Tap Roots

Tap Roots is set in Mississippi in the days before the American Civil War. The Dabney family owns a large plantation and wants no part in the coming conflict, choosing instead to keep their land neutral against both sides. That position puts them at odds with their neighbours once Mississippi moves to leave the Union. Morna Dabney is engaged to Clay MacIvor, a soldier who joins the Confederate army, while the local newspaper publisher Keith Alexander courts her. When Clay returns, the county's refusal to take sides is no longer something he is willing to tolerate.

George Marshall directed the film, the fifth of the thirteen features he made in chronological order, following Monsieur Beaucaire and preceding Scared Stiff. Alan Le May wrote the screenplay and Walter Wanger produced it for Universal International Pictures. Susan Hayward plays Morna, with Van Heflin as Keith Alexander, Boris Karloff as Tishomingo, Julie London as Morna's sister Aven, Whitfield Connor as Clay MacIvor and Ward Bond as Hoab Dabney; thirty-nine cast members are credited in all. Running just under two hours, it blends drama with war and western elements.

On TMDB the film holds a rating of 6.9 out of 10 from eleven votes.