Many movies have been made about the American Civil War, since it was one of the most strife-filled times in U.S. history. Arguably, the most famous Civil War movie from Hollywood’s Golden Era is “Gone with the Wind” from 1939, but this Academy Award-winner paved the way for more movies set in the Old South by proving that the War Between the States could be a very dramatic setting.
“The Romance of Rosy Ridge” from 1947 is a unique movie in this category, because it takes place after the Civil War has ended. It stars Van Johnson, Thomas Mitchell, and 19-year-old Janet Leigh in her film debut. The thought-provoking story, based on the novel of the same name by MacKinlay Kantor, deals with the challenges of healing after a war, as neighbors must forgive each other and learn to be friends again. It contains a poignant message about how hostility between neighbors can destroy a community.
The film begins with this message:
“In the Spring of the year 1865, the Civil War, bitterest, bloodiest struggle in America’s history, came to an end. The people in border states like Missouri had divided against themselves. Neighbors, even families, had fought on opposite sides. Now it was over. The generals had signed the terms of surrender and the statesmen the terms of peace. ... But peace is achieved by the goodwill of people, and not by the flourishing strokes of a pen.”
The Story
This story centers around the MacBean family—Southerners who live in the small farming community of Rosy Ridge, Missouri. The family includes the stubborn Confederate father, Gill (Mitchell), his wife, Sairy (Selena Royle), their nearly grown daughter, Lissy Anne (Leigh), and a young son, Andrew (Dean Stockwell). They also have a grown son, Ben, but he hasn’t returned from the war, and they’re beginning to think he will never come back. Since the war ended, Rosy Ridge has been torn apart by political prejudice, since half the people in town supported the Union while the other half supported the Confederacy. Recently, Southerners’ barns have been burned down in the night, but no one is sure which Yankees are responsible for these attacks. Meanwhile, the farmers aren’t able to harvest their crops, because they are too busy feuding with their neighbors to ask them for help.One evening, a stranger named Henry Carson (Johnson) wanders up to the MacBean farm. The friendly young man says he’s just a wanderer, and they invite him in for supper. While Gill tries to determine the color of his britches to ascertain his political leanings, the rest of the family is enchanted by their fun-loving guest. They invite him to spend the night. The next morning, Gill finds him wearing checkered britches, just to throw him off the track, and doing work around the farm. Against Mr. MacBean’s better judgment, he lets Henry stay, and he sets to work in making improvements on the property. In the meantime, he and Lissy Anne begin to grow fond of each other.
The MacBeans eventually learn that Henry was once a schoolteacher. However, he will tell them little else about his background. He carefully evades Gill’s questions about whether he is a Yankee or a Confederate. In addition to maintaining and improving the MacBeans’ land, Henry encourages amicable storekeeper Cal Baggett (Guy Kibbee) to host a sociable with music and dancing to get the townsfolk together. All the MacBeans except Gill support these efforts to reunite the community of Rosy Ridge, but they can’t help feeling that Henry is hiding something. Does their new friend have a secret that he doesn’t want them to find out?
The Battle of the Britches
“The Romance of Rosy Ridge” shows the folly and danger of fighting against your fellow countrymen. Although the Civil War has ended, many citizens in the film want to keep it going in their community by harboring hostility and animosity toward their neighbors. This prejudice isn’t based on religious differences, opposing belief systems, or contrary traditions and customs. It’s based on nothing more than a political affiliation held during the past military conflict—but that’s enough to tear the community apart. The hard feelings in town are being aggravated by the numerous barn burnings, which eventually happen to families from both sides.Gill MacBean is the personification of the whole issue, since he’s the stubbornest landowner in town. He’s a very sore loser, since he refuses to forgive his Northern neighbors for the fact that the Confederacy was unable to break away. He doesn’t care if his land goes to ruin and his family starves, just so long as he sticks to his principles. Fighting for what you believe and refusing to give in is admirable, but the Lost Cause of the Confederacy was hardly worth losing your livelihood by this point. Gill never fought in the war himself, nor did he ever use slave labor on his property. There don’t seem to be any black people in this community, so the actual issues behind the conflict appear to be a moot point for these individuals. He just believes that it is his duty as a loyal Southerner to defend Cause, even though he knows that the fight is over. The depth of his prejudice is summed up by his line, “I'd rather have the crops rot in the ground than neighbor up with a Northerner.”
It’s understandable that one would struggle to be friendly toward his enemy in war, but the unfortunate thing is this enemy has been his neighbor for years. The state of Missouri, where this story takes place, borders the Mason-Dixon Line, which divided the North from the South. Technically, however, it was a Southern state, which would explain why the Southerners consider their Union-supporting neighbors as traitors. The concept of determining a man’s beliefs based on the color of his pants is quite ludicrous, but it’s an integral part of this story. Although it’s discussed a lot, the meanings behind the colors are never really explained. The colors in question are the uniforms of the Civil War armies, gray for Confederate soldiers and dark blue for Union soldiers. It’s interesting that the color of one’s pants in particular is such a decisive issue for Gill, since no one is in uniform. Perhaps some men continued wearing pants the color of their side’s uniform, or maybe it’s symbolic of judging a person by his color instead of his personal merit.
The Lesson of Rosy Ridge
“The Romance of Rosy Ridge” lost money at the box office when it was originally released, yet it is an excellent film. I highly recommend it as a historical piece which manages to balance its serious themes with plenty of humor and heartwarming moments. From its description on Amazon Prime Video, I assumed that this would be one of those period dramas which is very well made but is difficult to watch because of its intense subject matter, but that isn’t the case. I found it thoroughly delightful throughout, since it struck the right balance between meaningful topics and touching family and romantic scenes. The acting is excellent. Janet Leigh does an excellent job as a farmer’s daughter, creating a character who is sweet and obedient yet strong in spirit with deep emotions. Selena Royle gives an inspiring performance as the devoted farm wife and mother, who guides her family with love and wisdom. Thomas Mitchell is perfect as Gill MacBean, a lovable father who cares about his family but whose stubbornness can be infuriating. Young Dean Stockwell completes the family as the cute younger brother. Van Johnson’s performance stood out to me, since he was uniquely secretive. This boy next door actor was usually very frank in his characterizations, so I was very impressed by the depth and mystery he conveyed while never losing his air of sincerity.It’s so interesting that color plays such an integral role in the story, yet the movie is in black-and-white. This makes it so much more effective, since the audience can’t determine the color of Henry’s britches when he first appears any more than Gill can. Some hues can be differentiated in black-and-white film, but Henry’s britches are frustratingly ambiguous. Before we have long enough to draw some conclusions about his clothing’s color, he switches into checkered pants, which he wears thereafter. The filmmakers wanted to keep the audience guessing about Henry for most of the movie, just as the character himself doesn’t want Gill to judge him by his appearance in the story.
This story is very poignant for today’s battle. Just like the town of Rosy Ridge, our country is being torn apart by opposing belief systems, stemming from two separate political parties. The two-party system has existed throughout American history, but it seems like political matters have escalated from an uncomfortable topic at family holiday gatherings to daily issues in the last few years. Just like the two sides of the Civil War, these two groups have very different beliefs, but they are both Americans. Just like the citizens of Rosy Ridge, all too often we judge someone by the color of his britches without looking at his character. Just because we disagree with his side of the fight, does that mean we have to shun him as a neighbor and despise him as a person? Each side believes the other is doing all the barn burning, but in truth, it’s not being done by either group of citizens. The barns are being burnt by an individual who wants to create conflict among the people so he can destroy the community for his own purposes, just as there are individuals who want to destroy American society today. If we can unmask these manipulators, we can render them powerless. That is the lesson of Rosy Ridge.
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