From Beneath
Susan Hayward plays Cherokee Lansing (part Cherokee, incredibly), strong-willed daughter of proud Oklahoma cattleman Nelse Lansing (Harry Shannon), himself dead before ten minutes of Tulsa (1949) have passed.
While inspecting cattle with his daughter and main hand, Jim Redbird (Mexican actor Pedro Armendariz playing, of course, a Native American), Mr. Lansing finds dozens of his cows dead from drinking oil-polluted creek water. A nearby oil well, owned by Bruce Tanner (Lloyd Gough), gushes, breaking up parts of the derrick's structure. Lansing gets crushed to death after haranguing Tanner's employees about the oil killing his cows. Cherokee Lansing vows vengeance.
First, she wants from Tanner $20,000 to replace the dead cows. His lawyer gives her the runaround. Hooking up with family friend Pinky Jimpson (Chill Wills, who also narrates the film), she's given, through a series of Hollywood-type coincidences and fortunate circumstances, deeds to land adjacent to Tanner's. The bestower of this gift, John J. Johnny Brady (Edward Begley), drops dead conveniently before Cherokee can return his present. She begins drilling for oil. No luck until a geologist, Brad Brady (Robert Preston), arrives and shows her amateur crew the ropes. A scientist, Brad knows deep oil drilling. It's inevitable, after the first gusher, that Brad will deep drill Cherokee Lansing.
She becomes an oil queen. Tulsa grows into an oil city. Jim Redbird stubbornly retains his land for his grazing cattle. Jim Redbird has to watch as Brad Brady takes up Cherokee's affections. Brady, though, takes a backseat to her growing ambition. She gets closer to the formerly hated Tanner. Between the two of them, their oil fortunes drive them closer to the corrupt power circles of state government. Brad Brady doesn't like where his woman is headed.
Their dispute is resolved by Jim Redbird's accidentally on purpose arson of some of Cherokee's oil field. He comes across some of his dead cattle--the oil again. No one arrests him at the end, no one besides a lot of cows die, but Brad Brady heroically enters the flaming areas on a bulldozer to rescue Cherokee. Even Tanner, such a smooth prick through most of the movie, is impressed with his rival's courage.
In the end, all is well (or oil is well) and the land more polluted. What makes this country go can be seen in the surroundings of Tulsa. In this film, nothing related to the oil industry is criticized, except by the powerless voice of Jim Redbird, who undergoes something akin to a competency hearing by a judge who determines his sanity based on whether or not he wants to sell his land to oilmen and the oil woman, Cherokee, who used to be his love interest. He must be crazy to turn down a generous offer of good money, wanting to preserve his acres for the sake of not turning the land into a slick muddy mess. It's sane, rather, to destroy the ground one stands on. Jim Redbird's views, though noble, don't win out, as can be learned from examining our world now.
Vic Neptune
Susan Hayward plays Cherokee Lansing (part Cherokee, incredibly), strong-willed daughter of proud Oklahoma cattleman Nelse Lansing (Harry Shannon), himself dead before ten minutes of Tulsa (1949) have passed.
While inspecting cattle with his daughter and main hand, Jim Redbird (Mexican actor Pedro Armendariz playing, of course, a Native American), Mr. Lansing finds dozens of his cows dead from drinking oil-polluted creek water. A nearby oil well, owned by Bruce Tanner (Lloyd Gough), gushes, breaking up parts of the derrick's structure. Lansing gets crushed to death after haranguing Tanner's employees about the oil killing his cows. Cherokee Lansing vows vengeance.
First, she wants from Tanner $20,000 to replace the dead cows. His lawyer gives her the runaround. Hooking up with family friend Pinky Jimpson (Chill Wills, who also narrates the film), she's given, through a series of Hollywood-type coincidences and fortunate circumstances, deeds to land adjacent to Tanner's. The bestower of this gift, John J. Johnny Brady (Edward Begley), drops dead conveniently before Cherokee can return his present. She begins drilling for oil. No luck until a geologist, Brad Brady (Robert Preston), arrives and shows her amateur crew the ropes. A scientist, Brad knows deep oil drilling. It's inevitable, after the first gusher, that Brad will deep drill Cherokee Lansing.
She becomes an oil queen. Tulsa grows into an oil city. Jim Redbird stubbornly retains his land for his grazing cattle. Jim Redbird has to watch as Brad Brady takes up Cherokee's affections. Brady, though, takes a backseat to her growing ambition. She gets closer to the formerly hated Tanner. Between the two of them, their oil fortunes drive them closer to the corrupt power circles of state government. Brad Brady doesn't like where his woman is headed.
Their dispute is resolved by Jim Redbird's accidentally on purpose arson of some of Cherokee's oil field. He comes across some of his dead cattle--the oil again. No one arrests him at the end, no one besides a lot of cows die, but Brad Brady heroically enters the flaming areas on a bulldozer to rescue Cherokee. Even Tanner, such a smooth prick through most of the movie, is impressed with his rival's courage.
In the end, all is well (or oil is well) and the land more polluted. What makes this country go can be seen in the surroundings of Tulsa. In this film, nothing related to the oil industry is criticized, except by the powerless voice of Jim Redbird, who undergoes something akin to a competency hearing by a judge who determines his sanity based on whether or not he wants to sell his land to oilmen and the oil woman, Cherokee, who used to be his love interest. He must be crazy to turn down a generous offer of good money, wanting to preserve his acres for the sake of not turning the land into a slick muddy mess. It's sane, rather, to destroy the ground one stands on. Jim Redbird's views, though noble, don't win out, as can be learned from examining our world now.
Vic Neptune
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