The Oklahoma Kid

I was never sure about either James Cagney or Humphrey Bogart being in westerns but "The Oklahoma Kid" is not too bad. It has a brief running time, a fair measure of action and incident, the music is perfectly tolerable and at least Cagney and Bogart have a proper one on one confrontation at the end. I bought this film on video in the early 1990s and I enjoyed it then. Cagney is a "Robin Hood" type of hero who hides his true identity behind the name "The Oklahoma Kid." Bogart is a killer and dishonest businessman who wants to turn the local town into a place of sin, corruption and degradation. Cagney stated in his memoirs that he added little bits of dialogue in order to relive his boredom! What he included certainly does the film no harm.

Oklahoma Kid, The (1939)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

When Warner decided to throw James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart into a Western it got headlines in 1939 and it continues to do so today among film buffs. The idea of Cagney and Bogart in a Western will always draw new people to this film but it's a shame the headlines have gotten in the way of the fact that this is an extremely good movie. The film takes place as Oklahoma is giving away free land where a father (Hugh Sothern) and son (Harvey Stephens) plans on building a city that can do good. Unfortunately for them a bad guy (Bogart) ends up getting is hands on the territory and soon the new city is full of gambling and murder. When the father is falsely accused of murder and a mob kills him, his secret son known as The Oklahoma Kid (Cagney) shows up to seek vengeance against the bad guys. The Western genre was full of revenge films even by 1939 but this one here comes off incredibly fresh for many reasons but the main one is that the movie is rather dark and doesn't pull any punches. I really think this is one of the most underrated and overlooked films from Hollywood's Golden Era and again I think the main reason is because of the two legends in a genre they aren't known for. Yes, it does take a couple minutes to get use to seeing them but after that they sink into their roles so perfectly that you'll forget who you're watching and really get sucked up in the story. I think the second half of the film works extremely well because of how dark it is and because the high drama is on full impact due to some strong direction by Bacon. The mob/hanging scene is perfectly done and there's an even better sequence with Cagney stalking one of the killers through the desert. All of this leads up to a very satisfying ending that packs a nice little punch. You'd never know Cagney wasn't a Western star by seeing him here because he's so terrific in the part. Yes, he doesn't go all out with a country voice but that doesn't matter because I enjoyed how low key he played the part instead of his normal fast-talking. I thought he was very menacing here by not saying too many words and I thought you could believe his character at every step through the picture. Bogart is also very good and extremely cold in his role. Apparently he and Cagney didn't get along too well here due to a comment Bogart made but that bitterness certainly carries over to the film and helps. Rosemary Lane is good as the love interest and Donald Crisp gets a lot of good scenes as the honest Judge. All in all, this is a very impressive little gem that continues to get new viewers but I think it's should be better known as a good film instead of just a film with two stars you wouldn't expect.

You are not sure who or what Cagney's titular Oklahoma Kid is at first. The first thing he does is rob from the robbers - Whip McCord (Bogart) and his gang - who have stolen some of the money given to the Indians in return for the two million acres that are the object of the Oklahoma land rush.

The day of the land rush the Kid is in an unoccupied bar, helping himself to a few drinks on the house when Judge Hardwick (Donald Crisp) walks in and starts conversing with him. It turns out the Kid has no use for land rushes or conventional capitalism whatsoever. As he says, the strong steal from the weak, and the smart (pointing to himself) steal from the strong. And the law seldom lifts a hand to stop it, he says. The Kid says he came from a family of "empire builders" and that he and his family parted ways years ago. Hardwick doesn't outright dislike him, but doesn't understand his viewpoint at all until later.

Meanwhile, Whip McCord and his gang have sneaked into land rush territory and staked out a claim ahead of the Kincaids, who wish to build a town based on law and order. All McCord wants in return from the group that was going to build the town is the ability to build saloons there and not be hassled. Reluctantly, the Kincaids and company agree. Well, as time progresses, McCord only gets greedier and soon civilized is grappling with uncivilized (McCord), and the Kid eagerly jumps into the fight. Why he does this, nobody can figure out, since there is a price on the Kid's head for past crimes. But the Kid does have a deep dark secret.

The funny thing is, in the end, the Kid seems to prove that to deal with the uncivilized you sometimes have to be uncivilized yourself. Whether or not Warner Brothers was trying to slip a pre war message in concerning the Germans I don't know, but the director was Lloyd Bacon and he was hardly a controversial director.

How is the film goofy? First, they have Tulsa being the town that the Kincaids found. Tulsa had been around a good long time by 1890, but Oklahoma City was founded in the land rush territory. Next there is the wardrobe. Not since the early sound westerns have I seen a wardrobe used as an obvious clue as to who the players are. The Kid is always dressed in grayish outfits, but Bogart as McCord is always dressed in all black, and in fact he is always wearing the SAME black outfit.

If you are looking for something different from the conventional western, I'd recommend this.

Bet you didn't think two urban gangsters could put over a cowboy picture, did you? Not only that, make it so believable that it was entertaining - very much so, in fact. Well, surprise, surprise.This was a good picture with a very good storyline. Well done in all departments.Cagney plays the good-bad guy and Bogart, in a pre-Sam Spade role, plays the bad-bad guy.One of the interchangeable Lane sisters (in this case Rosemary)is the love interest.

Long story short; somebody done somebody wrong, with fistfights and gunplay and double-crosses and all the elements that make westerns so greatly entertaining. If you haven't seen it and like good westerns, do it.There is more than enough to like here. This movie was shown on 'old reliable'TCM just the other night. I don't think it's available in any format so you'll have to wait until they show it again and tape it.

No sequel, though. One oater with two crooked mobsters is enough. And they should have issued Cagney a different hat.

Interesting western with an offbeat Warner Bros. cast that's more at home in a gangster picture than a cowboy shoot-'em-up. Humphrey Bogart plays the villain, a stagecoach robber turned corrupt saloon owner. He wears a black hat so we know he's no good. James Cagney plays the cocky anti-hero, as quick with his guns as he is with his fists. He also shows how good he is with babies and even gets to sing! Rosemary Lane is the pretty girl who can't resist Cagney's charms. Donald Crisp is her father. Ward Bond, Harvey Stephens, Edward Pawley, and Charles Middleton are among the others in the cast. There's drama, humor, action, and romance. Yeah, it's admittedly a corny movie but pretty entertaining, especially for fans of the two leads. This won't be confused for a John Ford western but it's fun for what it is.