a novel by American author Mildred Savage. The novel was adapted for the movie by American film-maker Delmer Daves, who also produced and directed the movie.

Native Americans cultivated tobacco along the banks of the Connecticut River long before the European colonists arrived. When the colonists acquired the habit of smoking tobacco in pipes, they began to grow their own tobacco, but large-scale commercial cultivation did not occur until the 19th century, peaking in 1921 with 31,000 acres under cultivation. Today, it's under 2,000 acres due to the value of the land to real estate developers. The tobacco grown in Connecticut (as well as nearby Massachusetts) is known as 'shade tobacco' because it is grown under tents which protect the tobacco plants from direct exposure to the sunlight. This results in leaves that are more delicate and lighter in color. They are used as outer wrappers for fine cigars.

Yes. Also known as Green Tobacco Sickness (GTS), the type of rash that Parrish develops is caused by exposure of the skin to wet tobacco leaves. This typically happens when workers are harvesting tobacco while wearing wet clothing, as might happen if there is rain or morning dew. Symptoms usually resolve within a day or two and as workers build up a tolerance to nicotine.

Sala leases his tobacco field to Parrish for $1 on the condition that he can find workers, but Parrish is hard pressed to find them because Judd Raike has threatened to blacklist anyone who works for Parrish. Paige helps by rounding up girls from Valley High who are willing to work weekends and by luring back Teet Howie (Dub Taylor) and his family. As they're planting the field, Edgar Raike (Hampton Fancher) drops by to write down the names of those working for Parrish. He also drops his lit cigarette in an attempt to start up a fire. Parrish cuffs him to the ground and warns him to never show his face on the land again. In the final scene, Parrish and Paige are shown working together inside the shade canopies.

At the end of the movie, Lucy is still working in the field and raising her baby with her older sister's help. Alison marries Wylie Raike (David Knapp) for his money. Paige is shown working alongside Parrish in his field. It's strongly hinted that Parrish and Paige will eventually marry.

Those who have both seen the movie and read the book say that, like most films based on a novel, the book is richer in detail, whereas the movie tends to combine and eliminate characters for ease of story-telling. Other differences are that, in the novel, Judd Raike has a stroke, and Edgar takes over running Raike Enterprises. Also notable is that Lucy and Alison are brunettes and Paige is a blonde in the novel; the movie reverses them.