There should be a special genre name for dramas focusing on the so-called sweet southern life. Outside of the mint juleps, magnolia blossoms and happy servants being paid for serving their overly charming employers, there's the memory of slavery, the desire for power and the selfish Belle's that would gladly kill to get the man they want and the disillusioned or insane family matriarch hanging into a dream that never came true. The stories are sprawling and the characters colorful, but unfortunately, this black and white wide screen film is as dusty and depressing as the characters involved in the clichéd story.
Sharecropper's son Ken Scott has been released from a chain gang for an accidental death that he was not responsible for. Returning home, he finds out that the rich girl he loves (Martha Hyer) is engaged to marry doctor Brett Halsey. Her powerful father (Raymond Burr) has a hankering to be governor of Louisiana and wants no scandal shaking things up, so Scott's presence is quite unwelcome. Then, there's Joan Bennett as his seemingly mentally unhinged wife, clinging onto the belief that a dead son is alive. Knowledge of past scandals involving Burr's family has given Scott's father (Douglas Fowley in a part that Walter Brennan would have played 20 years before) an upper hand on retaining his land, so there's plenty of intrigue to be dealt with during the film's 100 minutes.
For the first 20 minutes of the film ("the grabber"), pretty much nothing of interest happens other than a generic introduction to the younger characters. It's obvious that Hyer is a spoiled, selfish modern belle, and that doesn't make her at all a leading character to sympathize with. Burr is the typical powerful blowhard, and while he has the charm that hides a nasty streak, he lacks the commanding southern presence that actors like Burl Ives and Ed Begley had. The wasted Joan Bennett is simply there for the big reveal and while still very attractive, lacks the moments in the script to really build to the big ball drop. Scott is definite eye candy but lacks the charisma of other young rebels with causes. This is one of those letdowns that seemed to have promise, but is basically a large steak where the juicy bits seem surrounded by fat. Trim that fat, and you end up with dog scraps.
Sharecropper's son Ken Scott has been released from a chain gang for an accidental death that he was not responsible for. Returning home, he finds out that the rich girl he loves (Martha Hyer) is engaged to marry doctor Brett Halsey. Her powerful father (Raymond Burr) has a hankering to be governor of Louisiana and wants no scandal shaking things up, so Scott's presence is quite unwelcome. Then, there's Joan Bennett as his seemingly mentally unhinged wife, clinging onto the belief that a dead son is alive. Knowledge of past scandals involving Burr's family has given Scott's father (Douglas Fowley in a part that Walter Brennan would have played 20 years before) an upper hand on retaining his land, so there's plenty of intrigue to be dealt with during the film's 100 minutes.
For the first 20 minutes of the film ("the grabber"), pretty much nothing of interest happens other than a generic introduction to the younger characters. It's obvious that Hyer is a spoiled, selfish modern belle, and that doesn't make her at all a leading character to sympathize with. Burr is the typical powerful blowhard, and while he has the charm that hides a nasty streak, he lacks the commanding southern presence that actors like Burl Ives and Ed Begley had. The wasted Joan Bennett is simply there for the big reveal and while still very attractive, lacks the moments in the script to really build to the big ball drop. Scott is definite eye candy but lacks the charisma of other young rebels with causes. This is one of those letdowns that seemed to have promise, but is basically a large steak where the juicy bits seem surrounded by fat. Trim that fat, and you end up with dog scraps.