Made 8 years later, you would swear at the film's beginning that Thomas Mitchell is spouting his words in a black and white version of the 1939 classic "Gone With the Wind."
Surprisingly, there is little violence in this film dealing with 4 months after the civil war ended in Missouri. In the latter state, northern fighters for the state in the war are accused of burning the homes of those who fought and sympathized with the south. That in itself would be enough for violence. Later on, we learn that the old movie rascal, Charles Dingle, has been stirring up trouble between the groups for land speculation purposes.
A drifter, well played by Van Johnson, drifts into the town and goes to work for a suspicious Mitchell, a true southerner during the war. Despite his hard work on the farm, Mitchell is suspicious of him as he doesn't know where his sympathies were during the conflict.
The Mitchell Family anxiously awaits the return of their son from the war. Johnson thinks of a way to unite the people, and the former teacher eventually comes to fight the Dingle people.
This was Janet Leigh's first film as Mitchell's daughter and she conveys quite well the young woman with aspirations of her home. Selena Royle is the determined mother.
Surprisingly, there is little violence in this film dealing with 4 months after the civil war ended in Missouri. In the latter state, northern fighters for the state in the war are accused of burning the homes of those who fought and sympathized with the south. That in itself would be enough for violence. Later on, we learn that the old movie rascal, Charles Dingle, has been stirring up trouble between the groups for land speculation purposes.
A drifter, well played by Van Johnson, drifts into the town and goes to work for a suspicious Mitchell, a true southerner during the war. Despite his hard work on the farm, Mitchell is suspicious of him as he doesn't know where his sympathies were during the conflict.
The Mitchell Family anxiously awaits the return of their son from the war. Johnson thinks of a way to unite the people, and the former teacher eventually comes to fight the Dingle people.
This was Janet Leigh's first film as Mitchell's daughter and she conveys quite well the young woman with aspirations of her home. Selena Royle is the determined mother.