The Best Picture of 1930-1931 is…..”Cimarron.” This western epic drama tells the story of an adventurous newspaper editor who moves west to Oklahoma in 1889 with his wife and all of the drama that he and his wife experience in the news business over the next forty years. Director Wesley Ruggles did a marvelous job with production values, from a good screenplay by Howard Estabrook and Louis Sarecky, adapted from the 1930 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber.
Richard Dix and Irene Dunne are fantastic in the lead roles of Yancey and Sabra Cravat. Dix was an actor who successfully navigated the transition from silent pictures to talkies, and he delivered a good performance here. Irene Dunne is at the beginning of her career that lasted decades in Hollywood. Good chemistry between the two is apparent in “Cimarron.”
Tolerant racial attitudes ahead of its time were demonstrated in this film. There was a recognition of discrimination against Native Americans. And young black actor Eugene Jackson portrayed the family help Isaiah, who gave his life protecting the Cravats. Other co-stars include Estelle Taylor, Nance O’Neill, William Collier Jr., Roscoe Ates, George E. Stone, Stanley Fields, Robert McWade, Judith Barrett, and Edna May Oliver.
The very watchable “Cimarron” has stood the test of time, and was popular in theatrical release for producer William LeBaron and RKO Radio Pictures. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning three: Best Picture (then called “Outstanding Production”), Best Art Direction, and Best Writing, Adaptation.
Cimarron (1931)
cinema
My Review
The Best Picture of 1930-1931 is…..”Cimarron.” This western epic drama tells the story of an adventurous newspaper editor who moves west to Oklahoma in 1889 with his wife and all of the drama that he and his wife experience in the news business over the next forty years. Director Wesley Ruggles did a marvelous job with production values, from a good screenplay by Howard Estabrook and Louis Sarecky, adapted from the 1930 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber.
Richard Dix and Irene Dunne are fantastic in the lead roles of Yancey and Sabra Cravat. Dix was an actor who successfully navigated the transition from silent pictures to talkies, and he delivered a good performance here. Irene Dunne is at the beginning of her career that lasted decades in Hollywood. Good chemistry between the two is apparent in “Cimarron.”
Tolerant racial attitudes ahead of its time were demonstrated in this film. There was a recognition of discrimination against Native Americans. And young black actor Eugene Jackson portrayed the family help Isaiah, who gave his life protecting the Cravats. Other co-stars include Estelle Taylor, Nance O’Neill, William Collier Jr., Roscoe Ates, George E. Stone, Stanley Fields, Robert McWade, Judith Barrett, and Edna May Oliver.
The very watchable “Cimarron” has stood the test of time, and was popular in theatrical release for producer William LeBaron and RKO Radio Pictures. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning three: Best Picture (then called “Outstanding Production”), Best Art Direction, and Best Writing, Adaptation.