''The Boy from Oklahoma'' is a 1954 American

western film The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

directed by

Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz ( ; born Manó Kaminer; since 1905 Mihály Kertész; hu, Kertész Mihály; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed cla ...

and starring Will Rogers, Jr., Nancy Olson and Anthony Caruso. It was produced and distributed by the

major studio Major film studios are production and distribution companies that release a substantial number of films annually and consistently command a significant share of box office revenue in a given market. In the American and international markets, th ...

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

Plot

Cast

* Will Rogers, Jr. as Sheriff Tom Brewster * Nancy Olson as Katie Brannigan *

Lon Chaney, Jr. Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 – July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard (Dra ...

as Crazy Charlie * Anthony Caruso as Mayor Barney Turlock *

Wallace Ford Wallace Ford (born Samuel Grundy Jones; 12 February 1898 – 11 June 1966) was an English-born naturalized American vaudevillian, stage performer and screen actor. Usually playing wise-cracking characters, he combined a tough but friendly-fac ...

as Postmaster Wally Higgins *

Clem Bevans Clem Guy Bevans (October 16, 1880 – August 11, 1963) was an American character actor best remembered for playing eccentric, grumpy old men. Early life Bevans was born in Cozzadale, Ohio. Career Bevans had a very long career, starting in va ...

as Pop Pruty, Justice of the Peace *

Merv Griffin Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. (July 6, 1925 – August 12, 2007) was an American television show host and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer, later appearing in film and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 he hosted his own t ...

as Steve *

Louis Jean Heydt Louis Jean Heydt (April 17, 1903 – January 29, 1960) was an American character actor in film, television and theatre, most frequently seen in hapless, ineffectual, or fall guy roles. Early life Heydt was born in 1903 (not 1905, as many sou ...

as Paul Evans * Sheb Wooley as Pete Martin *

Slim Pickens Louis Burton Lindley Jr. (June 29, 1919 – December 8, 1983), better known by his stage name Slim Pickens, was an American actor and rodeo performer. Starting off in the rodeo, Pickens transitioned to acting and appeared in dozens of movies and ...

as Shorty *

Tyler MacDuff Tyler Glenn Duff Jr. (September 12, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was an American film and television actor. Life and career MacDuff was born in Hollywood, California. He attended Woodrow Wilson Junior High. MacDuff joined the U.S. Navy in 194 ...

Billy the Kid Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at th ...

James Griffith James Jeffrey Griffith (February 13, 1916 – September 17, 1993) was an American character actor, musician and screenwriter. Education Griffith attended Santa Monica High School, where he was a classmate with Glenn Ford. Both were active in s ...

as Joe Downey

Background

The film became the basis for the 1957

television series ''

Sugarfoot ''Sugarfoot'' is an American Western television series that aired for 69 episodes on ABC from 1957-1961 on Tuesday nights on a "shared" slot basis – rotating with ''Cheyenne'' (first season); ''Cheyenne'' and ''Bronco'' (second season); and ...

'', in which

Will Hutchins Will Hutchins (born Marshall Lowell Hutchason; May 5, 1930) is an American actor most noted for playing the lead role of the young lawyer Tom Brewster, in the Western television series ''Sugarfoot'', which aired on ABC from 1957 to 1961 for ...

replaced Rogers as lead character Tom Brewster. The movie features

and includes one of future TV talk show host

's few theatrical film roles. In the movie version, Rogers as Brewster substitutes facility with a twirling rope, similar to Will Rogers, Sr.'s, for the usual unerring speed and accuracy with firearms typically found in cinematic cowboy heroes. Three of the original cast members from the movie, Louis Jean Heydt, Sheb Wooley, and

, were transplanted directly into the subsequent TV show's

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

, "Brannigan's Boots", playing their roles from the movie; the first episode of ''Sugarfoot'' follows the film's script fairly faithfully. Dennis Hopper succeeded

in the

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

version,

Merry Anders Merry Anders (born Mary Helen Anderson; May 22, 1934 – October 28, 2012) was an American actress and model who appeared in a number of television programs and films from the 1950s until her retirement from the screen in 1972. Early life Ander ...

took over the part of Katie Brannigan from Nancy Olson, and

Chubby Johnson Charles Randolph "Chubby" Johnson (August 13, 1903 – October 31, 1974) was an American film and television supporting character actor with a genial demeanor and warm, country-accented voice. Early years Johnson was the son of entertaine ...

replaced

as Wally Higgins for the small screen. This was the last film made by Curtiz as a contract director at Warner Bros. He had worked exclusively at the studio since 1926.

Reception

Reviewing the DVD release in 2013, Gene Triplett of ''

The Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circulation) lists it as the 59th large ...

'' called the film an "amiable oater" with a plot that "may sound like potential corn on the cob to some" but turns out to be "unexpectedly well-crafted entertainment".Gene Triplett
"DVD review: 'The Boy from Oklahoma'"
''

'', March 22, 2013.

References

External links

* 1954 films 1950s English-language films Films directed by Michael Curtiz Films scored by Max Steiner 1954 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films Warner Bros. films 1950s American films {{1950s-Western-film-stub