Drums in the Deep South

Last updated
Drums in the Deep South
Didspos.jpg
Original film poster
Directed by William Cameron Menzies
Written by
Based onWoman With a Sword
by Hollister Noble [1]
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Lionel Lindon
Edited by Richard V. Heermance
Music by Dimitri Tiomkin
Production
company
Distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
Release date
  • October 16, 1951 (1951-10-16)(US) [2]
Running time
87 minutes
Country United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$300,000 [3]

Drums in the Deep South is an American Civil War war western film directed by William Cameron Menzies who was production designer of David O. Selznick's Gone With the Wind (1939) and also designed the cave sequences in Selznick's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938). Based on a story by Civil War author Hollister Noble, the film was produced by an independent company King Brothers Productions, filmed in SuperCineColor and released by RKO Pictures in September 1951. B. Reeves Eason directed the second unit.

Contents

Plot

Best friends Clay Clayburn and Will Denning graduate from West Point and visit their friend and fellow graduate Braxton Summers at his Georgia plantation in 1861. Clay had once loved Braxton's wife Kathy and still does. When war is declared they soon find themselves fighting on opposite sides of the Civil War.

By 1864, Clay, now a field artillery major in the Confederate States Army, is renowned for accepting and surviving suicide missions. He is given another task: in order to delay General Sherman's March to the Sea, he is ordered to lead a party of men and their disassembled cannon inside caves that lead to the top of Devil's Mountain, where a battery of guns can destroy a railroad (running through nearby Snake Gap) and the Union troop and supply trains that travel it, buying time for the Confederacy. Devil's Mountain is coincidentally near Braxton's (who is now fighting elsewhere for the Confederacy) and Kathy's old plantation where Kathy remains with her uncle Albert. Kathy agrees to monitor the activities of the Northern invaders and to signal Clay's men from her window through a mirror by day and a lantern by night. At one point, having been caught signaling to Clay by one of the Union soldiers, Albert mortally wounds him before being shot dead himself. Through her activities, Clay's men are notified of the arrival of two supply trains and destroy both of them.

Will, now a major himself, arrives on the field, but the Union artillery cannot achieve the elevation or range with their cannon to clear the Confederate guns at the top of the mountain. Inside the mountain, the Union infantry cannot find the path to the top and are delayed by Confederate snipers. As the railroad line has been blocked by two destroyed trains, Union headquarters send a Dahlgren gun manned by sailors and mounted on a flat car to wipe out the Confederates. Kathy supplies Clay with wire from her piano to reinforce the barrel of one of Clay's guns that, with a double charge and the maximum elevation, is able to destroy the naval gun and further block the railroad line.

Will has Union Army engineers mine the inside of the mountain with explosives that will blow up the mountain. However, Clay calculates that the explosion will send the cliff down over the railway line further blocking the Union's supplies. Kathy begs Will that she be allowed to act as a mediator to convince Clay and his men to surrender, and Will agrees. As she traverses the caverns on the way to the top, Kathy is mistaken for a Union soldier and shot by one of Clay's soldiers. Bringing her to Clay, she repeats the Union offer of surrender as Clay nurses her wound. Ordering his men to escape Devil's Mountain, Clay picks up Kathy and begins making his way down. However, the powder is lit and Devil's Mountain explodes, seemingly killing Clay and Kathy.

Cast

Unbilled

Production

Drums in the Deep South was the first from a new production set up by the King Brothers which involved them raising finance by selling shares. 300,000 shares worth $300,000 were issued to over 700 investors for Drums. [3] [4] The film was shot at Sam Goldwyn Studios and on location in Sonora, California. [5] The railroad scenes were filmed on the Sierra Railroad in Tuolumne County, California. [6]

Soundtrack

Reception

The King Brothers sold Drums in the Deep South to RKO, who distributed the film. Drums in the Deep South was profitable and King Brothers announced plans to reunite Craig, Madison, and Payton in a follow-up film called Murder March about the March to the Sea but it never went into production. [7] Reviewer Jim Craddock in a later review, noted the plot in Drums in the Deep South was "... hampered by a familiar premise". [8]

The King Brothers later sued RKO for mismanaging the distribution and sale of the film, claiming $10,000 in damages. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Petersburg</span> Battle of the American Civil War

The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg, it was not a classic military siege, in which a city is encircled with fortifications blocking all routes of ingress and egress, nor was it strictly limited to actions against Petersburg. The campaign consisted of nine months of trench warfare in which Union forces commanded by Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant assaulted Petersburg unsuccessfully and then constructed trench lines that eventually extended over 30 miles (48 km) from the eastern outskirts of Richmond, Virginia, to around the eastern and southern outskirts of Petersburg. Petersburg was crucial to the supply of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's army and the Confederate capital of Richmond. Numerous raids were conducted and battles fought in attempts to cut off the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad. Many of these battles caused the lengthening of the trench lines.

<i>Duel in the Sun</i> (film) 1946 film by King Vidor

Duel in the Sun is a 1946 American epic psychological Western film directed by King Vidor, produced and written by David O. Selznick, and starring Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Gregory Peck, Lillian Gish, Walter Huston, and Lionel Barrymore. Based on the 1944 novel of the same name by Niven Busch, it follows a young orphaned Mestiza woman who experiences prejudice and forbidden love, while residing with her white relatives on a large Texas ranch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Chickamauga</span> American Civil War battle

The Battle of Chickamauga, fought on September 18–20, 1863, between the United States Army and Confederate forces in the American Civil War, marked the end of a U.S. Army offensive, the Chickamauga Campaign, in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia. It was the first major battle of the war fought in Georgia, the most significant US defeat in the Western Theater, and involved the second-highest number of casualties after the Battle of Gettysburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sherman's March to the Sea</span> 1864 military campaign in the American Civil War

Sherman's March to the Sea was a military campaign of the American Civil War conducted through Georgia from November 15 until December 21, 1864, by William Tecumseh Sherman, major general of the Union Army. The campaign began on November 15 with Sherman's troops leaving Atlanta, recently taken by Union forces, and ended with the capture of the port of Savannah on December 21. His forces followed a "scorched earth" policy, destroying military targets as well as industry, infrastructure, and civilian property, disrupting the Confederacy's economy and transportation networks. The operation debilitated the Confederacy and helped lead to its eventual surrender. Sherman's decision to operate deep within enemy territory without supply lines was unusual for its time, and the campaign is regarded by some historians as an early example of modern warfare or total war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Stones River</span> Major battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Stones River, also known as the Second Battle of Murfreesboro, was fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee, as the culmination of the Stones River Campaign in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. Of the major battles of the war, Stones River had the highest percentage of casualties on both sides. The battle ended in Union victory after the Confederate army's withdrawal on January 3, largely due to a series of tactical miscalculations by Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, but the victory was costly for the Union army. Nevertheless, it was an important victory for the Union because it provided a much-needed boost in morale after the Union's recent defeat at Fredericksburg and also reinforced President Abraham Lincoln's foundation for issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, which ultimately discouraged European powers from intervening on the Confederacy's behalf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlanta campaign</span> Part of the American Civil War in 1864

The Atlanta campaign was a series of battles fought in the Western Theater of the American Civil War throughout northwest Georgia and the area around Atlanta during the summer of 1864. Union Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman invaded Georgia from the vicinity of Chattanooga, Tennessee, beginning in May 1864, opposed by the Confederate general Joseph E. Johnston.

<i>The Horse Soldiers</i> 1959 American film by John Ford

The Horse Soldiers is a 1959 American adventure war film set during the American Civil War directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, William Holden and Constance Towers. The screenplay by John Lee Mahin and Martin Rackin was loosely based on the Harold Sinclair (1907-1966) 1956 novel of historical fiction of the same name, a fictionalized version of the famous Grierson's Raid by Federal cavalry in April-May 1863 riding southward through Mississippi and around the Mississippi River fortress of Vicksburg during the Vicksburg campaign to split the southern Confederacy by Union Army Gen. Ulysses S. Grant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Missionary Ridge</span> Battle of the American Civil War, 1863

The Battle of Missionary Ridge, also known as the Battle of Chattanooga, was fought on November 25, 1863, as part of the Chattanooga campaign of the American Civil War. Following the Union victory in the Battle of Lookout Mountain on November 24, Union forces in the Military Division of the Mississippi under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant assaulted Missionary Ridge and defeated the Confederate Army of Tennessee, commanded by Gen. Braxton Bragg, forcing it to retreat to Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Hoover's Gap</span> Battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Hoover's Gap was the principal battle in the Tullahoma Campaign of the American Civil War, in which Union General William S. Rosecrans drove General Braxton Bragg’s Confederates out of Central Tennessee. Rosecrans’ feigned move on the western end of the Confederate line had left the eastern mountain passes lightly defended, and Colonel John T. Wilder's mounted infantry achieved total surprise when they attacked Hoover's Gap. Success was attributed both to Rosecrans’ brilliant deception tactics and the high morale of Wilder’s "Lightning Brigade", equipped with the new Spencer repeating rifle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guy Madison</span> American actor (1922–1996)

Guy Madison was an American film, television, and radio actor. He is best known for playing Wild Bill Hickok in the Western television series The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok from 1951 to 1958.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Wauhatchie</span> 1863 battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Wauhatchie was fought October 28–29, 1863, in Hamilton and Marion counties, Tennessee, and Dade County, Georgia, in the American Civil War. A Union force had seized Brown's Ferry on the Tennessee River, opening a supply line to the Union army in Chattanooga. Confederate forces attempted to dislodge the Union force defending the ferry and again close this supply line but were defeated. Wauhatchie was one of the few night battles of the Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Battle of Ream's Station</span> Battle of the American Civil War

The Second Battle of Ream's Station was fought during the siege of Petersburg in the American Civil War on August 25, 1864, in Dinwiddie County, Virginia. A Union force under Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock began destroying part of the Petersburg Railroad, which was a vital supply line for Gen. Robert E. Lee's Confederate army in Petersburg, Virginia. Lee sent a force under Lt. Gen. A. P. Hill to challenge Hancock and the Confederates were able to rout the Union troops from their fortifications at Reams Station. However, they lost a key portion of the railroad, causing further logistical difficulties for the remainder of the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Munfordville</span> Battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Munfordville was an engagement in Munfordville, Kentucky during the American Civil War. Victory there allowed the Confederates to temporarily strengthen their hold on the region and impair Union supply lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Val Lewton</span> Ukrainian-American writer and film producer

Val Lewton was a Ukrainian-American novelist, film producer and screenwriter best known for a string of low-budget horror films he produced for RKO Pictures in the 1940s. His son, also named Val Lewton, was a painter and exhibition designer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Craig (actor)</span> American actor (died 1985)

James Craig was an American actor. He is best known for appearances in films like Kitty Foyle (1940) and The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941), and his stint as a leading man at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the 1940s where he appeared in films like The Human Comedy (1943).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carolinas campaign</span> Military campaign, American Civil War

The Carolinas campaign, also known as the campaign of the Carolinas, was the final campaign conducted by the Union Army against the Confederate Army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. On January 1, Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman advanced north from Savannah, Georgia, through the Carolinas, with the intention of linking up with Union forces in Virginia. The campaign culminated in the defeat of Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's army at the Battle of Bentonville, and its unconditional surrender to Union forces on April 26, 1865. Coming just two weeks after the defeat of Robert E. Lee's army at the Battle of Appomattox Court House, it signaled that the war was effectively over.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western theater of the American Civil War</span> American Civil War area of operations

The western theater of the American Civil War encompassed major military operations in the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee, as well as Louisiana east of the Mississippi River. Operations on the coasts of these states, except for Mobile Bay, are considered part of the Lower Seaboard Theater. Most other operations east of the Appalachian Mountains are part of the eastern theater. Operations west of the Mississippi River took place in the trans-Mississippi theater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winchester, Virginia, in the American Civil War</span>

The city of Winchester, Virginia, and the surrounding area, were the site of numerous battles during the American Civil War, as contending armies strove to control the lower Shenandoah Valley. Winchester changed hands more often than any other Confederate city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chattanooga campaign</span> 1863 series of battles of the American Civil War

The Chattanooga campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in October and November 1863, during the American Civil War. Following the defeat of Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans's Union Army of the Cumberland at the Battle of Chickamauga in September, the Confederate Army of Tennessee under Gen. Braxton Bragg besieged Rosecrans and his men by occupying key high terrain around Chattanooga, Tennessee. Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was given command of Union forces in the West which was now consolidated under the Division of the Mississippi. Significant reinforcements also began to arrive with him in Chattanooga from Mississippi and the Eastern Theater. On October 18, Grant removed Rosecrans from command of the Army of the Cumberland and replaced him with Major General George Henry Thomas.

Forrest's Expedition into West Tennessee was a raid conducted by Confederate Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest in Tennessee from December 1862 to January 1863, during the American Civil War. Forrest led an expedition of 1,800 to 2,500 men into Union-held West Tennessee to disrupt the supply lines of Major General Ulysses S. Grant, who was campaigning south along the Mississippi River toward Vicksburg.

References

Notes

  1. Goble 1999, p. 346
  2. "Detail View: 'Drums in the Deep South'." American Film Institute. Retrieved: May 19, 2014.
  3. 1 2 Brady, Thomas. "Hollywood agenda: Capra and Stevens will leave Paramount In production policy change; Addenda poor starts turning point stock dealings more color." The New York Times, April 8, 1951, p. 101.
  4. Scheuer, Philip K. "Tim Holt leatherneck; Directors pick Huston; King Bros. celebrating." Los Angeles Times, September 5, 1950.
  5. Schallert, Edwin. "McCarey's 'Born in Trunk' activated; Nancy Davis likely as Tracy's wife." Los Angeles Times, September 20, 1950, p. B11.
  6. Jensen, Larry (2018). Hollywood's Railroads: Sierra Railroad. Vol. Two. Sequim, Washington: Cochetopa Press. p. 25. ISBN   9780692064726.
  7. "Movieland briefs." Los Angeles Times, October 23, 1951, p. B7.
  8. Craddock 2000, p. 300.
  9. Pryor, Thomas M. "Film group files suit of $6,030,000: King Brothers alleges trust violations in 3 releases." The New York Times, November 5, 1958, p. 43.

Bibliography

  • Craddock, Jim, ed. Video Hounds Golden Movie Retriever 2001. New York: Gale Group, 2000. ISBN   978-1-5785-9120-6.
  • Goble, Alan, ed. The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gryter, 1999 (reprint ed.). ISBN   978-3-1109-5194-3