Cimarron

I just caught this movie on TCM and, up front, I tend to hate these kind of oats-sudsers. This movie had so much going on (plot, characters, cameos, Western clichés) that it just screamed Cinerama (Think 'How the West was Won') but it had one major aspect that took me by surprise: a well-written and extremely well-acted characterization by Maria Schell. She's actually the major star of this movie...Glenn Ford disappearing entirely the last 1/4.....and she handles every bit of it with humor, passion, and just the right amount of country ham. She's never a perfect wife or mother, and doesn't just change to fit the scene. I was just killing time watching this...and I honestly was fascinated. I had no idea who it was until I looked it up here (I hate that TCM often doesn't run credits) but now I want to see some other performances by her to see if she was this good all the time.

Sorry but despite the fact that the 1931 version of this novel was the only western film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture it does not compare to the entertainment value of this version. True this is perhaps not the best adaptation of Ms. Ferber's novel, but then how many films are perfect adaptations of their source material. There are wonderful scenes missing from this adaptation, but then there are wonderful scenes missing from the adaptation of GWTW. No, I am not comparing this to a classic like GWTW. But the '31 version is not in the same class as GWTW either. This film should be taken for what it actually is, a good solid epic entertainment with spectacular scenes and good performances. Glenn Ford is perfect casting for Yancy. His performance is far superior to that of the overripe, stilted scenery chewing one delivered by Richard Dix in the original. Ford's boyish manner easily captures the charming immature nature of the character. Maria Schell is on a par with Irene Dunne. It is a pity her character was rewritten from the novel to be weaker than Ferber intended. This was obviously done to make the film Ford's but she's still gives a performance that is on the money. As so do the myriad supporting players in the film. Back in 1960, MGM obviously needed a big movie to move into the theaters that had been playing "Ben-Hur" for over a year. So this production was rushed to completion to fit the bill. The fact that it was shot in Cinemascope instead of a "Big" 70 mm process is evidence of this. It has been written that the production was shut down before the scripted ending could be filmed. This explains the rather abrupt and somewhat awkward end to the film. Perhaps a regular non "Roadshow" release might have fared better both with the critics and at the box-office. It often seems that those who praise the older version over this film have seldom actually seen the former. For many years the 1931 version was not available for viewing. During that period many film historians gushed in their praise of it. When it finally reappeared on screens most of them found it very creaky and revised their opinions but the older opinions are still in print, available and read. True, they didn't change their opinion of this version, but the older fell into proper perspective...Cinema History and rather dry history at that. While this version is not a classic it remains good entertainment. Compare it to "How The West Was Won" made by the same studio just a few years later.

Edna Feber's saga about newspaper editor and his reluctant wife settle in an Oklahoma boom town along with his fiery ex-girlfriend at the end of the nineteenth century . The picture has an opening credits prologue : At high noon April 22, 1889 a section of the last unsettled territories in America was to be given free to the first people who claimed it. They came from the north and they came from the south and they came from across the sea. In just one day an entire territory would be settled. A new state would be born. They called it Oklahoma. As when the government opens up the Oklahoma territory for settlement, restless Yancey Cravat (Glenn Ford) 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 (Maria Schell) must learn to take care of herself and soon becomes prominent in her own right.

This impressive epic/historic Western contains thrills , action , shootouts and soap opera . The picture deals with historical deeds as forty years of social and urban progress in American life from 1889-1929 ; the effects of empire building and the Way West are seen through the life of a progressive newspaper editor/lawyer in Oklahoma, and the wife who resents his longing for the excitement of the frontier in the years after the Oklahoma land rush. It results to be a remake to ¨Cimarron¨ (1931) that had Oscar Winner for best picture and best screenplay , being directed by Wesley Ruggles with Richard Dix , Irene Dunne and Estelle Taylor . Yancey Cravat, the character well played by Glenn Ford, was based on real-life lawyer and gunfighter Temple Houston - the son of Sam Houston, who was portrayed in Man of conquest (1939) starred by Richard Dix and upon whom the 1960s western TV series Temple Houston (1963) was based . Nice acting by Anne Baxter , in her memoir "Intermission," Anne Baxter hints that Ford and Schell had become very close during production, but by the time the movie premiered in Oklahoma, the two were not speaking to each other . Secondary cast is frankly excellent , with plenty of familiar faces such as Arthur O'Connell , Russ Tamblyn , Mercedes McCambridge , Vic Morrow ,Robert Keith , Charles McGraw , Harry Morgan, David Opatoshu , Vladimir Sokoloff , Mary Wickes , Edgar Buchanan , L.Q. Jones , Royal Dano and special mention to veteran Aline MacMahon

Overwhelming production design by George W. Davis , among others ; in fact , the land rush scene took a long time to film, using thousands extras, several cameramen, still photographers and a lot of camera assistants . Colorful and evocative cinematography in Cinemascope by Robert Surtees , a magnificent cameraman expert on super-productions . Rousing and breathtaking musical score by classic composer Franz Waxman . This sprawling ¨Soaper¨ picture was lavishly produced by Edmund Grangier and professionally directed by Anthony Mann , though this director was fired near the end of filming and replaced by Charles Walters . Rating : 6 . Decent epic western though overlong and some moments turns out to be indifferent and boring , but it is still worthwhile watching .

"Cimarron" is much like two films crammed together. The first half is exciting and enjoyable in many ways and the final portion is dull and seems to drag on forever...and then some! Rarely have I seen a film this different at the start and at the finish. As a result, it's a real mixed bag of a movie...worth seeing but it sure should have been a lot better.

When the film begins, Cimarron Cravat (Glenn Ford) is back East to marry a recent immigrant, Sabra (Maria Schell). Her way of life is about to change radically, as she's moving from relative comfort to the wide open Oklahoma Territory in 1889. Cimarron wants to go there for the giant land grant but many things seem to get in the way of his and Sabra's plans. They don't get the land they wanted and soon Cimarron finds himself running a newspaper. He also finds himself a do-gooder--one of the only men willing to stand up to evil. And here is where you start to see cracks in their marriage. Cimarron has a very strong sense of right and wrong but his wife just wants stability and security at all costs. As the years pass, this gulf between them widens and ultimately they both go their separate ways. What's next for the duo?

This Edna Ferber saga is basically the recent history of Oklahoma-- from territory to statehood--and all wrapped around the fictional story of the Cravats. At times exciting and interesting (such as when Cimarron repeatedly risks his life to stand up for the local Indians) and others long, long and long!!! And, rather depressing when all is said and done. The first half merits a 9 and the last a 2! Rarely have I ever seen a film this uneven.

I thought perhaps the reason this version of "Cimarron" butchered its source material was because Edna Ferber was dead by the time it was made. But no, she didn't die until 1968. I can't believe she gave her stamp of approval to this film, which, while visually stunning, bears very little resemblance to her novel.

Glenn Ford was a heck of an actor, but too much the strong 'n' silent type to play such a flamboyant character as Yancey Cravat. Maria Schell's accent is distracting, and her Sabra is whiny, clingy and devoid of most of the strength and heroism I love about Ferber's female characters.

The 1931 "Cimarron" is a far more faithful adaptation of the novel, but be warned: The character of Isaiah (conveniently left out of the 1960 version) is an offensively exaggerated black stereotype, which, unfortunately (sorry, Edna) is also true to the book.