Tulsa (1949)

In Tulsa, when a rancher dies during a feud with a major oil company, his daughter, driven by revenge, starts digging for oil herself.

Director:

Stuart Heisler

Writers:

Frank S. Nugent (screenplay) (as Frank Nugent), Curtis Kenyon (screenplay)

Stars:

Susan Hayward, Robert Preston, Pedro Armendáriz

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Susan Hayward	...	Cherokee Lansing
Robert Preston	...	Brad Brady
Pedro Armendáriz	...	Jim Redbird (as Pedro Armendariz)
Lloyd Gough	...	Bruce Tanner
Chill Wills	...	Pinky Jimpson - Narrator
Ed Begley	...	John J. 'Johnny' Brady (as Edward Begley)
Jimmy Conlin	...	Homer Triplette
Roland Jack	...	Steve - Cherokee's Ranchhand

Storyline

It's Tulsa, Oklahoma at the start of the oil boom and Cherokee Lansing's rancher father is killed in a fight with the Tanner Oil Company. Cherokee plans revenge by bringing in her own wells with the help of oil expert Brad Brady and childhood friend Jim Redbird. When the oil and the money start gushing in, both Brad and Jim want to protect the land but Cherokee has different ideas. What started out as revenge for her father's death has turned into an obsession for wealth and power.

---

Plot Keywords:

craps | bourbon | speakeasy | roulette | oil | 

---

Taglines:

Tempestuous loves! Lusty adventures! Violent hates!

---

Genres:

Action | Drama | Romance | Western

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 May 1949 (USA)

Also Known As:

Erde in Flammen

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,158,035 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$1,600,000, 31 December 1949

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walter Wanger Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Producer Walter Wanger originally wanted either Dana Andrews or Robert Mitchum for the role of Brad Brady, but was forced by budget cutbacks to use the less expensive Robert Preston. For the same reason Wanger was compelled to hire Chill Wills to play Pinky Jimpson instead of his first choice, Hoagy Carmichael.

---

Goofs

Although the bulk of the story takes place in the early to mid-1920's, all of Susan Hayward's and Lola Albright's hairstyles and clothing, as well as those of the other female members of the cast, are strictly 1948.

---

Quotes

Pinky Jimpson: [to opera singer] Out in Oklahoma we hadn't had a chance to cotton up to that heavy-breathin' type of singin'.

---

Connections

Featured in Keepers of the Frame (1999)

---

Soundtracks

Old Faithful
(uncredited)
Written by Michael Carr and Jimmy Kennedy
Performed by Chill Wills

User Reviews

Amazingly Good Film

I had no preconceived notion of this film, but it was on a 4 movie DVD set I bought for another movie in the set. Popped it on, and was I surprised. This movie is VERY good. Nicely photographed in color, NEVER boring, well written with a doozy of a disaster at the end that is quite impressive using 1949 special effects. Film concerns the boom town of Tulsa in 1920's and the greed of people and overproduction of oil wells, infringing on the farmers land and poisoning the waterways killing the cattle herds. Nicest bit of the film was the conservation angle about too much oil in boom times ruins the land for the future when they dry up. Good movie.