Main Cast: Richard Dix, Irene Dunne, Estelle Taylor, Nance O'Neil, William Collier, Jr.
Release Year: 1930
Country: US
Run Time: 130 minutes
Plot
Cimarron was the first Western to win the Oscar for Best Picture--and, until Dances with Wolves in 1990, the only one. The film begins on April 22, 1889, the opening day of the great Oklahoma Land Rush on the Cherokee Strip. Boisterous Yancey Cravat (Richard Dix) is cheated out of his land claim by the devious Dixie Lee (Estelle Taylor). Instead of becoming a homesteader, Cravat establishes a muckraking newspaper, and with pistols in hand he becomes a widely respected (and widely feared) peacekeeper. He also displays a compassionate streak by coming to the defense of Dixie Lee, who is about to be arrested for prostitution. Cravat's insistence on sticking his nose into everyone's affairs drives a wedge between him and his young wife Sabra (Irene Dunne), but she stands by him--until he deserts her and her children, ever in pursuit of new adventures. Sabra takes over the newspaper herself, and with the moral support of her best friend, Mrs. Wyatt (Edna May Oliver), she creates a powerful publishing empire. Cimarron makes the mistake of placing most of the action early in the film, so that everything that follows the spectacular opening land-rush sequence may feel anti-climactic. While it's always enjoyable to watch Irene Dunne persevering through the years, it's rather wearing to sit through the overblown performance of Richard Dix, who seems to think that he can't make a point unless it's at the top of his lungs. Cimarron creaks badly when seen today, but it still outclasses the plodding 1960 remake. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
According to Hollywood lore, Cimarron's famous Oklahoma Land Rush sequence was filmed near Bakersfield, CA, and included 47 camera operators and 5,000 dress extras. The scene, which to a modern viewer suggests some heavy borrowing from William S. Hart's similar sequence in the silent Tumbleweeds (1925), remains Cimarron's centerpiece and tends to dwarf the empire building sweep of Edna Ferber's original novel. And, to be frank, the remaining hour or so of political intrigue is rather ponderous and dull in comparison. Richard Dix and Irene Dunne grow old according to Hollywood tradition by graying slightly at the temples and the rest of the immense cast seems in awe of the entire enterprise. According to Hollywood lore, Cimarron lost money despite earning a Best Picture Academy Award and it is easy to see why. The whole enterprise seems lopsided and never recovers from that amazing land rush sequence early on in the proceedings. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
Max Ree - Art Director, Max Ree - Costume Designer, Wesley Ruggles - Director, Willaim Hamilton - Editor, Max Steiner - Composer (Music Score), Edward J. Cronjager - Cinematographer, William Le Baron - Producer, Louis Sarecky - Producer, Lloyd Knechtel - Special Effects, Clem Portman - Sound/Sound Designer, Howard Estabrook - Screenwriter, Edna Ferber - Screenwriter, Edna Ferber - Book Author
Despite America being in the depths of the Depression, RKO immediately prepared for a big-budget picture, investing more than 1.5 million dollars into Ferber's novel Cimarron. Director Wesley Ruggles would direct stars Richard Dix and Irene Dunne with a script written by Howard Estabrook. Filming began in the summer of 1930 at the Jasmin Quinn Ranch outside of Los Angeles, California. The film was a massive production, especially the land rush scenes, which recalled the epic scenes of Intolerance some fifteen years earlier. More than 5,000 extras, twenty-eight cameramen, and numerous camera assistants and photographers were used to capture scenes of wagons racing across grassy hills and prairie. Cinematographer Edward Cronjager spent overtime planning out every scene in accordance to Ferber's descriptions.
Perceived Racism
Like many of the movies of its time, Cimarron has been perceived to represent Blacks, Jews, and Native Americans in a stereotypical fashion. However, Cimarron is notable for the conflicting attitudes of the principle characters towards non-whites. Sabra Cravat refers to Native Americans as "dirty, filthy savages" and refuses to allow her son to accept a gift of feathered head gear from a Indian. However her husband, Yancy Cravat, has a more sympathetic view acknowledging that the Indians in the back of the church are not expected to give a monetary contribution to the purchase of a white man's church organ as they have had their land stolen by the white men. That initial church meeting also highlights his seemingly minority view towards Jews. Sol Levy, a Jewish salesman, is unsure of whether he will be allowed stay in the church meeting but Yancy states that this will be a non-denominational meeting. We have seen earlier in the movie that when Sol is harassed and humiliated by the town gun-slingers, the townsfolk watch and make no effort to intervene. Eventually, Yancy intervenes. Isiah, the main Black character in the movie, is introduced as a smiling, whistling shoe shiner. But he plays a hero's role later in the movie when he attempts to keep the Cravat children out of harm's way. He dies in his efforts. It is one of the more subtle moments of racism in the movie when no one hears Isiah calling out "Masser" as he is dying. Sabra and Sol knew he ran out to find the children but neither looked for him after the children returned and he lay dying outside. Yancy's open minded view of non-whites contradicts his urges to participate in claims for newly opened land in the West bought by the government from the American Indians for far less than its market value-the "Oklahoma Land Rush." Though he does admit the unfair results of treaty between the U.S. government and the Cherokees. This complexity of racial attitudes is augmented by the flawed natures of the main characters. Yancy is the typical western hero who seeks adventure and who demonstrates chivalry that is otherwise infrequent in the movie. Yet he is deeply flawed. He abandons his family to pursue his western ambitions. There are numerous references to his past as a gunslinger, his friendship with The Kid and the notches on his gun handle. He is patronizing to his wife and ignores all her pleas.
Reception
The film was premiered first in New York City on January 26, 1931, to much praise, and a Los Angeles premiere followed on February 6. Three days later, the film was released to theaters throughout the nation. Despite being a critical success, the high budget and ongoing Great Depression combined against the film. While it was a commercial success in line with other films of the day, RKO could not recoup their investment in the film.
