4/5 An Exciting and Realistic Story
  by Evangeline (Flint Hills)
Tulsa tells the story of a woman who is so hellbent on avenging her father's death that she betrays her ranching family's values of fair dealing and natural conservation. Susan Hayward's transition from a grieving daugther to an ambitious businesswoman is very believable because from the beginning we see she is used to attracting attention not just for her vitality and beauty, but because of her "wild" and strong-willed nature. It's the perfect recipe for a crisis of character. Blinded by her beauty and sympathetic to her great loss, two of the men in her life fall hard for her, setting the stage for heartbreak and disallusionment. In the business world her glamour and hardness attract even more admirers, included her sworn enemy - the oilman responsible for her father's death.

The supporting cast of men is excellent and I was especially impressed with the effects, particularly during the scene where the oil fields are on fire.

4/5 cattle wildcat becomes oil wildcatter
  by W. Walker (westminster md)
Susan Hayward and Robert Preston star in this story about a wildcat wildcatter. In my opinion, this was one of Susan's most appropriate roles, given her purported "sock it to 'em" personality, no doubt eminating from her grinding poverty as a child. I don't understand why this film is not even mentioned in rundowns of her major film roles. She plays the tough-as-nails Cherokee Lansing, part Native American daughter of a cattleman in the expanding oil country near Tulsa OK of the 1920s.
She looks great whether on horseback or elegantly dressed in her mansion after becoming oil wealthy. Quite a few westerns dramatized the conflicts between cattlemen and sod busters or between cattlemen and sheepherders. This film dramatizes the conflict between traditional cattle interests and the emerging oil interests. Cherokee personifies this conflict, as she transforms from an irate spokeswoman for cattle interests into a leading promoter of oil interests, then backtracks under pressure from her sometimes fiance Brad Brady(Robert Preston) and her Native American friend Jim Redbird, to promote a more balanced coexistence of cattle and oil interests. As often happens in such conflict stories, there is a disaster sequence, perpetrated by the established interests, to try to get rid of the invaders. In this case, it is a spectacular oil field fire, well done. The prepetrator, Jim Redbird, could claim he was just trying to get rid of the oil seep that was killing his cattle, and the fire he set happened to spread to the adjacent oil field.
This is at least the second film in which Susan was paired romantically with Robert Preston's character, the other being "Reap the Wild Wind", in which both die, in supporting roles. Preston generally played supporting roles, often as wishy washy villains, before mostly moving back to stage productions. Here, he does an excellent job as the top billed male, Brad Brady. His relationship with Cherokee undergoes a rollercoaster ride, starting very low and ending on a high note. The son of "Crude Oil Johnny", who implausibly signed over his oil prospecting leases to Cherokee just before being killed in a barroom brawl,Brady shows up unexpectedly at Cherokee's drill site, fresh from a degree in petroleum engineering. He teams up with Jim Redbird in recommending a conservative approach to exploiting any oil found. In contrast, Bruce Tanner(Lyold Gough), the reigning "oil king" of the region wants to drill many wells and pump out the oil as fast as possible. At first seen as an adversary by Cherokee, eventually she agrees to cooperate and do things Tanner's way, not Brady's way. Tanner even proposes marriage when he is thinking of running for governor, thus uniting the "oil king" and "oil queen" of Tulsa. Jim Redbird also has romantic hopes with Cherokee. The oil field fire then becomes the focus. In the aftermath, Cherokee rethinks things and makes her final choice of policy and lover.
This film invites comparisons with the previous film "Boomtown", staring Gable, Tracy, Colbert and Lamarr. They are both excellent stories, in my opinion, if sometimes implausible, relating to the building of oil empires in the early 20th century. Some reviewers, no doubt, will strongly prefer one over the other. There are several obvious differences. Boomtown was shot in B&W, not in the Technicolor of the present film. The chief wildcatters were Gable and Tracy. Much of the
film deals with their up and down relationship, somewhat similar to the
up and down relationships between Cherokee and Brady and between
Cherokee and Tanner. "Boomtown" does not explore conflicts of interest between cattlemen and oil developers. Both films end up with the principals promoting stategies for prolonged production rather than maximal short term output. They both include a spectacular oil field fire that threatens to destroy fortunes. Chill Wills, a native Oklahoman, is the only actor I am aware of who was in both films. In "Tulsa", he served as the occasional narrator and as a secondary acquaintance of Cherokee. He seemed to spend most of his time singing the title song "Tulsa" in a local entertainment establishment. Lloyd Gough serves as a charming, if sometimes double dealing, Bruce Tanner. Gough's film career started late and lasted only a few years, after which he served various minor roles in TV series.

5/5 A CLASSIC OF SUSAN HAYWARD.....
  by Gary W. Jasinkonis
I HAVE BEEN A PASSIONATE FAN OF SUSAN HAYWARD FOR OVER THIRTY YEARS AND HAVE COLLECTED NEARLY ALL HER FILMS THROUGHT THE VAST EVOLUTION OF VIDEO. SUSAN IS ONE OF THE GREATEST AND CLASSIEST STARS TO HAVE EVER GRACED THE CINEMA AND HER ACTING IS AS STRONG AND VIBRANT AND RELEVANT TODAY AS IT WAS WHEN HER FILMS WERE PRODUCED. TULSA IS ONE OF HER STRONGEST AND ENTERTAINING PERFORMANCES. THIS STORY OF OKLAHOMA OIL-DRILLING IN THE 1920S IS SUPERBLY PRODUCED, WRITTEN AND DIRECTED WITH A SUPERB CAST AS SUSAN HAYWARD, ROBERT PRESTON PEDRO ARMENDARIZ AND LLOYD GOUGH BRING A LOT OF CLASS TO THIS GEM. THIS FILM IS HIGHLY RELEVANT TO TODAY'S WORLD WITH SO MUCH FOCUS ON ENERGY AND OIL. TULSA HAS BEEN AVAILABLE OVER THE YEARS IN MEDIOCRE PUBLIC DOMAIN VERSIONS. MY RESEARCH INTO THIS PICTURE INDICATES THAT THE VAULT NEGATIVE WHICH WOULD YIELD A RESTORED PRINT AT ONE TIME BELONGED TO UNITED ARTISTS. PERHAPS IT IS IN THE ARCHIVES OF MGM OR CBS WHICH HAS HAD RIGHTS TO UNITED ARTISTS MATERIAL OVER THE YEARS. TULSA WAS ORIGINALY RELEASED BY THE INDEPENDENT EAGLE-LION A COMPANY OF PRODUCER WALTER WANGER. IT WAS RERELEASED IN 1952 (I HAVE LOBBY CARDS FROM THIS REISSUE). IT WOULD BE DEVINE TO SEE A RESTORED VERSION OF TULSA AND THIS EXCELLENT, ENTERTAING CINEMA DESERVES THIS TREATMENT. IN THE MEANTIME LET US ALL SALUTE AND CONTINUE TO LOVE THE FILMS OF THE GREAT LADY AND STAR MS. SUSAN HAYWARD.........A VERY DEVOTED AND LOVING FAN.........GARY JASINKONIS........EAST NORTHPORT, NY....P.S. SUSAN.........SEE YOU ON THE LATE SHOW...........GARY A FOREVER FAN....



























3/5 Actually three and a half stars
  by
This review refers to the Alpha Video (Gotham) DVD.

Overall Quality of DVD: **1/2 /**** Sound: ** /**** Plot: **1/2 /**** Acting: ***/**** Cinematography: ***/**** Direction: **1/2 /****

The story is surprising in the fact that it deals with concern for conservation , the environment and treatment of native indians.

Of course, the oil companies paid no attention then nor now.

All the actors do very well - nothing great but very solid. Director Stuart Heisler is a good "B" director but I disagree with the reviewer that stated he "MADE" Susan Hayword a star. If anything Susan Hayword made him look decent just as Humphrey Bogart does with "Tokyo Joe".

The rear-projection scenes of the oil fields on fire are nearly flawless - I mean, I could not note the telltale signs of rear-projection (things appearing out of proportion or hazy etc.).

In my opinion, it's worth the asking price.

4/5 Conservation first
  by Jacques COULARDEAU (OLLIERGUES France)
One will say one more film about oil in Oklahoma. But this film is different. It brings together several questions that are extremely important. First the alliance between the white entrepreneurs and the Indians. The Indians are divided on the question of the conservation of their land as grazing land, as cattle-raising land due to the easy money oil brings in. We will note that justice does not hear conservationist arguments. Second the position of women in this adventure and women are shown as entrepreneurial just like men, equal to men, though they can use their charms to convince people of the value of their decisions, not force but soft conviction. Third the problem of conservation : how can the land not be ruined and wasted by oil exploitation ? The answer is to do it in a non-intensive way because this intensive method gets a lot of oil in a short period of time, but it also ruins the land through pollution. The answer is in an exploitation that leaves the land clean and usable all the time for cattle or other activities. Then the money brought in is less massive in a short period of time but regular for a long period of time. Such a way is defended by scientists and engineers but opposed by entrepreneurs. It is an accident that will determine the state and various congressional representations to regulate oil exploitation in such a way that nature is not spoiled. Fourth oil culture is not just the exploitation of crude oil, but it creates a whole network of services and roads for the cars that use that oil to run and refill when necessary. It is a structurizing activity whose social consequences are extremely far-reaching. A very well done film on very modern issues. Conservation must be a major objective of man on earth : think of the long-run future instead of the short-term profit.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU