Tap Roots

1948's "Tap Roots" has been described as a poor man's "Gone with the Wind," and that pretty much sums up the simplistic plot, with Van Heflin and Susan Hayward supplying the love interest. As Hoab Dabney, patriarch of the Lebanon Valley in Mississippi, Ward Bond enjoys one of his most prominent movie roles, ably assisted by the scene stealing Boris Karloff, surprisingly cast as Choctaw Indian medicine man Tishomingo, equally adept at healing as he is wielding a mean whip. The slave-owning Dabneys decide to stay neutral as the Civil War gets underway, rousing the townsmen to defy the Confederates, regardless of the consequences (Jonathan Hale has one scene as General Joseph Johnston). By this time, Karloff made infrequent returns to the studio that made him a star (ending with 1953's "Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"), and his casting was most definitely inspired by his recent portrayal of Guyasuta, Chief of the Senecas, in Cecil B. De Mille's "Unconquered." The darkly-complected actor had played a multitude of Native Americans, mostly villainous, during the silent era, but had only these two roles since the advent of talkies (his only sound Western was 1930's "The Utah Kid").

The story is about the Dabney family and it begins in Mississippi just before the Civil War. The Dabneys are a proud family and not in favor of secession. But they and the folks around them are a distinct minority and eventually they end up seceding from Mississippi once the state joins the Confederacy. Not surprisingly, the new Confederacy is NOT pleased that this county has joined the Union...and bad things are a comin'.

But there's much more to the tale and it centers around Morna Dabney (Susan Hayward). She is vivacious and beloved by Clay--a man who loves the idea of war and secession. But when Morna is injured and it appears as if she'll never walk again, Clay shows his true colors...and the roguish Keith (Van Helfin) steps up and shows he really is a heck of a guy.

This is enjoyable and with very nice acting. The only real problem is that what happens to the Dabneys and the county is pretty much foreordained and there are few surprises here. The story, by the way, was inspired by a similar situation in Jones county, where such a rebellion against the state of Mississippi occurred.

Half backed shenanigans down plantation way. A story of a wealthy family of farmers who wish to remain separate from the insanity of the Civil War and the fiery minx who is the eldest daughter of said family.

More interesting for what it represented to its leading lady than for how the film turned out. When Susan Hayward landed in Hollywood after being spotted in a magazine advertisement she was still Edythe Marrenner a green kid from Brooklyn who along with a flock of other young hopefuls tested for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind. Obviously she didn't get the part and if you've ever seen her test it's obvious she was nowhere near ready. However it planted the seed for her desire to if not play Scarlett then at least play a Southern belle.

Within a short time she was discovered by producer Walter Wanger who recognized her potential and through the years carefully cultivated her career eventually making the film which won her the Oscar, I Want to Live! Along the way, about a decade after her initial GWTW test, Wagner developed this mint julep mediocrity for her to fulfill her dream. The thing is it's an odd choice to achieve that goal. Her character, the interestingly named Morna Dabney, after making a memorable entrance disappears for great swathes of the film's running time, first through infirmity and then being removed from the main action of the story for most of the climax. When the camera does train itself on her she is breathtaking, at the peak of her beauty in gorgeous Technicolor but the script hands her a confused character to play, one minute pining for the lout who runs off with her hussy of a sister, a young and lovely Julie London who is given little to do, the next passionate about Van Heflin playing another murkily defined role. Around the edges of the story are Boris Karloff ludicrously cast as an Indian and Ward Bond who by the end is hamming it up to the nth degree.

This is beautifully produced but a moderate affair. However for fans of Miss Hayward it's worth watching once but she has many much better movies in her filmography.

Nine years after losing the role of Scarlett in GWTW, Susan Hayward got her chance to play a Southern belle in 'Tap Roots'. While her emoting is more than sufficient, the weak script cannot live up to the expensive trappings and handsome production values of this minor technicolor epic from Universal.

Van Heflin, a fine actor, is a dashing newspaper publisher involved with the saucy heroine, as are her brother (Richard Long), an Indian who practices primitive cures (Boris Karloff), and her sister (Julie London). Against a Civil War background in Mississippi, the cliches are all there--and for good measure there's even a fire that destroys a plantation. If you're expecting another GWTW, forget it. It's simply an enjoyable Civil War romance photographed in lush technicolor and designed to showcase Susan Hayward's ability to play a vixenish Southern belle. For added interest, Ward Bond is featured in a strong supporting role--just as he was in GWTW.

Summing up: average entertainment but nothing spectacular.

Universal seem to have thrown a lot of cash at these sub 'Gone with the Wind' shenanigans but really should have paid more attention to the script. Although a potentially interesting idea - a small valley tries to stay neutral during the US Civil War - the movie concentrates almost exclusively on a vapid central romance lifted almost wholesale from that earlier Selznick classic.

Van Hefflin tries hard to inject the kind of dangerous humour that Clark Gable brought to Rhett Butler but Susan Hayward is hopelessly miscast as the young, flighty Southern belle. An excellent actress in the right circumstances, here she looks far too sensible for the role and resorts to a permanent wide-eyed stare to convey youth and innocence. She merely looks like a startled rabbit.

Elsewhere, what should have been the pivotal role of the valley's patriarch is simply not given enough screentime, thus reducing Ward Bond to the occasional ineffectual splutter and the climax to an empty, mechanical spectacle devoid of emotional resonance. Boris Karloff brings a touch of class to the role of the friendly native American retainer but Julie London is wasted in a thankless role.

Overall, it's the kind of picture that the studio must have presumed would make itself and this lack of commitment results in a significant lack of quality.