Reconciliação

I really enjoyed this film starring Van Johnson and featuring Janet Leigh in her film debut. It is set in the Ozarks of Missouri after the end of the Civil War. The Civil War is over, but being a border state, there are existing tensions between neighbors who fought on opposing sides. So the movie opens with the following words: "But peace is achieved by the goodwill of people, and not by the flourishing strokes of a pen... "

In this town, everyone is sized up by the color of their britches - blue (Yankee), or gray (Confederate). The war was fought over giving rights to all people, no matter the color of the skin. Now they're fighting over the color of their pants. The harvest has come in, but everyone risks losing their crop in the fields because neighbor won't help neighbor to bring it in.

I liked the cast chosen for the film. Janet Leigh has a fresh, young face in her very first film. She has such delicate features. It's amazing this is Leigh's first film. She seems quite relaxed and natural.The little boy, played by Dean Stockwell - you may recognize him as the crippled boy from "The Secret Garden". The father is played by Thomas Mitchell, who also played the dad in "Gone with the Wind", Gerald O'Hara. Van Johnson is charming as the stranger who wanders in one day - looking for work, shelter and a warm meal - but also has an ulterior motive. He's the right mix of rugged and muscular, mixed in with the boy-next-door approachability. His honest face helps him to pull off his character's purpose (I won't give it away). The mother, played by Selena Royle, is just the right mix of sadness and hope. She is bold to make the first move at the barn dance and asks one of the men from the "other side" to dance. The folk songs are infectious, toe-tapping melodies.

The movie is full of homespun sayings like my grandmother used to say: right as rain, tighter than a gopher hole, wipe the vinegar off your face, "my hunger's powerful enough to lift the lid off the pot",etc. I like the depiction of the sparse and harsh life shown in the film. The location shootings, combined with the sets, create the perfect atmosphere for recreating a bygone era.It's funny when they discuss having a "play" party (a dance where music is played). When it's mentioned to invite everyone from BOTH SIDES in the community, the father says "You can't go mixin' britches!". Hilarious!

My favorite part of the movie is the twist at the end- when there is a fork in the road (Liberty Road), and the truth is revealed. I won't give it away. Some will find it very cliché and a little too obvious. But I liked the use of the fork and what it ended up meaning in the movie.

This was very good story telling, matched with a more than capable cast and adequate cinematography. I don't think you will be disappointed!

The above line is from "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" but a few more like it would have considerably enlivened this sometimes slow but in fact worthy post Civil War drama. However,there are at least two other real winners in the genuine mean style,and even more of the same could have raised this movie to an eight rather than a faltering seven. For example:

Exultant Wife:You'll always remember this day!

Husband:As long as you live I will.

And:

Idealist Jonson:I joined this war because no man should be hated for the color of his skin.

Confederate:It isn't about the color of anyone's skin, I hate the color of the pants you wore when you came down here against us.

Jonson:This thing was really about the color of my pants?

Unfortunately,the overall mood of the film is continuously uncertain.At times it is genuinely reflective and well timed ,at others it verges on the maudlin.Eleanor Parker or young Katherine Hepburn would have made a lot more of a hullabaloo with the same unchallenging script;Janet Leigh is simply too sweet and wholesome for words.

Still despite a couple of ridiculous brief musical spurts,there are a whole troop of fine character actors,including Thomas Mitchel,Marshal Thompson(particularly good in the climatic scene) and my old acquaintance the inimitable O.Z. Whitehead. Moreover,Van Jonson,for once,is not studio typecast and does a fine job throughout,particularly with his barn musicale and in the final scene.

All told, not the gem that it could have been but deserving of a lot better than it has ever yet been credited with.Definitely worth a look for any post Civil war buff or a family looking for a good clean afternoon's entertainment that has something to say.

The director here is man of all work Roy Rowlands.And the reason that I am doing this review is that Rowlands previously directed "Our Vines Have Tender Grapes",one of the high points of American family drama. He apparently never remotely reached such heights again.

The script derives from a story by Pulitzer Prize winner McKinley Kantor,a writer who more than once received less than he deserved by Hollywood.

I found this movie very uplifting and I believe quite true. My grandmother married my grandfather in almost the same situation. He had come to TX and found her while attending a political rally. They fell in love and married almost right away. Her father, a confederate, disowned her an never saw her again, as my grandfather's dad had fought for the Union. As I was watching it was so well done I felt I was there. Van Johnson and Janet Leigh (even though very young and quite new) was real as it gets. Unfortunately the quality of the film is quite poor, but maybe it will be restored and offered for DVD sale. Dean Stockwell did a fantastic job and should have won an award. Also, Missouri being the state seemed almost real.

"The Romance of Rosy Ridge" surprised me a bit. While I assumed it would be a pretty good film given its cast, it turned out to be even better. It's a wonderful little film and I strongly recommend you see it.

The film is set in Missouri 1965--just after the Civil War. Rosy Ridge is a sad community because it was a divided town in a border state and folks fought on both sides during the war. Because of this, there is still a lot of acrimony among the locals--with someone burning barns of the ex-Confederates. One guy, Gill MacBean (Thomas Mitchell) has vowed NEVER to have anything to do with anyone who fought for the Union.

One day, a stranger, Henry Carson (Van Johnson) wanders by the MacBean farm. While Gill isn't very friendly, the rest of the family invites the man in for dinner and soon he ends up staying for some time. Now this stranger isn't a freeloader--he works very hard around the place and he's also very likable. However, when it comes to politics, he says very little and Gill cannot figure out which side this young man might have fought for in the war. If he is a Yankee, this is a serious problem for Gill, as his daughter, Lissy (Janet Leigh--in her first film) is falling for Henry. There is MUCH more to the film than this--but frankly it's better if you just see it for yourself. Suffice to say, there isn't much not to like about this film. The acting is very nice (particular by Johnson), the script superb (offering lots of twists and a wonderful surprise ending) and it's a nice look at American history. Exceptional.

By the way, although it's not the same, you do wonder if the film was the inspiration for the "Andy Griffith Show" episode "A Stranger in Town" as there are some similarities.

Former MGM queen Norma Shearer was vacationing in the Sierras in California and at a ski lodge took notice of the owner's beautiful daughter. She thought that she ought to be in pictures and got her old friends at MGM to give her a look over. They did and signed the girl to a contract and Janet Leigh made her debut in The Romance of Rosy Ridge.

During the Civil War both Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis spent a lot of time worrying about the fate of those border states like Missouri where this story takes place. There was considerable public opinion for both sides and a lot of neighbors fought each other.

Into one Missouri town comes stranger Van Johnson and helps out a Confederate family which lost a son, Marshall Thompson, during the Civil War. Father Thomas Mitchell is suspicious, but his wife Selena Royle and children Dean Stockwell and Janet Leigh take to Johnson right off.

Of course Johnson takes to Leigh right off as well. The people of the area can't seem to reconcile because a whole lot of bad things keep happening and only to Confederate families. Someone has a vested interest in keeping the Civil War going long after Appomattox.

I won't say any more about the plot, but film fans will take one look at the cast and know who's responsible for all the bad things. But also a secret about son Marshall Thompson is revealed before all are reconciled.

The Romance of Rosy Ridge was an auspicious debut for Janet Leigh. You could easily tell what Norma Shearer saw when she served as talent scout for her former studio. Van Johnson gives Janet a lot of support here, very generously allowing her to gain maximum exposure, he seems to have made an effort not to steal any scenes. Van and Janet have a good cast of supporting players as well.

The film has a kind of nostalgic quality like some of John Ford's work. It might have really been a classic had Ford been the director. It's still pretty good as is.