Menu

Discover

Genres

Appearance

  • light/dark mode
powered by
moviedb

The Legend of Tom Dooley

"Out of that song -- a fury of a movie!"

1959-07-01 Western 1hr 19m

Tom Dooley and Country Boy are on the run after killing an enemy soldier not knowing the war is over. The Command refuses to give them some slack for making this tragic but honest mistake and sends a lawman after them.

More
The Legend of Tom Dooley

Storyline

Tom Dooley and Country Boy are on the run after killing an enemy soldier not knowing the war is over. The Command refuses to give them some slack for making this tragic but honest mistake and sends a lawman after them.

  • Released
    1959-07-01
  • Revenue
    n/a
  • Budget
    n/a
  • Runtime
    1hr 19m
  • Genre
    Western, Drama
  • Status
    Released
  • Language
    English, Français
  • imdb-logo
    0
  • Production
    Columbia Pictures

Crew

Ted Post
Director
Stanley Shpetner
Writer
Stanley Shpetner
Producer
Keywords:
civil war based on song, poem or rhyme

Stream and watch The Legend of Tom Dooley

similar movies

Paradise Now

Paradise Now

Checkpoint

Checkpoint

Salvador

Salvador

The Jayhawkers!

The Jayhawkers!

Keoma

Keoma

Earth and Ashes

Earth and Ashes

Indochine

Indochine

Cows

Cows

So Red the Rose

So Red the Rose

The Hunting Party

The Hunting Party

Carla's Song

Carla's Song

Savior

Savior

The Great Man's Whiskers

The Great Man's Whiskers

Persepolis

Persepolis

Shooting Dogs

Shooting Dogs

Romance for Bugle

Romance for Bugle

Gettysburg

Gettysburg

Truth

Truth

Sahara

Sahara

Tears of the Sun

Tears of the Sun

Cast

Michael Landon

Michael Landon
Tom Dooley
Jo Morrow

Jo Morrow
Laura Foster
Jack Hogan

Jack Hogan
Charlie Grayson
Richard Rust

Richard Rust
Country Boy
Dee Pollock

Dee Pollock
Abel
Ken Lynch

Ken Lynch
Father
Howard Wright

Howard Wright
Sheriff Joe Dobbs
Ralph Moody

Ralph Moody
Doc Henry
John Cliff

John Cliff
Lieutenant
Cheerio Meredith

Cheerio Meredith
Meg
Gary Hunley

Gary Hunley
The Kid
Anthony Jochim

Anthony Jochim
Preacher
Jeff Morris

Jeff Morris
Confederate Soldier
Jason Johnson

Jason Johnson
Frank
Boyd Santell

Boyd Santell
Andy

Videos and Photos

The Legend of Tom Dooley
The Legend of Tom Dooley
The Legend of Tom Dooley
The Legend of Tom Dooley

Movie Reviews

Reviews for The Legend of Tom Dooley
reviewer avatar

A Review by John Chard 7

Written by John Chard on 2015-10-03

Hang down your head and cry. The Legend of Tom Dooley is based on the old folk song, Tom Dooley, which itself was inspired by a real life... read more

Hang down your head and cry. The Legend of Tom Dooley is based on the old folk song, Tom Dooley, which itself was inspired by a real life case about Tom Dula, who was convicted of the murder of Laura Foster in 1866. The films story pretty much follows the song, performed by The Kingston Trio as the title song and as part of the soundtrack - cum - screenplay! Photographed nicely out of Chatsworth and Thousand Oaks, California, by Gilbert Warrenton, it stars Michael Landon, Jo Morrow, Jack Hogan, Richard Rust and Dee Pollock. The narrative and various character actions hit all the right emotional beats. A series of events, where circumstance dictates, puts Dooley and his two pals on the run, which with the Civil War literally only just over, makes for a powder-keg like backdrop. Things are further compounded by the fact that Dooley wants to go to his home town and get Laura, to elope to Tennessee, only he has a major love rival, the bitter and vengeful Charlie Grayson. There's nary a dull moment in the 80 minute runtime, no pointless exposition or scene fillers of no consequence. Action junkies are catered for, with the usual Western staples adhered - though the speeding up of one round of knuckles is more chucklesome than exciting, but a shoot-out (actually a hold-out is a more appropriate terminology) part of the play is splendidly executed. Cast are dandy, doing what is needed to make it all work on an emotional level, with the stand out being Rust as Country Boy. He's a sort of John Ireland/Kevin Bacon hybrid, a very good character actor who deserves to be better known, even if he thankfully carved out a good career in film and TV. It's no hidden gem of the Western genre sphere, and it doesn't break any new ground, but it's admirably constructed and keeps those wagon wheels turning. 7/10

Read Full Review (The thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely those of the reviewer.)
A Review by John Chard

Hang down your head and cry. The Legend of Tom Dooley is based on the old folk song, Tom Dooley, which itself was inspired by a real life case about Tom Dula, who was convicted of the murder of Laura Foster in 1866. The films story prett...

reviewer avatar

A Review by John Chard 7

Written by John Chard on 2015-10-03

Hang down your head and cry. The Legend of Tom Dooley is based on the old folk song, Tom Dooley, which itself was inspired by a real life case about Tom Dula, who was convicted of the murder of Lau...

read more