Roseanna McCoy

Probably Samuel Goldwyns's Roseanna McCoy a story based on the real life Hatfield/McCoy feud would be better known and received today if Paramount had not beaten Goldwyn to the hillbilly saga. Their films, The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine and Shepherd Of The Hills cover the subject far better and are in color.

It's Romeo and Juliet once again in a different setting in this film. During a county fair Johnse Hatfield played by Farley Granger meets and flips for young Roseanna McCoy played by newcomer Joan Evans. A hornet stings her and Granger with some first aid with amorous overtones saves her from infection. After that true love will try to win out even over a pair of families who have been feuding for generations.

The clan patriarchs are Charles Bickford and Raymond Massey for the Hatfields and McCoys respectively a pair of actors who could convey merciless hate better than most. The women are pretty good to in that department with Aline McMahon for the McCoys and Hope Emerson for the Hatfields. But the guy to watch in this film is Richard Basehart who did a fine line of psychotics in many of his film roles. He just loves being a Hatfield because it gives him an excuse to kill. A McCoy is just someone he's got permission to shoot at will, they're in 365 day hunting season as far as Basehart is concerned.

Color would have been nice, but some of the rural area of California substituted nicely for the Appalachins. Roseanna McCoy is not a bad film, but I prefer the ones I cited already from Paramount.