Oklahoma Crude is Stanley Kramer's attempt at a western, semi-modern though it might be. It also is quite a different look at early statehood Oklahoma circa 1913. The movie kind of dates itself when a drunken George
C. Scott and John Mills listen and sing along to a gramophone record of You
Made Me Love You which came out in 1913.
It's nothing like that other movie of Oklahoma's early days Cimarron, Edna Ferber's tale of pioneer women and Yancey Cravat who has an honored place with cowboy heroes. George C. Scott is no hero, but he's forced into a heroic mold because he doesn't like being spit on as Jack Palance the oil company man does.
Three very estranged people Faye Dunaway who is one liberated and independent woman determined to hang on to her oil lease and bring in an oil well gusher. She has to accept help from her father John Mills and from George C. Scott who Mills finds on the bum so to speak. He certainly does have certain skills that he brings to bear. Palance is his usual rough customer as the oil company man.
One ought to see Cimarron, both versions to contrast with this film. One ought to also see the MGM big budget film about the oil industry Boom Town that starred Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, and Claudette Colbert. The film is an ode to laissez faire capitalism and its attitudes are 180 degrees apart from Oklahoma Crude.
The end also has one ironic postscript and more in line with real life than most of what you see.
And George C. Scott is bad for the bad guys, but a cowboy hero he ain't.
It's nothing like that other movie of Oklahoma's early days Cimarron, Edna Ferber's tale of pioneer women and Yancey Cravat who has an honored place with cowboy heroes. George C. Scott is no hero, but he's forced into a heroic mold because he doesn't like being spit on as Jack Palance the oil company man does.
Three very estranged people Faye Dunaway who is one liberated and independent woman determined to hang on to her oil lease and bring in an oil well gusher. She has to accept help from her father John Mills and from George C. Scott who Mills finds on the bum so to speak. He certainly does have certain skills that he brings to bear. Palance is his usual rough customer as the oil company man.
One ought to see Cimarron, both versions to contrast with this film. One ought to also see the MGM big budget film about the oil industry Boom Town that starred Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, and Claudette Colbert. The film is an ode to laissez faire capitalism and its attitudes are 180 degrees apart from Oklahoma Crude.
The end also has one ironic postscript and more in line with real life than most of what you see.
And George C. Scott is bad for the bad guys, but a cowboy hero he ain't.