Tulsa (film)

Last updated

Tulsa
Tulsa (film).jpg
Film poster
Directed by Stuart Heisler
Written byCurtis Kenyon
Frank S. Nugent
Richard Wormser (story)
Produced by Walter Wanger
Edward Lasker
Starring Susan Hayward
Robert Preston
Pedro Armendáriz
Narrated by Chill Wills
Cinematography Winton C. Hoch
Edited by Terry O. Morse
Music by Frank Skinner
Color process Technicolor
Production
company
Walter Wanger Productions
Distributed by Eagle-Lion films
Release dates
  • April 13, 1949 (1949-04-13)(Tulsa, Oklahoma)
  • May 26, 1949 (1949-05-26)(United States)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1,158,035 [1]
Box office$2,340,336 [1]

Tulsa is a 1949 American 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.

Contents

The film's plot revolves around greed, conservation, and romance. [2] It was nominated for an Oscar for its special effects at the 22nd Academy Awards in 1950. The film is no longer copyright protected, and has entered the public domain in the United States. [3]

Plot

The film tells a story about the Tulsa, Oklahoma oil boom of the 1920s and how obsession with accumulating wealth and power can tend to corrupt moral character. [2] The tale begins with the death of rancher Nelse Lansing, who is killed by an oil well blowout while visiting Tanner Petroleum to report that pollution from Tanner's oil production has killed some of his cattle. [4] Lansing's daughter, Cherokee, initially in an effort to punish Tanner for her father's death, acquires drilling rights on her land; she meets Brad Brady, a geologist, who wants drilling to be limited to minimise oil field depletion and preserve the area's grasslands. [4]

Jim Redbird is a native American who has long been drawn to Cherokee and, being persuaded by Brady that cattle men can live and work alongside oil men, buys into her oil business and becomes wealthy. As Cherokee succumbs to power and greed, and becomes a partner of the ruthless Tanner, Jim renounces his holdings. Overcome with anger after a humiliating meeting with Tanner, Cherokee and some of their legal and governmental associates, Jim accidentally starts a fire in a derrick trailing pool. 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 vow to start over and to ensure conservation is their top priority. [2] .The film received its Oscar nomination [2] for the resulting impressive scenes of the rampaging flames.

Cast

Reception

The film earned an estimated $1.6 million in the US. [5] It recorded a loss of $746,099. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Silverheels</span> Canadian Mohawk actor and athlete (1912–1980)

Jay Silverheels was an Indigenous Canadian actor and athlete. He was well known for his role as Tonto, the Native American companion of the Lone Ranger in the American Western television series The Lone Ranger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglass Dumbrille</span> Canadian-American actor (1889–1974)

Douglass Rupert Dumbrille was a Canadian actor who appeared regularly in films from the early 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenn Strange</span> American actor (1899–1973)

George Glenn Strange was an American actor who appeared in hundreds of Western films. He played Sam Noonan, the bartender on CBS's Gunsmoke television series, and Frankenstein's monster in three Universal films during the 1940s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denver Pyle</span> American actor (1920–1997)

Denver Dell Pyle was an American film and television actor and director. He was well known for a number of TV roles from the 1960s through the 1980s, including his portrayal of Briscoe Darling in several episodes of The Andy Griffith Show, as Jesse Duke in The Dukes of Hazzard from 1979 to 1985, as Mad Jack in the NBC television series The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, and as the titular character's father, Buck Webb, in CBS's The Doris Day Show. In many of his roles, he portrayed either authority figures, or gruff, demanding father figures, often as comic relief. Perhaps his most memorable film role was that of Texas Ranger Frank Hamer in the movie Bonnie and Clyde (1967), as the lawman who relentlessly chased down and finally killed the notorious duo in an ambush.

<i>The Westerner</i> (1940 film) 1940 film by William Wyler

The Westerner is a 1940 American Western film directed by William Wyler and starring Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan and Doris Davenport. Written by Niven Busch and Jo Swerling, the film concerns a self-appointed hanging judge in Vinegaroon, Texas, who befriends a saddle tramp who opposes the judge's policy against homesteaders. The film is remembered for Walter Brennan's performance as Judge Roy Bean, for which he won his record-setting third Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. James Basevi and Stuart N. Lake also received Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction, Black and White and Best Story, respectively. The supporting cast features Dana Andrews, Chill Wills and Forrest Tucker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chill Wills</span> American actor (1902–1978)

Theodore Childress "Chill" Wills was an American actor and a singer in the Avalon Boys quartet.

Lloyd Gough was an American theater, film, and television actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Tyler</span> American actor (1903–1954)

Tom Tyler was an American actor known for his leading roles in low-budget Western films in the silent and sound eras, and for his portrayal of superhero Captain Marvel in the 1941 serial film The Adventures of Captain Marvel. Tyler also played Kharis in 1940's The Mummy's Hand, a popular Universal Studios monster film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Williams (actor)</span> American actor (1915–1992)

William Herman Katt, known as Bill Williams, was an American television and film actor. He is best known for his starring role in the early television series The Adventures of Kit Carson, which aired in syndication from 1951 to 1955.

<i>He Walked by Night</i> 1948 film by Alfred L. Werker, Anthony Mann

He Walked by Night is a 1948 American police procedural film noir directed by Alfred L. Werker and an uncredited Anthony Mann. The film, shot in semidocumentary tone, is loosely based on the real-life actions of Erwin "Machine-Gun" Walker, a former Glendale, California police department employee and World War II veteran who unleashed a crime spree of burglaries, robberies and shootouts in the Los Angeles area in 1945 and 1946.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerald Mohr</span> American actor (1914–1968)

Gerald Mohr was an American radio, film, and television character actor and frequent leading man, who appeared in more than 500 radio plays, 73 films, and over 100 television shows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don "Red" Barry</span> American actor (1912–1980)

Don "Red" Barry, also known as Red Barry was an American film and television actor. He was nicknamed "Red" after appearing as the first Red Ryder in the highly successful 1940 film Adventures of Red Ryder with Noah Beery Sr.; the character was played in later films by "Wild Bill" Elliott and Allan Lane. Barry went on to bigger budget films following Red Ryder, but none reached his previous level of success. He played Red Doyle in the 1964 Perry Mason episode "The Case of the Simple Simon".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reed Hadley</span> American actor (1910–1958)

Reed Hadley was an American film, television and radio actor.

<i>In Old Oklahoma</i> 1943 film by Albert S. Rogell

In Old Oklahoma is a 1943 American Western film directed by Albert S. Rogell starring John Wayne and Martha Scott. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, one for Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture and the other for Sound Recording. The supporting cast features George "Gabby" Hayes, Marjorie Rambeau, Dale Evans, Sidney Blackmer as Theodore Roosevelt, and Paul Fix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Willes</span> American actress (1923–1989)

Jean Donahue was an American film and television actress. She appeared in approximately 65 films in her 38-year career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Kennedy (actor)</span> American actor (1915–1973)

Douglas Richards Kennedy was an American actor who appeared in more than 190 films from 1935 to 1973.

<i>Valentino</i> (1951 film) 1951 film by Lewis Allen

Valentino is a 1951 American biographical film directed by Lewis Allen and starring Eleanor Parker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lane Bradford</span> American actor

Lane Bradford was an American actor. He appeared in more than 250 films and television series between 1940 and 1973, specializing in supporting "tough-guy" roles predominantly in Westerns but also in more contemporary crime dramas such as Dragnet, The Fugitive, and Hawaii Five-O.

<i>The San Antonio Kid</i> 1944 film by Howard Bretherton

The San Antonio Kid is a 1944 American Western film directed by Howard Bretherton starring Wild Bill Elliott in the role of Red Ryder. It was the fourth of twenty-three Red Ryder feature films that would be produced by Republic Pictures and the first shot without George "Gabby" Hayes who had starred with Elliott since he relocated to Republic Pictures. The picture was shot on the studio's back lot along with outdoor locations at Iverson Ranch, 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Gone to Texas is a 1986 American made-for-television biographical film originally titled Houston: The Legend of Texas. It stars Sam Elliott in the title role, and is a biopic of Sam Houston's years as Governor of Tennessee through his involvement in the Texas Revolution.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Matthew Bernstein, Walter Wagner: Hollywood Independent, Minnesota Press, 2000 p444
  2. 1 2 3 4 Tulsa Plot Synopsis (accessed June 7, 2010).
  3. "Tulsa Films: Films made in Tulsa & the Surrounding Area". September 26, 2022. Archived from the original on October 8, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2022. In addition, this film is in the public domain and may be viewed legally online.
  4. 1 2 Tulsa (1949) Synopsis (accessed June 7, 2010).
  5. "Top Grossers of 1949". Variety. January 4, 1950. p. 59.