Cimarron (1931)
Genre: Drama / Western
Duration: 131 minuten
Country:
United States
Directed by: Wesley Ruggles
Stars: Richard Dix, Irene Dunne and Estelle Taylor
IMDb score:
5,8 (7.984)
Releasedate: 26 January 1931
Cimarron plot
"Terrific as all creation!"
When the government opens up Oklahoma for settlement, young Yancey Cravat decides to turn his back on Wichita and embark on an adventure with his family. Once in his new hometown of Osage, he sets up a local newspaper and soon becomes one of its main residents. But when the city comes into calmer waters, it starts to itch: new adventures beckon. Yancey ventures out, leaving his wife to take care of his family and his newspaper.
Actors and actresses
Yancey Cravat
Sabra Cravat
Dixie Lee
Felice Venable
The Kid
Jesse Rickey (as Rosco Ates)
Sol Levy
Les Yountis
Louis Hefner
Mrs. Tracy Wyatt
Reviews & comments
Film Pegasus (moderator films)
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- 31491 messages
- 5627 votes
If there's one thing the Academy Award jury doesn't understand, it's Westerns. Cimarron may not be a bad film, but the real westerns in film history were happy that they received a nomination. And it may be just an award, but it says something about our demands of a western. After Cimarron came the films of Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, Lee Van Cleef, Terence Hill, Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Gary Cooper and many others.
Cimarron was already handsome for its time. Barely a few years after the start of the sound film, an epic film is unpacked here. The beginning reminds me of How the west was won. But then it completely collapses and we get to see a sometimes even annoying film. There is still a flare-up here and there, but it is no longer more than an average film. Ahead of its time in 1931, but in 2015 long gone.
Translated from Dutch · View original
mrklm
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- 12860 messages
- 10708 votes
Expensive production, although most of the budget seems to have been spent on the impressive 'Oklahoma landrush' with which the film opens. It is also the only moment of spectacle in this so-called 'western', which is much more like a historical melodrama. The film begins in 1889 and covers a period of American history that has rarely been highlighted since. There is a plea for equal rights for Indians, but also a cringeworthy contribution from Eugene Jackson as Isaiah, the slavish black sidekick of the Cravat family. Despite the spectacle and the recognition that the Academy gave (Oscars for Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Art-Direction]) RKO suffered a significant loss with this film. The acting is hit and miss and the whole is now very dated.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Woland
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- 4899 messages
- 3925 votes
Cimarron often appears on lists of 'Best Picture' Oscar winners, but usually not in a positive sense - along with Cavalcade and The Broadway Melody, it is often cited as the worst winner ever. Anyway, that won't be too bad, because it won't get much worse than an Around the World in 80 Days or Out of Africa. To end with the conclusion, that's right, but I also understand very well that this film has not exactly become a classic.
The film is, first of all, quite dated. And especially with a moralistic film like this, that doesn't really help. It's basically all about Yance Cravat all the time, and it doesn't get any more American. A brave, honest family man who, in newly settled Oklahoma, upholds law and morals, is God-fearing and preaches in the church, occasional casual racism about the weak-minded black boy or Indians, not only protecting his family but also thugs the small town shoots out, and then refuses to collect the reward money. In short, an extremely tiring protagonist, zum vomit.
It's also more of a moralistic melodrama that happens to be set in the west than it is a true western. But one that does get boring every now and then, not much happens and so Yance Cravat is exhaustingly honest. The characters that are introduced for humor don't add much either; the simple negro helper, the stuttering carpenter, the loud-singing and high-talking lady. But oh well, it's far from good, but it was quite watchable. Maybe a low threshold for an Oscar winner, but it is what it is.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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