Complete credited cast: | |||
Richard Dix | ... | ||
Irene Dunne | ... | ||
Estelle Taylor | ... | ||
Nance O'Neil | ... | ||
William Collier Jr. | ... | ||
Roscoe Ates | ... |
Jesse Rickey
(as Rosco Ates)
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George E. Stone | ... | ||
Stanley Fields | ... | ||
Robert McWade | ... |
Louis Hefner
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Edna May Oliver | ... |
Mrs. Tracy Wyatt
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Judith Barrett | ... |
Donna Cravat
(as Nancy Dover)
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Eugene Jackson | ... |
Isaiah
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Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
Billy Mellman |
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When the government opens up the Oklahoma territory for settlement, restless Yancey Cravat claims a plot of the free land for himself and moves his family there from Wichita. A newspaperman, lawyer, and just about everything else, Cravat soon becomes a leading citizen of the boom town of Osage. Once the town is established, however, he begins to feel confined once again, and heads for the Cherokee Strip, leaving his family behind. During this and other absences, his wife Sabra must learn to take care of herself and soon becomes prominent in her own right. Written by George S. Davis <mgeorges@prodigy.net>
The outstanding but admittedly dated "Cimarron" dazzled audiences so much that it was a runaway Best Picture Oscar winner in 1931. The film is novelist Edna Ferber's epic tale of the early American settlements of Oklahoma from 1889 and goes to the economic unrest of the Stock Market crash of 1929. Richard Dix (Oscar-nominated) immediately moves his family out to the untamed land and starts a new life. Wife Irene Dunne (Oscar-nominated) has doubts not only about the new land, but also about her husband's adventurous nature. Dix is an individualist with itchy feet and thus he comes and goes as he pleases, but always seems to come through for his family and his adopted state when the chips are down. "Cimarron" is an abbreviated history of a land which was once wild and untamed that slowly became modern by the early-20th Century. The views upon African-Americans and Native Americans is given much air time here. Ferber's equally riveting "Giant" posed similar questions towards Texas' views of women and Hispanic Americans. She was a truly gifted writer and her novels were both adapted into stunning motion picture experiences. Wesley Ruggles' (Oscar-nominated) direction is a bit prodding and the film does stall a bit due to its length, but overall "Cimarron" is an important American movie that if nothing else created the legitimate Western genre. 4.5 out of 5 stars.