''Cimarron'' is a 1931

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

epic

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by

Wesley Ruggles Wesley Ruggles (June 11, 1889 – January 8, 1972) was an American film director. Life and work He was born in Los Angeles, California, younger brother of actor Charlie Ruggles. He began his career in 1915 as an actor, appearing in a do ...

, starring

Richard Dix Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

and

Irene Dunne Irene Dunne (born Irene Marie Dunn; December 20, 1898 – September 4, 1990) was an American actress who appeared in films during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She is best known for her comedic roles, though she performed in films of other gen ...

, and featuring

Estelle Taylor Ida Estelle Taylor (May 20, 1894 – April 15, 1958) was an American actress, singer, model, and animal rights activist. With "dark-brown, almost black hair and brown eyes," she was regarded as one of the most beautiful silent film stars of the ...

and

Roscoe Ates Roscoe Blevel Ates (January 20, 1895 – March 1, 1962) was an American vaudeville performer, actor of stage and screen, comedian and musician who primarily featured in western films and television. He was best known as western character S ...

. The Oscar- winning script was written by

Howard Estabrook Howard Estabrook (born Howard Bolles, July 11, 1884 – July 16, 1978) was an American actor, film director and producer, and screenwriter. Biography Born Howard Bolles in Detroit, Michigan, Howard Estabrook began his career in 1904 as a stag ...

based on the 1930

Edna Ferber Edna Ferber (August 15, 1885 – April 16, 1968) was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels include the Pulitzer Prize-winning '' So Big'' (1924), '' Show Boat'' (1926; made into the celebrated 1927 musical), '' C ...

novel '' Cimarron''. It would be RKO's most expensive production up to that date, and its winning of the top Oscar for Outstanding Production would be one of only two for Outstanding Production ever won by that studio. It is also the first of only three Westerns to ever win the top honor at the Academy Awards (the others being ''

Dances with Wolves ''Dances with Wolves'' is a 1990 American epic western film starring, directed, and produced by Kevin Costner in his feature directorial debut. It is a film adaptation of the 1988 novel '' Dances with Wolves'' by Michael Blake that tells the ...

'' in 1990 and ''

Unforgiven ''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American Revisionist Western film starring, directed, and produced by Clint Eastwood, and written by David Webb Peoples. The film tells the story of William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job, ...

'' in 1992). Epic in scope, spanning forty years from 1889 to 1929, it was a critical success, although it did not recoup its production costs during its initial run in 1931.

Plot

The Oklahoma land rush of 1889 prompts thousands to travel to the

Oklahoma Territory The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as t ...

to grab free government land; Yancey Cravat (

) and his young bride, Sabra (

) cross the border from Kansas to join the throngs. In the ensuing race, Yancey is outwitted by a young prostitute, Dixie Lee (

), who takes the prime piece of real estate, the Bear Creek claim, that Yancey had targeted for himself. His plans for establishing a ranch thwarted, Yancey moves into the town of Osage, a boomer town, where he confronts and kills Lon Yountis ( Stanley Fields), an outlaw who had killed the prior publisher of the local newspaper. Having a background in publishing himself, Yancey establishes the ''Oklahoma Wigwam'', a weekly newspaper, to help turn the frontier camp into a respectable town. After the birth of their daughter, Donna, a gang of outlaws threatens Osage, led by "The Kid" ( William Collier Jr.), who happens to be an old acquaintance of Yancey's. To save the town, Yancey faces and kills The Kid. Beset by guilt over his killing of The Kid, when another land rush appears, Yancey leaves Sabra and his children to participate in settling the

Cherokee Strip The Cherokee Outlet, or Cherokee Strip, was located in what is now the state of Oklahoma in the United States. It was a 60-mile-wide (97 km) parcel of land south of the Oklahoma-Kansas border between 96 and 100°W. The Cherokee Outlet wa ...

. After his departure, Sabra takes over the publication of the ''Oklahoma Wigwam'', and raises her children until Yancey returns five years later, just in time to represent Dixie Lee, who had been charged with being a public nuisance, and win her acquittal. Osage continues to grow, as does the Territory of Oklahoma, which gains statehood in 1907 and benefits from the early oil boom of the 1900s, including the Native American tribes, that Yancey supports, through editorials in his newspaper, after which Yancey once again disappears from Osage for several years. At the time, Sabra is vehemently anti-Native American, despite her son's involvement with an Indian woman. Years later, when Sabra becomes the first female member of Congress from the state of Oklahoma, she lauds the virtues of her then Indian daughter-in-law. Sabra and Yancey are reunited one final time when she rushes to his side after he has rescued numerous oil drillers from a devastating explosion. He dies in her arms.

Cast

as Yancey Cravat *

as Sabra Cravat *

as Dixie Lee * Nance O'Neil as Felice Venable * William Collier Jr. as The Kid *

as Jesse Rickey * George E. Stone as Sol Levy * Stanley Fields as Lon Yountis * Robert McWade as Louis Hefner *

Edna May Oliver Edna May Oliver (born Edna May Nutter, November 9, 1883 – November 9, 1942) was an American stage and film actress. During the 1930s, she was one of the better-known character actresses in American films, often playing tart-tongued spinsters. ...

as Tracy Wyatt *

Judith Barrett Judith Barrett (born Lucille Kelley, February 2, 1909 – March 10, 2000), also known as Nancy Dover, was an American film actress of the late 1920s and through the 1930s, up until 1940. Early life Born and raised in Venus, Texas, Barrett was one ...

as Donna Cravat * Eugene Jackson as Isaiah *

Dennis O'Keefe Dennis O'Keefe (born Edward Vanes Flanagan, Jr., March 29, 1908 – August 31, 1968) was an American actor and writer. Early years Born in Fort Madison, Iowa, O'Keefe was the son of Edward Flanagan and Charlotte Flanagan, Irish vaudevill ...

(uncredited) (Principal cast list as per AFI database, and ''The RKO Story'')

Production

Despite being in the depths of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...

invested more than $1.5 million into production of Ferber's novel. Filming began in the summer of 1930 at Jasmin Quinn Ranch outside of

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, where the land rush scenes were shot. More than twenty-eight cameramen, and numerous camera assistants and photographers, were used to capture scenes of more than 5,000 costumed extras, covered wagons, buckboards, surreys, and bicyclists as they raced across grassy hills and prairie to stake their claim. Cinematographer Edward Cronjager planned out every take (that recalled the scenes of '' Intolerance'' some fifteen years earlier) in accordance with Ferber's descriptions. In order to film key scenes for this production, RKO purchased 89 acres in Encino where construction of

Art Director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the vis ...

Max Ree's Oscar-winning design of a complete western town and a three-block modern main street were built to represent the fictional Oklahoma

boomtown A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, althou ...

of Osage. These award-winning sets eventually formed the nucleus of RKO's expansive

movie ranch A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated for use as a set in the creation and production of motion pictures and television shows. These were developed in the United States in southern California, because of the climate. The ...

, in Encino, where other RKO (and non-RKO) films were later shot.

Reception

RKO Radio Pictures premiered ''Cimarron'' at the RKO Palace Theatre (Broadway) in New York City on January 26, 1931, to much praise, and then on February 6 a Los Angeles Orpheum Theatre premiere followed, that also included personal appearances of

and

, a stage show and an augmented orchestra. Three days later, the movie was released to theaters throughout the nation. Despite being a critical success, the extremely high budget and ongoing Depression combined against the film. While it was a commercial success in line with other films of the day,

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...

could not at first recoup their heavy investment in the film, that ended up losing $565,000. However, it recouped some more money on a 1935 re-release that enjoyed another premiere in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

at the ( John Eberson designed) Midwest Theatre. The movie remained RKO's most expensive film until 1939's ''

Gunga Din "Gunga Din" () is an 1890 poem by Rudyard Kipling set in British India. The poem is much remembered for its final line: "You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din". Background The poem is a rhyming narrative from the point of view of a Briti ...

'' (that filmed exteriors around the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primar ...

Alabama Hills The Alabama Hills are a range of hills and rock formations near the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada in the Owens Valley, west of Lone Pine in Inyo County, California. Though geographically separate from the Sierra Nevada, they are part o ...

range, but had one scene shot on RKO's

in Encino). Reviews by film critics were overwhelmingly positive at the time. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' led off its review with, "An elegant example of super film making and a big money picture. This is a spectacular western away from all others. It holds action, sentiment, sympathy, thrills and comedy – and 100% clean. Radio Pictures has a corker in 'Cimarron'." The review went on to praise the actors, particularly Dix and Oliver, as well as the direction, stating, "Wesley Ruggles apparently gets the full credit for this splendid and heavy production. His direction misses nothing in the elaborate scenes, as well as in the usual film making procedure." The magazine specifically pointed out the quality of the make-up in the aging of the principle players, who have to go through forty years on-screen.

Mordaunt Hall Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' also gave the film a stellar review, calling it, "A graphic and engrossing screen conception of Edna Ferber's widely read novel ...", and also praised the handling of the passage of time in this epic. Hall also singled out the performance of Dunne. ''

Motion Picture Magazine ''Motion Picture'' was an American monthly fan magazine about film, published from 1911 to 1977.Fuller, Kathryn H. “Motion Picture Story Magazine and the Gendered Construction of the Movie Fan.” ''At the Picture Show: Small-Town Audiences a ...

'' raved, "A great and worthy effort, this transcription of early Oklahoma life will be hailed as one of the high-spots of the year. It has everything. RKO seems to have placed no restrictions upon making it a lavish, bona-fide epic."

John Mosher John Mosher (1928–1998) was an American jazz bassist, classical bassist and composer who worked, recorded and toured with a wide range of primarily West Coast artists from the 1950s through the mid-1990s. Early years A native of Sioux City, I ...

of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' praised the "great care" that had been taken with the historical accuracy of the film's visual details, that he thought "as good as anything that has come out of Hollywood, and because of this expertness the film gains especial value". He also wrote that Richard Dix was "certainly at his best in this role". His only criticisms concerned the second half of the film, that he thought had "sagging moments" and an ending that was too abrupt. ''

The Evening Independent The ''Evening Independent'' was St. Petersburg, Florida's first daily newspaper. The sister evening newspaper of the '' St. Petersburg Times'', it was launched as a weekly newspaper in March 1906 under the ownership of Willis B. Powell. In Nov ...

'' called it "a notable addition to the small list of pictures that the years have given to the American theater. For in ''Cimarron'' is vested stirring drama, stark beauty, daring and adventure on a plane that is seldom seen on the screen." The ''

West Seattle Herald The ''West Seattle Herald'' is a newspaper serving West Seattle, Seattle, Washington. Since 2013, it has been a part of '' Westside Seattle''. History The ''West Seattle Herald'' was founded in 1923. In 2013, Robinson Newspapers made the ''W ...

'' declared that it was "even more powerful than the great story read by millions in America. ''Cimarron'' the picture is all that is gripping in ''Cimarron'' the story. Spectacular scenes abound in this production." Elizabeth Yeaman of the ''Hollywood Daily Citizen'' saw the film as a new type of history, writing that, “Like history, the picture has moments of thrilling glory and moments of repetition and daily routine. ''Cimarron'' does not follow the rules of story construction... It is, in short, a graphic interpretation of a portion of history, the history of the state of Oklahoma from the time of the first great land rush until the present.” More recent appraisals of the film have not been as positive. ''Cimarron'' currently holds a "Rotten" 52% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, based on 31 reviews, with a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

of 4.9/10. The site's consensus reads: "''Cimarron'' is supported by a strong performance from Irene Dunne, but uneven in basically every other regard, and riddled with potentially offensive stereotypes." Assessing the film in 2009, James Berardinelli called it "an excellent study of how tastes have changed over the years. Critically lauded at the time of its release, ''Cimarron'' was beloved by most who saw it. Eight decades later, it is frequently cited on lists of the most undeserving Academy Award winners and is rightfully impugned for racist overtones and scattershot storytelling." Steve Evans of ''

DVD Verdict DVD Verdict was a judicial-themed website for DVD reviews. The site was founded in 1999. The editor-in-chief was Michael Stailey, who owned the website between 2004 and 2016, and the site employed a large editorial staff of critics, whose revie ...

'' wrote, "Seen with contemporary eyes, the film is badly dated, slow moving, and pocked with racist caricatures....The recreation of the great 1889 Oklahoma Land Rush remains an exciting spectacle....Unfortunately, the film never manages to top this opening shot."

Awards and honors

At the 1931 Academy Awards ceremony at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, ''Cimarron'' was the first film to receive more than six Academy Awards nominations and be nominated for the Big Five awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Writing). Additionally, it is one of only two films (the other being ''

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' is a play by Edward Albee first staged in October 1962. It examines the complexities of the marriage of a middle-aged couple, Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they receive ...

'') to receive nominations in every eligible category. It won for three of them, including Best Picture. It would win the first of only two Best Picture Oscars for the studio, the other being awarded to 1946's ''

The Best Years of Our Lives ''The Best Years of Our Lives'' (also known as ''Glory for Me'' and ''Home Again'') is a 1946 American epic drama film directed by William Wyler, and starring Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo and Harold Rus ...

''. It was the first Western to win the Best Picture award, and remained the only Western genre film with that honor until 1990, when ''

'' won. 1930–1931 Academy Awards

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cimarron 1931 films Best Picture Academy Award winners RKO Pictures films American black-and-white films American Western (genre) epic films Films set in Oklahoma 1930s English-language films Films based on American novels Films scored by Max Steiner Films directed by Wesley Ruggles Films whose writer won the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award Films whose art director won the Best Art Direction Academy Award Films set in the 1880s Films set in the 1890s Films set in the 1900s Films set in the 1920s 1931 Western (genre) films Films based on Western (genre) novels Films based on works by Edna Ferber Photoplay Awards film of the year winners 1930s American films