Tulsa

This film took me by complete surprise with great acting by veteran actors, Susan Hayward, (Cherokee Lansing) and Robert Preston, (Brad Brady). The film starts out with Cherokee and her father who raise cattle on their ranches in Tulsa, Oklahoma and one day they find all their cattle dying along a stream of water and as they smell the water, they realize the oil refining business was contaminating the soil and killing the cattle. Cherokee goes with her father to tell them about what their oil business is doing to their cattle and while they are talking, an oil structure struck oil and a large part of a building fell on her father and killed him. It was from this point in the film when Cherokee Lansing decided to get revenge for her father's death and declares war on the oil men and their owners. There is plenty of action and even some romance. There is great photography of a fire burning through an oil field and people risking their lives in order to save their oil fields and friends and family.

In the early 1920's there was the inevitable clash between the cattle ranchers and the burgeoning oil drillers in Oklahoma. This account of that clash, filmed in color, is fast moving and interesting. It revolves around Susan Hayward's character, and Hayward is marvelous as always, and how she has to learn to adapt to the inevitable changes being wrought by the explosion of oil money. The climactic oil field fire is well done indeed. Recommended.

The fine performance by Susan Hayward makes all of "Tulsa" worth watching, and the exciting finale caps it off with a bang. The tone is not always consistent, varying from serious treatment of environmental and ethical issues to the folksy, ultra-upbeat narration by Chill Wills. But Hayward is consistently interesting to watch, and the story is generally told at a good pace, with some good scenes along the way.

Hayward plays the daughter of a rancher, seeking revenge against a large oil man who caused the death of her father and the destruction of his valuable livestock. Along the way, she makes the fateful decision to beat the oil baron at his own game, which has some tumultuous consequences for her and those close to her. It's quite a good role for Hayward, and she is believable as her character first seeks justice, and then gradually starts to become what she had been fighting against.

The occasional overly-positive emphasis on the role of the oil industry is balanced out by some good efforts to discuss some of the environmental problems caused by large-scale drilling. And even though it is never stated explicitly, several of the scenes create a noticeable contrast between the simple beauty of the Oklahoma prairies and the bleak ugliness of fields filled with endless rows of oil wells.

The firefighting climax is exciting to watch, and it is a rather impressive piece of film-making as well, with believable action and visuals. Although the finale does not really resolve most of the important issues, it works well on screen.

The supporting cast is solid and likable, with Wills, Robert Preston, and Pedro Armendariz. For the most part, their characters are not fleshed out, since Hayward is the center of attention, but the other characters occasionally get their moments.

Overall, "Tulsa" is somewhat above average, with some noticeable strengths in the mix.

Susan storms into Scarlett O'Hara territory with this meller substituting oil field for plantations and the Civil War. If you have ever seen her test for Scarlett it was obvious at the time she wasn't ready, but ten years on she is in full command of the screen and tears into this part with her customary brio mopping the floor with anyone who gets in her way. She has a few touching moments with Chill Wills' character but otherwise is tough as nails and furiously driven. Not a great picture but a good one with Robert Preston a strong co-star and a great cast of character actors but indifferent direction, if you are a fan of Susan though it is unmissable.

Susan Hayward doesn't back down when it comes to protecting what is hers. Her character is embroiled in the early wars between wildcat oil drillers and cattle ranchers in Oklahoma. A pretty fast paced movie that stays busy. The oil field fire is a tremendous sight. Chill Wills, Robert Preston and Ed Begley round out the super cast.