The Romance of Rosy Ridge

The above line is from "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" but a few more like it would have considerably enlivened this sometimes slow but in fact worthy post Civil War drama. However,there are at least two other real winners in the genuine mean style,and even more of the same could have raised this movie to an eight rather than a faltering seven. For example:

Exultant Wife:You'll always remember this day!

Husband:As long as you live I will.

And:

Idealist Jonson:I joined this war because no man should be hated for the color of his skin.

Confederate:It isn't about the color of anyone's skin, I hate the color of the pants you wore when you came down here against us.

Jonson:This thing was really about the color of my pants?

Unfortunately,the overall mood of the film is continuously uncertain.At times it is genuinely reflective and well timed ,at others it verges on the maudlin.Eleanor Parker or young Katherine Hepburn would have made a lot more of a hullabaloo with the same unchallenging script;Janet Leigh is simply too sweet and wholesome for words.

Still despite a couple of ridiculous brief musical spurts,there are a whole troop of fine character actors,including Thomas Mitchel,Marshal Thompson(particularly good in the climatic scene) and my old acquaintance the inimitable O.Z. Whitehead. Moreover,Van Jonson,for once,is not studio typecast and does a fine job throughout,particularly with his barn musicale and in the final scene.

All told, not the gem that it could have been but deserving of a lot better than it has ever yet been credited with.Definitely worth a look for any post Civil war buff or a family looking for a good clean afternoon's entertainment that has something to say.

The director here is man of all work Roy Rowlands.And the reason that I am doing this review is that Rowlands previously directed "Our Vines Have Tender Grapes",one of the high points of American family drama. He apparently never remotely reached such heights again.

The script derives from a story by Pulitzer Prize winner McKinley Kantor,a writer who more than once received less than he deserved by Hollywood.

I had Turner Classic Movies on. Thought I had seen so many of the old movies, since I was born in 1941! Had not seen this one before, partly about post civil war carpet baggers. Nice story using some of the old fashioned songs and terms from the hills.

Has some commentary about the losses and evils of the Civil War. A very American movie about basic values that could speak to any culture where the people farm and live simple lives full of struggle and hardship, as well as kindness and support.

I did enjoy it, even though I am mostly a special effects fan. Last movie I loved was War of the Worlds.

Typical ending for the times, very upbeat. An interesting look at a much smaller part of the American past than is seen in Gone With the Wind. Janet Leigh was very young in her part!

I loved the emphasis on community values in this film. The ideas that the main character pulls for are not a whit outdated and can certainly be applied to today's society. It seems that in life, as in this film, there is always an element who tries to pull apart the community spirit for their own ends. These ideas are presented here in a completely engaging manner and are there for all to see as simple common sense. Kudos to Thomas Mitchell for another grand performance. Too bad this is another forgotten film which should be resurrected for its ideas which are strangely hip and contemporary. And Janet Leigh does a wonderful job, as does the actress who plays her mother.

Another reviewer claims this is a romantic musical comedy, not a drama--I beg to differ. There are songs, to illustrate the folksy ways of the Missourians, and there are a few laughs, and there is a romance, but it's difficult to class anything that includes montages of barn-burnings committed by hooded men on horseback as a musical comedy.

It's a film worth watching, though, as a post-WW2 look at the post-Civil War era, and how difficult it can be to cool off the high-burning passions of wartime. Johnson plays a vet who wanders into a small Missouri town still smarting with North-South divisions. It's an interesting story, incorporating unusually pointed comments about racial equality; the screenwriter, Lester Cole, was later blacklisted as a member of the Hollywood Ten.

The cast is incredibly engaging, from the dewy new starlet Janet Leigh (who got this part after just three weeks in Hollywood!), to the indescribably adorable young Dean Stockwell, to the complex Thomas Mitchell, to the wonderful character actress Selena Royle, playing Leigh's mother with beautiful emotional range.

This definitely falls into the category of the sort of social-issue picture (like Gentleman's Agreement or Paths of Glory) that led to the blacklisting of so many screenwriters. That alone makes it worth the viewing; the cast will just ice the cake.

Discovered this Classic Film from 1947 playing on TCM and was very curious about just what this story would present and who was starring in this picture. It was surprising to see Van Johnson in the starring role as Henry Carson and veteran character actor Thomas Mitchell,(Gill MacBean. Janet Leigh was so young looking I hardly recognized her playing the role as a daughter to Gill MacBean, named Lessy Anne MacBean. This was the very first picture that Janet Leigh appeared in and she was very polished and professional even in her first important role of her career. The story deals with the ending of the Civil-War between the North and South and there were strong feelings still among the people in the South and Northerner's who traveled in their communities. Gill MacBean was not very thrilled about having Henry Carson getting too close to his daughter in a romantic way of speaking. Henry Carson wanted to establish a school in the local community and finding acceptance was very difficult for him to establish. There was a very deep secret that Henry Carson kept to himself about their son who was killed in the Civil War. There is Comedy, Drama and Romance and plenty of outstanding acting in this great Classic Film, Enjoy.