The Legend of Tom Dooley

An early big screen effort for Landon(along with the unforgettable "I was a Teenage Werewolf") this is a pedestrian effort at best. Obviously put out to capitalize on the popularity of the Kingston Trio hit, in this incarnation, Dooley, who is being un-justly pursued by the law, accidentally kills his true love. In short-good song-bad movie!

Michael Landon is Tom Dooley, in charge of a Confederate cavalry unit who have just killed some Union soldiers.... only the war is over. This makes it murder, because no one believes him, except his girl, Jo Morrow, who marries him. But the law and the Union Army are still after him.

It's a decent little movie made to take advantage of the Kingston Trio's recording of the song, It was a popular North Carolina folk song by this point, but it was based on the murder of Laura Foster by Tom Dula; he, like Landon in this movie, was a Confederate veteran. The case attracted national attention as an early case of a crime of passion. Dula's lover, Anna Melton was implicated, but Dula, in a letter written just before his death, took sole responsibility.

It was Landon's fourth big screen appearance. He would make more over the years, but his career was consumed by television. He died in 1991, aged 54.

Now in endless reruns on the Western Channel, the movie's not half-bad for a quickie production intended to exploit the booming popularity of the folk song. Landon and Rust are quite good as returning rebs caught behind Union lines at Civil War's end. Their chemistry is more like that of brothers than comrades-in-arms. The production appears to have piggy-backed on the "Gunsmoke" series, using many of the same sets and locations, along with veteran Gunsmoke director Ted Post. Maybe that's why the fist-fight at the gutted cabin is so well executed-- the boys really give the slick choreographing their all. Then too, I wouldn't be surprised that this performance won Landon the career role of Little Joe on Bonanza; it's certainly good enough. Anyway, the film shows how even a cheap quickie with no pedigree can exceed expectations.

A real bow-wow, as are most Civil War westerns (surprising how many have been churned out, though apparently nobody has compiled a list). Both the Confederate gang and the townspeople manage to acquire guns that weren't thought of yet. They include the Colt Peacemaker of 1873 and the Winchester Model 1892 (and maybe a 94 for good measure) plus double-action, cartridge conversions of cap and ball revolvers!

Also, you have to wonder why the producers took a popular folk song and set it in another era. The similarity with "Burning Bridges," the "Kelly's Heroes" theme by the Mike Curb Congregation, comes to mind. Absolutely no connection between score and plot.

The popularity of The Kingston Trio's record of the song guaranteed The Legend Of Tom Dooley a built in audience. As a lad I remember going to see this film as the second feature of a double bill at the old Nostrand Theater in Brooklyn. I also remember for months during 1958 you could not avoid hearing the title song over the radio.

Before he was Little Joe Cartwright Michael Landon plays the title role in this film. Tom is a part of Mosby's raiders along with his two fellow soldiers Dee Pollock and Richard Rust and they do all kinds of guerrilla type action behind enemy lines like holding up the stagecoach you see in this film. The problem here is that after killing three Union soldiers acting as escort they find out the war is over. Worse than that Landon is from the area and the passengers recognize him.

Here's where common sense departs and the male member takes over. It would be the reasonable course of action to flee immediately, but Pollock is wounded and Landon wants to see the girl he left behind Jo Morrow. He was of Confederate persuasion in a Union area and they remember. And Morrow has Jack Hogan looking to move in on Landon's claim.

The Legend Of Tom Dooley is a cheaply made quickie by Columbia to take advantage of the song's popularity. Still I have to say that Landon and Morrow are a pair of winning young lovers who deliver sincere performances and that helps put the film over.

Not great, but a decent film and Michael Landon's fans should love it. He's even got the left handed draw that Little Joe Cartwright had.