Cimarron (1930)

9/12

(Kansas, Oklahoma; 1889-1930)

Based on the novel by Edna Ferber, 'Cimarron' (supposedly Indian for 'Wild Country') is the story of the Cravet's (Richard Dix and Irene Dunne), a young couple who leave Wichita to be part of the settlement of 'a new empire' in Oklahoma. Dune's Sabra is the daughter of a society family whose marriage to the adventures Yancey (Dix) is a sometimes volatile one, yet ultimately proves enduring, despite the sometimes years long absences of the male partner. Yancy is driven by both a sense of adventure, and a civil libertarian streak with biblical overtones. He's a bit of rouge, a lawyer, a newspaper publisher, land speculator and amateur preacher. He's suppose to be interesting, and he kind of is, in fact they both are, but the execution of the story seems dated and to be honest board me (I multi tasked through most of my viewing). It's scope made it a groundbreaking film for its time, with sound technology having progressed to the point that large outdoor action sequences could again be filmed (having been largely abandoned with the decline of silent). A slow start hurts the film however, and while the two leads are excellent in their roles, its not a movie most modern audiances would find compelling enough to sit through, and this includes some classic movie fans. Anyway it was kind of neat to see an early Ferber film, as many of the elements that would be present in her later books and films (minority rights, independent women) are present here in, as is the story format concerning a western family and their close associates over the course of several tumultuous decades, later used so splendidly in 'Giant', which currently holds the statues of my favorite film of all time.