''The Oil, the Baby and the Transylvanians'' (, ) is a 1981 Romanian Red Western directed by Dan Pița. It dramatises the struggles of Romanian and Hungarian settlers in a new land, the

American frontier The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the Geography of the United States, geography, History of the United States, history, Folklore of the United States, folklore, and Cultur ...

. Despite the American setting, including such minor details as use of the phrase " Bad-lands", it was shot entirely in Romania. A group of American

Fulbright Scholars The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

served as uncredited script consultants to make the English-language portion of the script sound more authentic. It is a sequel to '' The Prophet, the Gold and the Transylvanians'' and '' The Actress, the Dollars and the Transylvanians'', which are the first two parts of the trilogy.

Plot

''The Oil, the Baby and the Transylvanians'' is the third part of a fairly successful Romanian trilogy about three

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

n brothers, their families, and their companions in frontier America, on the

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

. Set in the 1880s, the drama, comedy, and perhaps appeal of the film comes from the characters' difficulty in adjusting to the American rhythm and lifestyle. The youngest of the Brad brothers, Romulus, and his American fiancée, June, are expecting a baby. The wedding celebration is eagerly anticipated by all the family and organised according to ancient Romanian customs. Meanwhile, the middle brother John, who is honest, courageous, and fast on the draw, is held in increasingly high esteem by the townsfolk as he faces down a series of bullies and hoodlums, which sets up several gunslinging showdown scenes. Eventually John is elected as sheriff. He hunts these "Wanted" criminals to subsidise Romulus' decaying ranch. Traian, the eldest of the three brothers, goes looking for water for his cattle and passes through the land of the Orbans, who are ironically Hungarian-Transylvanian farmers. The Orbans and Brads forge an important alliance and friendship against outside danger and violence. However, instead of finding water on his land, Traian finds oil. But will the promise of riches corrupt the brothers and tempt them away from their new home?

Crew

Main cast

Mircea Diaconu Mircea Diaconu (; 24 December 1949 – 14 December 2024) was a Romanian actor, writer and politician. First appearing on stage in 1970, and on screen two years later, Diaconu pursued a lengthy career in both formats, working with a series of pro ...

as Romulus (Romi) Brad * Ilarion Ciobanu as Traian Brad * Ovidiu Iuliu Moldovan as Ion Brad a.k.a. Jonn Brad * Tania Filip as June Brad, wife of Romi

Director

* Dan Pița

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oil, the Baby and the Transylvanians, The 1981 films The Transylvanians series Films directed by Dan Pița English-language Romanian films Foreign films set in the United States