Tulsa (1949)

Don't Believe the Hype

Admirable film.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Susan Hayward plays a woman named Cherokee, to convince the audience she's part Native American. If she was fully white, the audience would never accept a love triangle between Robert Preston and Pedro Armendariz, a Mexican playing a full Native American. As it is, the film doesn't really treat Pedro with the same respect and chances that it gives to Robert Preston. Susan lives in Tulsa, Arizona, and the majority of the film is the pursuit of discovering oil on her land. It's incredibly boring. If you want to watch an oil movie, watch Giant. Neither she nor Robert are portrayed as particularly good people, so how are you supposed to root for either of them? Add in the proverbial "aw-shucks" hick character played by Chill Wills, and you'll find yourself leaving the room for more popcorn without pressing pause.Until I watched Tulsa, I thought Susan Hayward was immune to the slew of bad movies most actors make in his or her lifetime. She's one of my all-time favorite actresses, but even she has made some doozies. Save your time and watch a good Susan Hayward movie instead.

It's perhaps ironic that I chose to watch this film on the day it was announced that Larry Hagman died, the iconic J.R. Ewing of TV 'Dallas' fame who became the poster child for greedy oil barons everywhere. I'm curious why this film doesn't have more reviews, as most folks writing about it express their surprise at how intriguing the story line is. It's not like the movie is hard to find, it has a ubiquitous presence in bargain bins and large film compilations to make it quite readily available.Susan Hayward is the dominant force in the story, daughter of a cattle baron who alternates loyalties as the picture progresses between cattle ranchers and those leading the charge in the fledgling oil industry. The character who surprised me the most was old Charlie Lightfoot (Chief Yowlachie) who quickly abandoned his native culture's pride in the land to capitalize on a quick buck. Robert Preston, Pedro Armendariz and Lloyd Gough are all effective as on again/off again business allies and rivals, as well as competitors for Cherokee Lansing's (Hayward) affections.From today's standpoint, it's interesting to examine the mindset that once existed regarding oil as a finite resource subject to running out at a particular point in time. Modern day discoveries and new technologies are set to insure that our country's vast untapped resources will soon make us the new Saudi Arabia in both oil and natural gas production with hundreds of years of supply at current usage rates. Plenty of time to develop alternative energy resources if left to private enterprise entrepreneurs instead of the government picking winners and losers, or as is mostly the case - losers.

I had put off watching Tulsa for almost 2 years before i actually watched it,i never seen a Susan Hayward film before,and i was impressed by her acting,and thought she was very attractive.the story is simple enough,Susan Hayward plays Cherokee who is part Indian,her father is killed from an oil well disaster.the oil well is near their cattle ranch,and the oil has killed off their cattle.well anyway Cherokee vows revenge on the death of her father and goes after the oil tycoon wanting him to pay for the cattle that were killed.she later turns into an oil tycoon herself with the help of a geologist played by Robert Preston(last star-fighter,victor Victoria)then she starts to turn greedy.Tulsa is a well made movie and i notice its also a public domain movie,i bought mine for a dollar,it has a second feature called perils of Pauline,never seen it yet but perhaps i'll save it for a rainy day.Tulsa is filmed in color,it was released in 1949.Tulsa gets 8 out o0f 10.good movie.i recommend.

This film took me by complete surprise with great acting by veteran actors, Susan Hayward, (Cherokee Lansing) and Robert Preston, (Brad Brady). The film starts out with Cherokee and her father who raise cattle on their ranches in Tulsa, Oklahoma and one day they find all their cattle dying along a stream of water and as they smell the water, they realize the oil refining business was contaminating the soil and killing the cattle. Cherokee goes with her father to tell them about what their oil business is doing to their cattle and while they are talking, an oil structure struck oil and a large part of a building fell on her father and killed him. It was from this point in the film when Cherokee Lansing decided to get revenge for her father's death and declares war on the oil men and their owners. There is plenty of action and even some romance. There is great photography of a fire burning through an oil field and people risking their lives in order to save their oil fields and friends and family.