Two old friends find themselves on opposite sides during the Civil War in a desperate battle atop an impregnable mountain.
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Title: Drums in the Deep South (1951)
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Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| James Craig | ... |
Maj. Clay Clayburn
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| Barbara Payton | ... |
Kathy Summers
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| Guy Madison | ... |
Maj. Will Denning
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| Barton MacLane | ... |
Sgt. Mac McCardle
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Robert Osterloh | ... |
Sgt. Harper
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| Tom Fadden | ... |
Purdy
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| Robert Easton | ... |
Jerry
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| Louis Jean Heydt | ... |
Col. House
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| Craig Stevens | ... |
Col. Braxton Summers
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| Taylor Holmes | ... |
Albert Monroe
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Lewis Martin | ... |
Gen. Johnston
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| Peter Brocco | ... |
Union Corporal
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| Dan White | ... |
Corp. Jennings
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Plot Summary
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Add Synopsis
Storyline
Best friends Clay Clayburn and Will Denning graduate from West Point only to soon find themselves fighting on opposite sides of the Civil War. When the two men meet each other in combat, neither knows it as each is in an artillery position hundreds of yards from the other. However, the love of Clay's life, Kathy Summers, does know and tries desperately to save her two good friends from killing each other. Written by Alfred Jingle
Taglines:
A handful of heroes on a powder-keg mountain !Certificate:
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
September 1951 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Le rocher du diable See more »Box Office
Budget:
$300,000 (estimated)Company Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)Color:
Color (Supercinecolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1
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Words and music by Louis Lambert [Pseudonym of Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore]
Used as part of the underscoring for scenes involving Union troops
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Did You Know?
Trivia
The failure of the original copyright holder to renew the film's copyright resulted in it falling into public domain, meaning that virtually anyone could duplicate and sell a VHS/DVD copy of the film. Therefore, many of the versions of this film available on the market are either severely (and usually badly) edited and/or of extremely poor quality, having been duped from second- or third-generation (or more) copies of the film. See more »Goofs
The detail consists of 20 men. This is inadequate to man four artillery pieces. A minimum of 40 to 50 men would be required for that number of guns. See more »Soundtracks
When Johnny Comes Marching HomeWords and music by Louis Lambert [Pseudonym of Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore]
Used as part of the underscoring for scenes involving Union troops
See more »
Frequently Asked Questions
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Was Menzies making "Gone With the Wind" light? Or the tragic counterpoint thereto? "Drums" is a surprise: nary an anachronistic weapon to be seen. I am so accustomed to seeing 1873 revolvers in movies about the War Between the States that this came as a shock. To see uniforms of some exactitude, especially for the artillery of all things, was refreshing indeed. I was also surprised by a very non-1950s ending. Really a far better "Civil War" motion picture than I had expected although I must say I found both the Confederate major and his lost love a bit cardboard. Madison chewed the scenery a trifle to make up for it. There were indeed plot twists and character touches although I missed any resolution for the Confederate colonel. Not at all a bad way to spend a couple of hours.