4. 1930/31 Cimarron

Fact Sheet:

Oscars:

• Art Direction - Max Rée
• Outstanding Production - RKO Radio
• Writing (Adaptation) - Howard Estabrook

Nominations:

• Actor - Richard Dix
• Actress - Irene Dunne
• Cinematography - Edward Cronjager
• Directing - Wesley Ruggles

Best Picture Contenders:

• East Lynne
• The Front Page
• Skippy
• Trader Horn

Runtime: 131 min.

Well, to be honest, I don't quite know what to write about this movie. It's the first western to win the OBP. But it's not really a western in the sense that we immediately think of, heroic cowboys shooting each other and those damned Indians. No, this movie tells the story of the expansion of the Oklahoma territories, from the opening of its unsettled lands in 1886, via statehood of Oklahoma in 1907, to near 'present day' in the late 1920's. It is the story of a man named Yancy Cravat, a newspaper editor who rises up as one of the leading men of Oklahoma and his communities, and his wife Scabra, a conservative woman who often strongly disagrees with her husband.

It is a fictional story set against a historical background, making it an interesting picture to watch. However, it also does come across as quite dated, the cinematography and direction tend to be quite archaic, and so does the dialog. It is also a very good example of the American perception of race in the late 19th, early 20th century. Scabra describes the Indians as dirty and vile, where Yancy recognizes they have had their land stolen by the white man and so the white man should be considerate of them. They also have a black fellow tagging along, clearly a descendant of the slavery era, who dies while trying to protect the children, and yells "Mastah!" as his last word, unheard by all. A tragic affirmation of a stereotype, leading to controversy surrounding this movie. But then again, many movies of that time are often accused of having racist undertones.

Personally I didn't really enjoy the film, probably because it is so dated. I thought it was interesting to watch as a historical document, but not so much as a great film, or one of the great historical movies.