Question: who played tommy in coward of the county
Answer: Set in small - town Georgia during the onset of America 's involvement in World War II , the film 's plot stayed true to the song 's lyrics and starred Rogers as Tommy 's uncle , Reverend Matthew Spencer ( the singer of the song ) , Fredric Lehne as the troubled Tommy Spencer , Largo Woodruff as Tommy 's girlfriend Becky , and William Schreiner as James Joseph `` Jimmy Joe '' Gatlin ( one of Tommy 's nemeses and a rival for Becky ; Jimmy Joe publicly states that Becky is ' his girl ' despite the fact that Becky never has felt the same way towards him and has repeatedly told him so .