''Tap Roots'' is a 1948

Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

set during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. It is very loosely based on the true life story of Newton Knight, a farm owner who attempted to secede Jones County from

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

.Stephen Jacobs, ''Boris Karloff: More Than a Monster'', Tomahawk Press 2011 p 324 Made by Walter Wanger Productions and

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

, it was directed by

George Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (31 December 1880 – 16 October 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army under pres ...

and produced by Walter Wanger from a

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

Alan Le May Alan Brown Le May (June 3, 1899 – April 27, 1964) was an American novelist and screenplay writer. He is most remembered for two classic Western novels, ''The Searchers'' (1954) and ''The Unforgiven'' (1957).Herzberg, Bob (2008). ''Savages and ...

, based on the 1942 novel ''Tap Roots'' by James H. Street, with additional dialogue by Lionel Wiggam. The original music was by

Frank Skinner Christopher Graham Collins (born 28 January 1957), known professionally as Frank Skinner, is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. At the 2001 British Comedy Awards, he was named Best Comedy Entertainment Personality. His televisio ...

and the cinematography by Winton C. Hoch and Lionel Lindon. The film stars Van Heflin and

Susan Hayward Susan Hayward (born Edythe Marrener; June 30, 1917 – March 14, 1975) was an American actress best known for her film portrayals of women that were based on true stories. After working as a fashion model for the Walter Clarence Thornton, Walt ...

with

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), known professionally as Boris Karloff () and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was a British actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstei ...

Julie London Julie London (born Julie Peck; September 26, 1926 – October 18, 2000) was an American singer and actress whose career spanned more than 40 years. A torch song, torch singer noted for her contralto voice, London recorded over thirty album ...

, Whitfield Connor,

Ward Bond Wardell Edwin Bond (April 9, 1903 – November 5, 1960) was an American character actor who appeared in more than 200 films and starred in the NBC television series ''Wagon Train'' from 1957 to 1960. Among his best-remembered roles are Bert th ...

and Richard Long. Karloff plays a

Choctaw The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choct ...

Indian. A radio version of ''Tap Roots'', with Van Heflin, Susan Hayward and Richard Long reprising their film roles, was broadcast by the

Lux Radio Theatre ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a old-time radio, classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the Blue Network, NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of A ...

on September 27, 1948.

Plot

A poor Mississippi farmer who has never owned slaves finds himself conscripted into the Confederate States Army to fight to defend the right of wealthy slaveowners to be able to maintain their grasp on their black property. After witnessing much deprivation and depravity, he deserts, returns home, and soon finds himself at the head of a band of former slaves, other Confederate deserters, and American Indians who had remained in Mississippi in defiance of the Indian Removal Act, fighting against the Confederacy and its sympathizers.

Cast

* Van Heflin as Keith Alexander *

as Morna Dabney *

as Tishomingo *

as Aven Dabney * Whitfield Connor as Clay McIvor *

as Hoab Dabney * Richard Long as Bruce Dabney *

Arthur Shields Arthur Shields (15 February 1896 – 27 April 1970) was an Irish actor on television, stage and film. Early years Born in Portobello, Dublin into a family who were members of the Church of Ireland, Shields started acting in the Abbey Theatre w ...

as Reverend Kirkland * Griff Barnett as Dr. McIntosh * Sondra Rodgers as Shellie Dabney * Ruby Dandridge as Dabby * Russell Simpson as Big Sam Dabney *

Harry Cording Hector William "Harry" Cording (26 April 1891 – 1 September 1954) was an English-American actor. He is perhaps best remembered for his roles in the films '' The Black Cat'' (1934) and ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938). Life and career ...

as Leader (uncredited) *

Elmo Lincoln Elmo Lincoln (born Otto Elmo Linkenhelt; February 6, 1889June 27, 1952) was an American stage and film actor whose career in motion pictures spanned the silent and sound eras. He performed in over 100 screen productions between 1913 and 1952, a ...

as Sergeant (uncredited)

Reception

''Variety'' wrote that the film earned $2.5 million in rentals in the US. The film recorded a loss of $380,385. On November 18, 2023, Universal remastered Tap Roots in 4K, which was premiered for the first time at The Linda Theatre in Akron, OH during their 75th Anniversary.
, Linda Theatre", 15 November 2023

References

External links

* * * {{Walter Wanger 1948 films Universal Pictures films Films based on American novels American Civil War films Films directed by George Marshall Southern Unionists in the American Civil War Films shot in North Carolina Films shot in Tennessee Films produced by Walter Wanger American historical films 1940s historical films Jones County, Mississippi Films scored by Frank Skinner American Western (genre) films 1948 Western (genre) films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films English-language Western (genre) films English-language historical films

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links