Heart of Dixie (1989)

Three young sorority women try to find love with potential men, while worrying about changes in their way of life when integration begins at their college in 1957 segregated Alabama.

Director:

Martin Davidson

Writers:

Anne Rivers Siddons (novel), Tom McCown (screenplay)

Stars:

Ally Sheedy, Virginia Madsen, Phoebe Cates

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ally Sheedy	...	Maggie DeLoach
Virginia Madsen	...	Delia June Curry
Phoebe Cates	...	Aiken Reed
Treat Williams	...	Hoyt Cunningham
Don Michael Paul	...	Boots Claibourne
Kyle Secor	...	Charles Payton 'Tuck' Tucker
Francesca P. Roberts	...	Keefi (as Francesca Roberts)
Peter Berg	...	Jenks
Jenny Robertson	...	Sister
Lisa Zane	...	M.A.
Ashley Gardner	...	Jean
Kurtwood Smith	...	Professor Flournoy
Richard Bradford	...	Judge Claibourne
Barbara Babcock	...	Coralee Claibourne
Hazen Gifford	...	Dean Howard

Storyline

Alabama, 1957. Pampered Souther belle Maggie DeLoach and her fellow sorority sisters Delia June, Keefi, and chapter president M.A., at Randolph College have lived the cosseted good life, free from worry and the strife that's starting to affect the rest of the Deep South during the Civil Rights movement. But when Maggie meets a liberal and dashing young photographer named Hoyt Cunningham who talks about the impending changes in the South, as well the radical talk from her outgoing classmate Aiken, Maggie knows her life will soon change too.

---

Plot Keywords:

college | alabama | civil rights | southern u.s. | racism | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 August 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Brennender Hass

Filming Locations:

Arkansas, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$367,091, 27 August 1989, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,097,333

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jason Bruce Robertson utilized his 1968 Chevy Camaro SS, as requested due to the need for "older" vehicles. However, it was cut from the film due to continuity issues, with the film supposedly set in the 1950's and not the late 1960's.

---

Goofs

In the final scene with the national guard posted outside the administration building, the air conditioners which are placed prominently in two front windows are certainly not the type or size of air conditioners in 1957.

---

Connections

References Blonde Sinner (1956)

---

Soundtracks

Alpha Chi Delta (Sorority Song)
Written by Kenny Vance and Phillip Namanworth

User Reviews

The film IS worthy of viewing

This film offers the modern viewer born say during the Reagan Administration and well after or into the Civil Rights Movement, a little perspective on what was the socio-political atmosphere in Alabama in 1957, the year in which "Hearts of Dixie" was based. And while this film is no exceptional film by any stretch of the imagination, it is worthy of viewing and comment on several grounds.

For one thing, it reveals the naiveté prevalent among the South and especially young Southerners of the time regarding the race issue, and especially their superficial and almost arrogant attitudes toward it.

The film portrayed these elements with skill and prowess.

The film also examined the social awakening of two of its main and central characters, namely Phoebe Cates' character for one, which was cursorily touched upon, and the role played by Ally Sheehy, the central character in the story. The juxtaposition of her supposed civility and grace mixed with her moral and ethical outrage at the act of injustice at the Elvis concert and afterwards was especially revealing and telling. And her awakening was a true metamorphosis, and the crowd scene shows this, for it allows her Southern-ness to essentially disintegrate and disappear was artful while her new self emerges and into the arms of her hero.

It would appear that the first person who reviewed and panned this film failed to catch as much.

The film itself may have been overacted and a bit contrived, that much is given, but overall the story and screenplay itself was a good and solid one and does not deserve to be panned in the manner in which it was panned. I would urge everyone to view this film with a more critical eye, which means to do so with an eye more toward seeing the film's cinematic merits and detractions and to look beyond just how the actors respond to their roles. For in just regarding an actor's portrayal, you too might be accused of taking the film a little too superficially.