Oklahoma Crude

Faye Dunaway has guts - or, if I wasn't such a lady, I would use a different word. In Oklahoma Crude, she wears trousers, shares a shack with a scruffy drifter, holds no qualms about bursting into an occupied outhouse, and defends her land by shooting a shotgun at her own father when he trespasses. She is one tough cookie! If you're a fan of hers, you won't want to miss this quirky period piece.

If you're not a fan of hers, and if you're not a fan of George C. Scott, God help you. The studio uglied Faye up as much as possible to make her seem tough and uninterested in femininity. She's a crude woman - crude oil, that is. The drill is on her land, and despite bankruptcy, lack of help, and little hope, she's determined to strike oil. Sometimes she appears to be stupid and making bad decisions, but just keep in mind her character's primary motivation is oil, not safety. George plays a hobo and he accepts the work because he has no income and no shelter. He doesn't have much motivation besides that either. John Mills is Faye's father, and Jack Palance is (three guesses and the first two don't count) the bad guy. My favorite part of the movie was Henry Mancini's adorable, catchy theme. It does have some funny moments, though, because as much as oil drilling is a serious business, sometimes you have to take time out and laugh at your situation.

Arguably the best latter-day Stanley Kramer film (i.e. made during his lean 1969-79 period); being a light-hearted romp with a mean streak, it might also be his oddest. It features an eclectic cast, with both George C. Scott (as a drifter) and John Mills (as Faye Dunaway's estranged father) shining in their comical roles; Dunaway herself (in an unflattering black wig) and Jack Palance (as a menacing thug, what else?) are also well-cast. Henry Mancini's flavorful score (and song) adds to the film's eccentricity, given its proliferation of foul language and occasional bouts of violence. In essence, patchy but generally enjoyable - and occasionally uproarious (Scott's priceless reaction to Dunaway's Third Sex speech and the second Scott-Palance confrontation). I had this on a VHS of wretched quality for years (though the quality of Robert Surtees' cinematography is still evident), but only watched it now to commemorate Palance's passing.

Dismissed by critics as one of Stanley Kramer's later flops, OKLAHOMA CRUDE is not bad. It does, however, suffer from an identity crisis. Is it a comedy? Is it a drama? Is it a western? It's not really any of those. Nor, thankfully, is it one of Kramer's social issue epics. Faye Dunaway gives it her all as a demented wild-catter trying to get oil from a lone well while keeping the big time oil companies off her land. She's helped out by her ne'er do well father John Mills and a hapless drifter played by George C. Scott. Scott and Dunaway have great chemistry and Kramer wisely downplays any love story. However, although they make a scrappy team, they're not particularly likable. In fact, none of the characters in this film is very pleasant, therefore there's nobody to really root for.

Kramer, like his contemporaries Billy Wilder and Otto Preminger, seemed to have lost his way by the 1970s. OKLAHOMA CRUDE doesn't click as comedy or drama. The actors are poorly directed: Dunaway is completely humorless, while Scott plays his part as if he's in a broad farce. Jack Palance, as the villain, appears to be spoofing his own clenched jaw persona.

For some bizarre reason, this excellent comedy drama was not released where I live in in Australia in 1975. As a drama with an interesting cast and spectacular visuals OKLAHOMA CRUDE is definitely an improved taste, rather like Mc Cabe and Mrs Miller or even Paint Your Wagon. Muddy Wild West and very grubby even sexually, this essentially three hander is essentially a sex farce with oil power play interwoven. Kramer films are always interesting, even if failures and for some reason beyond me, this film was not as gusher. The scene where Scott literally pees in Palance' pocket is genuinely funny, as is the hilarious scene where Dunaway explains her 'self reliance' sexually. This film deserves a re appraisal and a new audience.

Director Kramer was always much maligned by the critics (he and Pauline Kael never traded Christmas gifts). His 'important' films were considered placid, threadbare, and manipulative. His films on race relations like THE DEFIANT ONES and GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER treated the issue in a very simplistic and tasteful way. Giving one the impression that he was more interested in not offending anyone and being acceptable than actually making a real movie.

However this one, which is one of his later and least known efforts, tends to break that mold. For Kramer it is actually quite edgy. He still tries to tackle the issue of the day, in this case feminism and a womens place in a mans world, but he does it in a much more sophisticated way. He looks at the issue from different angles and surrounds it with a sense of fun and irreverence. Things aren't quite as obvious as with his other films and the characters are more interesting and quirky.

Basically it is a revisionist western with strong willed Dunaway hiring drifter Scott to help protect her property from greedy land baron Palance who wants the land for it's oil. Really though that is all just an excuse to show how although both sexes deserve equal rights there are still many differences between them and how one really does need to other because of this. It also shows the little intricacies that come about when a man and women work together compared to when two men or two women work together.

The two leads are perfect. Both have always had very strong on screen personas, yet here Scott deftly underplays his, which makes for a very interesting on screen chemistry. Palance however as the heavy is completely wasted simply because he is not given enough screen time.

Overall this is a fun picture that is well paced and should, if anything, keep you entertained. It doesn't really push the limits enough to be a classic, but it does have a few memorable moments.

A few of those moments come with some snappy exchanges. At one point Dunaway softens a bit and tries to explain to Scott why she has been so cold to him. She says "I know I have been a bitch, but this world can be very hard place for a women." Then Scott without missing a beat says "Well it can be a hard place for a man too." There's also a conversation where Dunaway explains why she would like to have both the male and female sex organs. Her answer to how she would go about satisfying herself is a good one.