Roseanna McCoy (1949) User Reviews

Roseanna and Johnse

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 17 April 2010]

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.

The Hatfields and the McCoys

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 19 April 2010]

Out picking flowers, pretty Joan Evans (as Roseanna McCoy) gets stung by not only a hornet, but also handsome Farley Granger (as Johnse Hatfield). Guess you could call it love at first bite. Of course, their feudin' families ("The Hatfields and the McCoys") are against the young duo getting hitched... The meeting of the hillbilly "Romeo and Juliet" is one of the couple's few good scenes, with Mr. Granger leaping to Ms. Evans' aid, and sucking insect poison from her arm. The original casting idea, to star Cathy O'Donnell from Granger's "They Live by Night" (1948), might have worked. Richard Basehart (as Mounts Hatfield) easily goes to the head of a strong supporting cast. Little Peter Miles (as Randall McCoy) has a memorable shooting scene. And, many of the locations, by Lee Garmes, are beautiful.

***** Roseanna McCoy (8/18/49) Irving Reis ~ Joan Evans, Farley Granger, Richard Basehart, Peter Miles

Romeo and Juliet in the Ozarks: interesting but unconvincing

[rfkeser · 5/10 · 11 December 1999]

For this big, classy production, Sam Goldwyn transposed the Capulet/Montague conflict to the Hatfield/McCoy story. John Collier concocted a quirky screenplay with eccentric details of mountain magic, as well as some droll humor at the expense of the rustics ["Don't talk with your knife in your mouth!"] These efforts sink under the ploddingly literal direction of Irving Reis and the disastrous casting of Joan Evans in the title role [only marginally competent even as an ingenue]. Farley Granger has the appropriate dash for Romeo, but seems too squeaky clean for the squalid Hatfield family. It's still interesting for the exceptionally fine supporting cast and the graceful location camerawork of old master Lee Garmes.

Roseanna McCoy

[CinemaSerf · 6/10 · 27 May 2023]

It's down to the old guard of Charles Bickford ("Hatfield") and Raymond Massey ("McCoy") to inject a bit of personality - bigoted and curmudgeonly - into this old feud western. Grudges galore have prevailed for generations between these two families until "Johnse" (Farley Granger) and the eponymous "Roseanna" (Joan Evans) start to fall for each other. Over their respective dead bodies, say the oldies, but the youngsters are made of solid stock and opinions and entrenchments are going to have to be reviewed if there is any chance of peace breaking out. Massey stands out for me here, he always did manage to portray the puritanical character rather well and he clashes well with Bickford's bloody-minded character too. The rest of this features the odd gunfight but is mostly a rather ponderously paced romantic drama with little chemistry between the lovers nor skill from them as actors either. Frank Loesser wrote the title song, and some of the dialogue is quaintly effective - like in a "Wile E. Coyote" cartoon but the rest of it is little better than standard afternoon feature fayre.

Unlikeable Protagonists Ruin This Movie

[dollpenguin · 3/10 · 17 April 2010]

I really expected to like Roseanna McCoy because it had a really good premise and fine actors. Unfortunately, the way the characters were developed left much to be desired. Johnse Hatfield is introduced as a stalker, which may have been acceptable in 1949. However, I have watched many movies from that era and the way Johnse behaved (supposedly)out of desire for her would never have been acceptable.

Johnse's actions concerning Roseanna McCoy may have been begrudgingly tolerated after a long courtship. But from his first several meetings with her, it is made clear that Johnse is a loathsome and dumb, albeit handsome, brute. I understood Roseanna McCoy was supposed to be extremely naive, but some of the ridiculous choices she made left me wanting to see bad things happen to her. It did not seem like Roseanna cared about anything or anyone, including herself.

The lovers' families were feuding just like in Romeo and Juliet, but that is where the similarities end. Johnse was certainly no Romeo and Roseanna was definitely not Juliette. The love story seemed very forced, and not just because Johnse takes what he wants, world be damned. In the third act, the movie tries to create sympathy for the two characters but it is far too late. Johnse and Roseanna were the two characters I cared about least in the movie.

As other reviewers have stated, the cinematography was excellent in Roseanna McCoy. I just wish the rest of the film had been as fine as the camera-work.

Somewhat unbelievable saga of the Hatfields and McCoys, but what a cast.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 24 September 2011]

Roseanna McCoy (Joan Evans) has come of age to attract boys, and her over-protective family is determined to make sure she stays virtuous. Papa Raymond Massey and mama Aline MacMahon are God-fearing country folk whose feud with the no-good Hatfields goes back generations. When Roseanna meets Johnse Hatfield (Farley Granger), the son of Pa McCoy's worst enemy (Charles Bickford), he bewitches her like Heathcliff did Cathy in "Wuthering Heights". Sucking out the poison in Roseanna from the sting of a hornet, Johnse finds he can't release her from his soul, and no matter how she fights, he is now in her soul as well. Johnse takes her to meet his parents, and while Bickford isn't at all in favor of a Hatfield/McCoy romance, ma Hope Emerson (the year before she got hisses as the nasty matron in "Caged") is little more receptive, even though she tries to hide it. Johnse is determined to prove to the McCoys that he doesn't have the killer instinct they assume all the Hatfields have, but once one of the nastier Hatfields (played by Richard Basehart) shoots Roseanna's younger brother (Marshall Thompson), the war is back on.

This is an attractive film to look at, extremely well acted by a bunch of pros, yet there is little explanation to convince me why these two families hate everybody in the other family with such vengeance. The ending, too (SPOILER ALERT), had me cold, as a sense of good will comes out of nowhere. I don't think in real life, such peace would erupt so quickly out of violence, although there may be some cheering for the way one of the film's villains is dealt with. I longed for a reunion between the matriarch and patriarch of each of the clans, to give further detail to why these families are so reluctant to declare a truce, but they never appear together, except in different shots of the fathers during the final battle.

Unimaginative Story of Star-Crossed Lovers.

[rmax304823 · 2/10 · 17 April 2010]

In the wilderness of Appalachia of the 1890s, the Hatfield clan and the McCoy clan hate each other. A long-time feud is reignited when young Roseanna McCoy runs off with Johnson Hatfield. A battle ensues.

It's Romeo and Juliet in the woods, far more than it's Montagues and Capulets or Hatfields and McCoys. It begins with a cloying love song. Here are some lyrics: "Roseanna, Roseanna, the wind breathes your name." (It's a good thing she wasn't named Betsy.) The focus is on Joan Evans as Roseanna and Farley Granger is Johnse. There is a surprising scene suggestive of rape. Granger has kidnapped Evans and they stand among the pines in the middle of the night. He kisses her forcefully, despite her objections, and pushes her back into a thicket. Dissolve to a glorious sunrise and heavenly music as the two ride a horse in tandem. For all that, Farley Granger is no Sheik of Araby, and Evans is no more than blandly pretty.

This is Hollywood's version of the 19th-century backwoods. Appalachia, you will be surprised to know, was actually sunny and pleasant and had many of the kinds of live oaks found in California. Flowers abounded. You can find other examples of this stylized milieu in "Sergeant York" and "Young Mr. Lincoln," two far better films. I wonder if Central Casting didn't send over the same wrinkled, bearded, tobacco-chewing, old men in battered hats.

The irony is that this movie pretty much sucks and yet has a fine supporting cast. With Hope Emerson and Aline McMahon as the competing matriarchs, it can't be all bad. And the writers, mostly, I would guess, John Collier, have included a subdued but tense scene between Richard Basehart (his hair shellacked in the traditional 1941 Hollywood fashion) and Joan Evans. The room is dark, the only light is from a flickering fire. She holds an empty pistol on him. He is caressing a knife -- and he's mad.

The tale itself -- the senseless, murderous feud between two extended families in a classic Appalachian backwoods culture -- has a great deal of promise. The place names alone evoke the proper atmosphere -- Pike County, The Big Sandy, Kentucky, Pikeville, The Tug Fork. Those names are hardly ever used in the film. Maybe that's one of the reasons this all adds up to one of the dullest movies ever made.

Roseanna, Roseanna, the hills call your name...

[mbking-2 · 9/10 · 2 August 2009]

Call it a guilty pleasure, but I find this movie satisfying on several levels. I was hooked from the opening shot with Lee Garmes' cinematography capturing writer John Collier's evocation of the mysticism of the mountains, enhanced by the choral version of Frank Loesser's theme song. The fact that Joan Evans was a complete unknown discovered in a New York City High School worked for me. She seemed confused and overwhelmed much of the time, which was natural, given Farley Granger's heavy breathing and bodice-ripping efforts in her direction. As previously discussed, the supporting cast is terrific, with Raymond Massey and Charles Bickford as the patriarchs of the opposing families. They clearly enjoyed chewing up the scenery in their respective roles. Aline MacMahon is wonderful as Ma Hatfield, working tirelessly to end the hostility between the families, to little avail. Mention must be made of the youngsters, played by Gigi Perreau, Peter Miles and William Mauch (formerly Billy of the Mauch twins), for whom I felt concern whenever the bullets started to fly. I was most fortunate to view a beautiful 16mm print of the film. Lee Garmes' lighting and compositions are stunning indeed.

Becoming Roseanna Hatfield

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 15 April 2023]

Frank Loesser's romantic ballad 'Roseanna' opens this nicely mounted Samuel Goldwyn film released through RKO. The catchy tune is heard on the soundtrack as beautiful shots of rugged outdoor country are glimpsed on screen. Though the rural footage was shot in California, it all seems like it could take place in West Virginia, where the story is actually set. One of the era's best cinematographers, Lee Garmes, goes to great efforts to provide us with memorable images that evoke hill country.

The lyrics heard on the soundtrack during the opening sequence go like this: 'Roseanna, oh Roseanna, I love her...I love...and now I'll need, I'll evermore need, Roseanna for my very own.' The I is, of course, Farley Granger's character Johnse Hatfield, who will soon meet his soulmate Roseanna McCoy.

Though Johnse and Roseanna both live in the same backwoods area, their feuding families live on opposite sides of Big Sandy River. This is not to say members of their respective clans haven't crossed paths before. Several clashes have already occurred involving older generations that fought and died. But for right now, this is a relatively quiet period of 'peace.' All that will soon change.

The first few scenes show Roseanna's brothers Tolbert (Marshall Thompson) and Little Randall (Peter Miles) and their dogs out hunting, something their pa Randall Sr. (Raymond Massey) doesn't like. He equates hunting with savagery, which is what those horrible Hatfields do. In pa's view, a more noble way to live is to tend to the land and farm it.

Ma Sarie McCoy (Aline MacMahon, in a dignified portrayal of a matriarch that does not rely on cliches) has her own views about the conflict between the two clans. But she stays out of these discussions and instead focuses on bringing up her children, which includes teaching her daughters, teenaged Roseanna (Joan Evans) and younger Allifair (Gigi Perreau), how to become homemakers.

This was Joan Evans' motion picture debut, taking the title role that Goldwyn had originally intended for Cathy O'Donnell. Evans was only 14 at the time, though her parents who were successful screenwriters in Hollywood, added two years to her age. It would be the first of three films that Evans made alongside Granger for Goldwyn.

Interestingly, Joan Evans was named after Joan Crawford, who was her godmother and had been a friend of her folks. Perhaps inspired by her character Roseanna's desire to be married so young, Joan Evans became engaged a short time after completing this movie. In 1952, she was wed at the age of 18, and 70 years later, she and her husband are still married.

Back to our discussion of the film...Evans was obviously still learning the craft of acting when she was cast as Roseanna McCoy, and Farley Granger was never going to earn an Oscar...so it makes sense that Goldwyn supported them with a strong group of character actors.

In addition to Massey and MacMahon, we have Charles Bickford playing Granger's father Devil Anse Hatfield, who is married to a woman named Levisa, portrayed by Hope Emerson. Other supporting roles are filled by Arthur Franz, as the guy that Roseanna's supposed to marry, before she becomes charmed by Granger at the summer fair; as well as Mabel Paige as a cud chewing granny. Oh, and we cannot forget to mention Richard Basehart.

Basehart plays a Hatfield relative who likes to stir up trouble. If this is a tale inspired by Romeo & Juliet, then we can probably say that Basehart's character is essentially Tybalt. The actor was fresh off a deranged role in REPEAT PERFORMANCE and a villainous turn in the noir thriller HE WALKED BY NIGHT. He is equally menacing here as a rabble rouser who causes considerable problems for both families. Due to an altercation he starts, tensions increase and violence erupts.

Part of me wondered if we would have a tragic ending, like the one written in Shakespeare's version of the star-crossed couple. But fortunately, Goldwyn does not take us in that direction, and despite a big showdown with everyone caught in the crossfire, the young lovers are spared. Other members of the two warring clans do bite the dust, but Johse and Roseanna get to enjoy happiness. The final shot of the film is them riding away from the carnage on horseback to find a preacher so they can properly be married.

Again we hear Frank Loesser's ballad assuring us that Johnse won't be separated from Roseanna because he loves her and needs her evermore for his very own.