Movie Monday Review: The Legend of Tom Dooley

The Legend of Tom Dooley (1959)

Starring: Michael Landon, Richard Rust, Jo Morrow, Jack Hogan, Ken Lynch, and Dee Pollock

Summary

Tom Dooley (Michael Landon) and his friends Country Boy (Richard Rust) and Abel (Dee Pollock) are Confederate soldiers who were sent north to attack the enemy where they can during the Civil War. Unbeknownst to them, however, the war is over and anything they do now will be considered illegal activity. Coming upon a stagecoach with soldiers as passengers, they trio ends up killing a Union soldier, witnessed by the other passengers who inform them that the war is indeed over. The three of them are terrified now and know they must leave quickly.

Country Boy and Tom

Unfortunately, Abel has been shot and is in bad shape. Country Boy urges Tom that they must leave, but Tom has one thing he must do before leaving. Despite being a Confederate soldier, Tom Dooley grew up in Union territory. His beloved girlfriend, Laura (Jo Morrow) is still there and they were to get married after the war. Tom sneaks into Laura’s room and tells her of the situation, but also tells her she must leave with him that night. After getting help for Abel, he says he will return for her and she must pack. Slightly reticent at this, Tom finally convinces her to go with her, for there is no way he can settle there with this new crime against him.

Tom and Laura to marry

Leaving Laura, the three men take off for town. Sneaking in, they get the doctor to help them. Abel is hurt badly, however, and it’s not going as smoothly as they’d like. Nevertheless, the doctor patches Abel up as best he can and the three plan their departure. Everything changes, when the doctor’s grandson alerts the town that the three Confederate “outlaws” are in town. A gunfight ensues and Tom and Country Boy barely get Abel out. Tying Abel to his horse, they take off. Abel is distressed at this, because he doesn’t want to die strapped to a horse. Feeling for his friend, Tom unties him, only for Abel to die a moment later.

Tom with the doctor

Meanwhile, Laura’s father, Mr. Foster (Ken Lynch), discovers that she is packing and ready to leave for good. He doesn’t want his daughter to go and worries that her association with Tom would be hazardous. She believes it is love. Mr. Foster would prefer that Charlie Grayson (Jack Hogan) would marry his daughter, a man who is more stable and certainly not an outlaw. Grayson would love to marry Laura, but begins to realize her heart is taken by Tom.

Tom and Laura embrace

Grayson goes out to find Tom, coming upon him as he buries Abel. Warning him to leave Laura, the two get into a fist fight. Tom gets the upper hand and immediately goes to get Laura. The two of them leave, despite her father’s wishes, and ride far enough out to find a preacher. Tom and Laura are married and begin their trek to Tennessee where they are to meet up with Country Boy and settle down.

Country Boy and Tom with Abel

Meanwhile, Grayson goes to town to talk with the Sheriff. Grayson tells him that he will get Tom Dooley and bring him back for justice, and leaves to begin his journey to catch Tom. He stops off at Mr. Foster’s farm, only to learn that Tom has left with Laura, but soon sets off again, hot on their trail.

Country Boy was to meet up with Tom on their way to Tennessee, but gets waylaid by Union soldiers who are on the lookout for Tom Dooley and his accomplices. Attempting to talk his way out of it, Country Boy is taken back to town by the soldiers. Tom and Laura believe it will be easier to travel by horseback instead of wagon, so with new clothes for Laura the two set off.

Grayson has caught up with them, however, and a shooting match ensues. Tom seems to be doing alright, until he hears Laura scream. He runs to her rescue in time to find that a snake has bitten her boot, thankfully not gone all the way through. Unfortunately, this gives Grayson the opportunity to get the drop on them and he takes them both back to town.

Country Boy is taken back to town as well, and soon realizes that Tom has been taken to jail. This beats all for Country Boy, who knows he must get Tom out, for there’s no chance of him staying alive. Getting the drop on the Union soldiers, Country Boy escapes. Changing uniforms, he makes his way across town. Country Boy passes Laura, who is going back to meet up with her father who wants to take her back home. Country Boy knows that Tom won’t leave without Laura and tells her she has no choice but to go with him so that they can meet up with Tom again later after Country Boy gets him out. She agrees and rides away to their meeting place on the mountain.

Country Boy and Tom

Grayson is in town and he is suspicious still, especially when he sees Laura ride out. He follows her up the mountain. Country Boy gets Tom out of jail and the two of them ride off toward the mountain. Tom is eager to get to Laura, but is only disappointed when they arrive to find her being held captive by Grayson. Tom knows that the Sheriff is on his trail and that this delay by Grayson could be fatal.

Country Boy attempts to shoot Grayson, but gets shot instead, giving Tom the chance to attack Grayson. A fight begins, in an effort to keep the knife from each other, they continue rolling around. Laura can’t stand the thought of Tom getting killed and tries to stop them, but in the mess of it all, gets stabbed herself. Tom immediately stops the fight, in time to be with the woman he loves one last time. Grayson, in one last attempt, tries to shoot Tom, but Country Boy is still alive and he shoots Grayson right after being shot again himself.

Tom is left with Laura…and the Sheriff. She tells Tom that she didn’t regret what happened, for she always wanted to be with him. Tom holds much regret, but has no choice but to go with the Sheriff now that Laura has died. Leaving all of his friends behind, Tom goes with the Sheriff, down in some lonesome valley, poor boy he’s bound to die.

Review

The Legend of Tom Dooley is hardly historically accurate, although based on a true story. A very interesting drama, but one filled with heartache and sorrow. Tom Dooley was doomed to die due to his unwillingness to give up on the woman he loved. In the same way, Country Boy was also doomed to die due to his unwillingness to give up on his best friend. A story of sacrifice and friendship, malice and anger.

The part of Tom Dooley is played well by Michael Landon, who had not yet become known for his role as Joe Cartwright from Bonanza. He puts the perfect emotions and feelings into the part of Tom Dooley, allowing the viewer to get an idea of what Tom is really going through as he walks through the aftermath of the Civil War, however short lived that may be.

The movie is nearly an exact replica of the popular folk song of the time called “Tom Dooley” sung by the Kingston Trio. The movie follows the pattern of the song, so one could say you’d seen the movie if you’d heard the song – and vice versa.

The Kingston Trio

This movie is not one to be categorized as an amazing film or even fantastic storyline, but it is a unique watch. I would, however, watch it early in the day so you can watch something a little happier afterward, as this is not a movie with a happy ending.

Warning: If you do decide to look further into the true story of Tom Dooley, know that it is not as pleasant and upright as the movie portrays it. Knowing that the movie is more of a “story” rather than the true happenings from history, might be enough.

Ellen Nolan