Linkshoch Wonderful Movie

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Richard Chatten One of a number of big-budget, Technicolor productions by the recently rebranded Universal-International with which the new management was attempting with disappointing results to raise their profile with an increased number of ambitious prestige films; which eventually morphed into their run of glossy women's pictures of the fifties. Produced with his usual discernment by Walter Wanger, directed by veteran George ('Destry Rides Again') Marshall and ably adapted by Alan Le May from a 1942 novel by James H. Street, 'Tap Roots' was the studio's attempt to make it's own 'Gone With the Wind', with luscious titian-haired Southern tigress Susan Hayward at the centre of some pretty racy dialogue and situations.Ms Hayward is frankly too old for the early scenes (she turned 30 during production and was thus on the verge of becoming the handsome middle-aged grand dame she gracefully matured into over the next fifteen years). But as the film progresses and her character matures her performance grows with her. All the acting is good, particularly Boris Karloff, despite being in blackface as an American Indian (SPOILER WARNING: the film never completely recovers from the almost casual way he gets killed off), and Ward Bond gives one of his best performances in an unusually prominent role in an 'A' feature.

whpratt1 I was able to tape this film years ago. It is not often seen on TV and a true classic film. Tap Roots takes place at the outbreak of the Civil War, Lebanon Valley tries to secede from the state of Mississippi and remain neutral. Hating slavery, its leader, Hoab Dabney(Ward Bond), and a faithful Indian friend of the family, Tishomingo(Boris Karloff), promise to protect the valley against the Confederate army. There is a great cast of actors namely: Susan Hayward, Van Heflin and Julie London(former wife of Jack Webb, Dragnet T.V) Tap Roots is rather long and drawn out. However, the plot has romance, excellent photography of the Civil War costumes, sex situations and the action is of great value. Karloff is excellent as an Indian guide of the family and his make-up makes him look just like a Native American. I noticed the Smoky Mountains located in North Carolina and Tennessee where this Mississippi story was filmed which is magnificent to view.

Neil Doyle 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.

Ale fish 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.