Tulsa

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.

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.

No need to repeat the plot. Darn few actresses can dominate a "man's picture" like Tulsa the way Susan Hayward does. What an exceptional combination of beauty and boldness she was. The production values of this non-studio project are unusually well targeted. Without them, the movie would be little more than a good programmer instead of the sleeper it is. Credit those values (special effects, location shooting, etc.) to producer Walter Wanger, who proved he had an eye for quality material, both big budget and small, e.g. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). Credit too, under-rated director Stuart Heisler with a sense of pacing and an ability to redeem difficult material with intelligent touches, e.g. Beachhead (1954), Storm Warning (1951), etc.

I especially like the nightmare montage of Redbird's (Armendariz) after he's set fire to the wells. Up to that point, the derricks have been portrayed as stately umbilical cords of wealth and progress, the life's blood of the city and state. So it's a surprise to see them suddenly depicted as hulking black monsters threatening everything around them. Contrast that dark depiction with the uncritically sunny, yet thematically similar, mega-hit Giant (1956). It doesn't take much extrapolation to update Redbird's vision to the oil-based crisis of today; at the same time, the values that evolve among the movie's characters show a surprising sensitivity to the need for a sustainable environment.

I also like the way Indian Charlie Lightfoot (Yowlatchie) is shown as excelling at white man ways by becoming a shrewd businessman. Too often Hollywood portrayed Indians at extremes, either as bloodthirsty savages or as noble primitives, but rarely as 3-dimensional human beings. The screenplay may pander at times, especially with Pinky (Wills), but it's also unusually well-rounded for its period. I guess my only reservation is with the splendid special effects. Those burning oil fields are just so incredibly hot, it's impossible to see Brady (Preston) enter the inferno with little more than a squirt of water. Nonetheless, in my little book, the movie is a definite sleeper. True, as the lovelorn outsider, Pedro Armendariz is no quirky James Dean. Yet, despite its relative obscurity, Tulsa is as well-acted and carries as much depth as its sprawling, better-known counterpart, Giant.

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 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.