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.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 August 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Brennender Hass

Filming Locations:

Arkansas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$367,091, 27 August 1989

Gross USA:

$1,097,333

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$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.

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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.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Black Rain/Heavy Petting/In Country/A Dry White Season/Heart of Dixie (1989)

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Soundtracks

Since I Met You Baby
Performed by Ivory Joe Hunter
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products
Written by Ivory Joe Hunter
Courtesy of Unichappell Music, Inc.

User Reviews

The book, Heartbreak Hotel, is very worthwhile, no resemblance to the movie.

The book this shameful, waste-of-time movie was based upon is actually quite good. It's called "Heartbreak Hotel" by Anne Rivers Siddons; she writes often about the South and being a mid-westerner, I'm grateful for some of the history and cultural explanations I've gleaned from her novels. Though she frequently can pour it on pretty thickly with lots of words, I find her character development to be good. That's why this movie was so disappointing; everyone was shallow and one-dimensional, there was no attraction for me to see between Maggie and Hoyt. And the sensationalism of Maggie confronting the black woman was blatant pandering and insulting to any of us who grew up during the civil rights years. Shame on the people who re-wrote a decent, moral book into this trashy screenplay! What a waste of talent and money.