Tulsa (film)
Tulsa is a 1949 American Technicolor Western action film directed by Stuart Heisler and starring Susan Hayward and Robert Preston, and featured Lloyd Gough, Chill Wills (as the narrator), and Ed Begley in one of his earliest film roles, billed as Edward Begley.
| Tulsa | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Film poster | |
| Directed by | Stuart Heisler |
| Produced by | Walter Wanger Edward Lasker |
| Written by | Curtis Kenyon Frank S. Nugent Richard Wormser (story) |
| Starring | Susan Hayward Robert Preston Pedro Armendáriz |
| Narrated by | Chill Wills |
| Music by | Frank Skinner |
| Cinematography | Winton C. Hoch |
| Edited by | Terry O. Morse |
Production company | Walter Wanger Productions |
| Distributed by | Eagle-Lion films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,158,035[1] |
| Box office | $2,340,336[1] |
The film's plot revolved around greed, conservation, and romance.[2] It was nominated for an Oscar for its special effects at the 22nd Academy Awards in 1950.[3]
Plot
The plot revolved around the Tulsa, Oklahoma oil boom of the 1920s and detailed how obsession with accumulating wealth and power can tend to corrupt moral character.[2] The story begins with the death of rancher Nelse Lansing, who is killed by an oil well blowout while visiting a well operated by Tanner Petroleum to report that pollution from the oil production has killed some of his cattle.[4] The plot thickens as Lansing's daughter, Cherokee, acquires drilling rights and meets Brad Brady, a geologist who wants the oil drillers to limit their drilling in order to minimize oil field depletion and to preserve the area's grasslands.[4]
A fire in a derrick tailing pool started by Jim Redbird, a Cherokee who had been made a rich owner of oil land through crooked dealings of oilmen, and who later renounces his holdings, results in an extravagant fire scene for which the movie got its Oscar nomination.[2] In its aftermath, in recognition of the destruction caused by improper oil drilling, and how money and power can corrupt even those who love the land, the oil drillers and the geologist learn to work together.[2]
Cast
- Susan Hayward as Cherokee Lansing
- Robert Preston as Brad Brady
- Pedro Armendáriz as Jim Redbird
- Lloyd Gough as Bruce Tanner
- Chill Wills as Pinky Jimpson (narrator)
- Ed Begley as John J. "Johnny" Brady (as Edward Begley)
- Jimmy Conlin as Homer Triplette
- Roland Jack as Steve, Cherokee's ranch hand
- Bill Hickman as Bill, the Caterpillar tractor driver (uncredited)
Reception
The film earned an estimated $1.6 million in the US.[5] It recorded a loss of $746,099.[1]
References
- Matthew Bernstein, Walter Wagner: Hollywood Independent, Minnesota Press, 2000 p444
- Tulsa Plot Synopsis (accessed June 7, 2010).
- Tulsa (1949) - Awards Internet Movie Database (accessed June 7, 2010).
- Tulsa (1949) Synopsis (accessed June 7, 2010).
- "Top Grossers of 1949". Variety. 4 January 1950. p. 59.
External links
- Tulsa on IMDb
- Tulsa is available for free download at the Internet Archive
- Tulsa at the TCM Movie Database
- Tulsa at AllMovie
- Tulsa on YouTube