Les plaines de L'Oklahoma

An ex-cavalry officer(Rex Allen)tries to persuade defiant ranchers to allow the Army to run tank maneuvers on their land. Just like Saturday afternoon at the movies. This cowboy drama also features: Slim Pickens, John Crawford, Roy Barcroft and the debut of Elaine Edwards. Wholesome entertainment with typical western violence.

One of my favorite characters of all times is Slim Pickens playing Maj. T.J. 'King' Kong in the biting Cold War satire "Dr. Strangelove." Who can forget Major Kong riding the bomb down as if riding a bucking bronco in a rodeo. Pickens, birth name Louis Bert Lindley Jr., was a real cowboy who knew how to ride, rope, and shoot with the best of them. He started making movies in 1950 and soon became Rex Allen's comical sidekick in a series of Republic westerns, some of the last Saturday matinée shoot-'em-ups ever made. To my surprise near the beginning of "Old Oklahoma Plains" I hear Slim say to Rex, "I've been to a county fair, a picnic, and a rodeo but this is the most fun I've ever had." Could it be that Stanley Kubrick told Slim to improvise dialog in "Dr. Strangelove" so he recalled this old line from the Rex Allen movie of 1952 and modified it to fit the new characterization? Could be. So for no other reason than to watch Slim Pickens in action "Old Oklahoma Plains" is worth seeing. Now about the title. The setting of the film looks a whole lot like southern California, not the hills and plains of Oklahoma. Oklahoma is not even mentioned in the movie as I recall, though Fort Houston is.

Singing cowboy from Arizona Rex Allen is the star of the show. He was a talented entertainer with an easy-going personality. His voice was pleasantly unique. So much so that Disney would later use him as narrator in several features. In "Old Oklahoma Plains" Rex sings three songs backed by the Republic Rhythm Riders. All three are traditional,"The Old Chisholm Trail," "Dem Bones," and "Lonesome Road." Even Slim joins in on "Dem Bones" and does a funny turn around when a lizard crawls up his leg.

Somewhat unusual for an oater, the time is 1926, several years after the Old West had become history. Changing times has improved technology to the extent that now a tank is threatening to eliminated the cavalry. Those with a vested interest in supplying horses for the army are on the defensive. The leader of the bad guys is the indomitable Roy Barcroft as Arthur Jensen who is willing to resort to murder to salvage his horse ranch. He stands to lose $l00,000 or more if the tank is successful. The army stages a race to see if the tank can outrun and out maneuver the cavalry. Since Rex is no longer in the cavalry, he and Slim watch and do not participate. This is how they see all the skulduggery.

The tank used in the film is more like one from a Rocket Man serial than one from the post-World War I era, sort of compact and pint-sized but highly maneuverable. Slim has a time and provides lots of laughs trying to drive the tank the way he would a car. Needless to say everything goes wrong and he runs over anything that gets in his way.

If you like Saturday matinée westerns with singing cowboys and comical sidekicks, you should enjoy "Old Oklahoma Plains." Plus Slim Pickens is always a joy to watch.

It's too bad that General George S. Patton never got to see Old Oklahoma Plains. As he described himself and as George C. Scott repeated in Patton, he was an old horse cavalryman and sad to say he recognized that the day of the cavalry had passed and the day of armor and mechanized warfare had begun in World War I. The tank was introduced there, but it was a prototype similar to the tank you see in this film.

Rex Allen is an old cavalryman in this film and he's been hired by the army to mediate a dispute between ranchers and the army about the use of government land for grazing stock. The army now wants to use their grazing land for tank testing. Roy Barcroft who raises horses for the cavalry as his biggest customer stands to be wiped out and he rouses up the other ranchers.

In a way I can't blame Barcroft, but times change and technology is what changes them. But he's Barcroft playing his usual crafty villain and his craftiness gets a young officer killed.

The word treason is thrown around in this film and remember this is the Cold War years when the film came out. Young John Crawford who got a dishonorable discharge and served with Allen is a willing and eager henchman for Barcroft. He learns his lesson a bit too late here.

Slim Pickens is along providing his usual sidekick comic relief. Old Oklahoma Plains is a good action film with an interesting subject for a western.