In
1860, "
Big Sam" Dabney, the founder of the Dabney plantation in
Levington,
Mississippi, urges his granddaughter
Morna to marry her military officer beau,
Clay MacIvor, before he dies. Morna begins to feel her elderly grandfather's urgency when she realizes her younger sister Aven is also interested in Clay. Clay, however, feels that they should delay their wedding, as civil war is imminent.
Learning that Mississippi plans to leave the
Union upon
Lincoln's election, Big Sam collapses and dies. Incensed by an editorial about his grandfather, Morna's brother
Bruce is later stopped from challenging
Keith Alexander, the rakish publisher and editor of
The Mississippi Whig , to a duel by
Tishomingo, Big Sam's
Choctaw Indian friend.
Keith rides to the Dabney plantation on the pretext of making amends and quickly runs afoul of Clay. Upon Lincoln's election, Clay leaves Levington for
Washington, refusing Morna's pleas to marry. With Clay away, Keith begins his courtship of Morna.
Meanwhile, Morna's father Hoab makes plans to annex Levington
Valley from Mississippi and declare it a neutral area, and, though skeptical, Keith agrees to give Hoab his newspaper's support.
Later, Morna is paralyzed in a horseback riding accident, so the illegitimate Keith, having fallen in love with her, writes his powerful father in Washington to request an emergency leave for Clay. Upon his return to Levington, Clay refuses to break his engagement to the invalid Morna, yet begins a romance with Aven. As the secession of the southern states from the Union begins, Hoab and his supporters rally to the neutral Levington, and Clay, a
Confederate loyalist, is ordered to leave the valley. He and Aven then elope, breaking Morna's heart. Though Dr. MacIntosh declares Morna's disability untreatable, Tishomingo begins
Indian massage therapy, and months later, Morna begins to regain movement in her legs. Keith then makes his now honorable intentions clear, but Hoab warns him that Morna is still hopelessly in love with Clay
. In the meantime, Clay uses his knowledge of the Dabneys' land to prepare for a Confederate assault on Levington, which includes blockading of the valley's supply lines to the
Gulf of Mexico. As the rainy season begins, Keith heads south with three hundred men in hopes of bringing new supplies to Levington by mule trains. Tishomingo and Bruce, however, capture one of Clay's men, and learn that a Confederate attack upon the valley from the north is imminent.
Knowing that Keith is twelve hours away, Morna rides to the Confederate camp to meet with Clay. Upon learning of Morna's plan, Tishomingo rides ahead to stop her, but is shot and killed by a Confederate sentry. Morna then seduces Clay, delaying the attack long enough for
Keith's men to be recalled to Levington. The next morning, Morna tells Clay why she seduced him, but he, in turn, informs her that he used the time to move his cannons forward, realizing with her arrival that a surprise attack was impossible. As the Confederate attack begins, Keith orders his men to retreat into the swamps from the cannon fire. The Levington men are defeated nevertheless, but the sharpshooter Keith manages to kill Clay before the battle ends. Afterward, Morna returns to her family, and Hoab accuses her of disloyalty. Keith, however, states that her actions were heroic and openly proclaims his love.
Finally realizing his responsibility in the destruction of the Dabney plantation, Hoab collapses and dies in his wife Shellie's arms. Keith then tells Morna that her family legacy will survive, as long as the tap root upon which Big Sam proclaimed his ownership lives on.
Van Heflin ... Keith Alexander
Susan Hayward ... Morna Dabney
Boris Karloff ... Tishomingo
Julie London ... Aven Dabney
Whitfield Connor ... Clay MacIvor
Ward Bond ... Hoab Dabney
Richard Long ... Bruce Dabney
Arthur Shields ...
Reverend Kirkland
Griff Barnett ... Dr. MacIntosh
Sondra Rodgers ... Shellie Dabney
Ruby Dandridge ... Dabby
Russell Simpson ... Big Sam Dabney
- published: 21 May 2016
- views: 193