Oklahoma Outlaws

If anyone who saw this film back in 1943 as a short subject with a Warner Brothers feature and thought this looked familiar, they were absolutely right. Even the costumes were the same for Robert Shayne and Warner Anderson playing the roles that James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart played. Of course with those guys being somewhat taller than Cagney and Bogey the fit had to be considerably let out for this mini-version of The Oklahoma Kid.

Apparently Warner Brothers was doing something like that with a few of their classics. I saw another mini-version of Dodge City done by them at the same time which also used footage from the original. That one was so badly edited you could plainly recognize Errol Flynn and Olivia DeHavilland in crowd scenes.

Never say the old moguls didn't know how to salvage and reuse.

It's a two-reel short about the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1893 and the founding of Tulsa. Robert Shayne and Erville Anderson want to build a town without gambling or alcohol but have to compromise with Warner Anderson.

It's a very cheaply shot western short, derived in large part by reusing footage from THE OKLAHOMA KID. To make long shots match, they dress players the same, although anyone who confuses Robert Shayne for Jimmy Cagney... well, pay attention!

The big set piece is the staging of the Land Rush. It's a great event, used in several pictures. they include the penny-farthing bicycle every time. I know it was reported in the papers, but I have a hard time believing it wasn't a fabrication.

Using background music from "Santa Fe Trail" and stock footage from other Warner westerns, OKLAHOMA OUTLAWS is a fast-paced yarn about the Oklahoma land rush and the good men vs. bad outlaws that is the theme of just about every western from Hollywood.

ROBERT SHAYNE is the good cowboy who ends up becoming sheriff and WARNER ANDERSON is the bad guy who meets his fate in the shootout finale.

The twenty minutes of running time moves swiftly and provides some action packed moments that make it easy to watch as the simple story of good vs. evil unfolds.

Summing up: Nothing special but passes the time pleasantly.

THE OKLAHOMA KID rides again as this Warners short reaps miles of footage from that feature film into an abbreviated version. The names of the hero and villain are unchanged, and leads Robert Shayne and Warner Anderson are dressed just as were Cagney and Bogart in the original film.

At times you can spot both Bogie and Cagney in long shots or "from behind" shots. All of the action and crowd scenes come from Lloyd Bacon's film, and it's practically a sin that he wasn't credited.

Charles Middleton, who was in the original film, shows up again, this time in a different role. Addison Richards, often seen as a doctor, lawyer or military man in tons of 40s films, shows up as a judge. Like most of these shorts featuring either Shayne or George Reeves (who would appear together years later in the "Superman" TV series), the budget may have been minuscule, but they're fun to the maximum.

Oklahoma Outlaws (1943)

**** (out of 4)

Excellent Warner short mixes historical drama with the Western genre to deliver one of the most action packed and suspenseful shorts I've seen. In the film, after the Oklahoma land rush of 1893, a family helps create what would become known as Tulsa but a gang of outlaws are also in town with their own plans. Robert Shayne is excellent as the hero and Warner Anderson packs a nice punch as the rival. The film works wonderfully well as a historical drama of the land rush and the fictional Western segment has all sorts of good action.