Cimarron
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Movie Reviews of Cimarron
Movie Review: An historical curiosity, perhaps, but little else
Summary: 2 Stars
My girlfriend suggested we start NetFlixing movies that won the Best Film Oscar, hence my introduction to this odd little time capsule from the '30s.
This is a film that has not aged well, and let me be clear that I am not referring to things such as its cinemetography, but to its story and character portrayals. There actually is very little plot in this, but it seems to be more of a prolonged character study of the main character, Yancy. Sadly, this is one of the weakest features in the film, as the character is such an unbelievably larger-than-life superman that I found myself at first unable to take him seriously and eventually actively disliking him.
Yancy actually reminded me of Captain Kirk, for not only does Richard Dix's over-the-top overacting forshadow Shatner, but Yancey is somehow a master of all trades and situations that he insists on handling himself. The bank's getting robbed? Yancy springs into action and single-handedly stops them. Someone needs a spontaneous sermon? Yancy's the man to give it. Who will come to the (legal) defense of an unjustifiably persecuted strumpet? Yancey's your man. Et cetera, ad nausium. Despite all this (ahem) positive aspects, Yancy is shown (by today's standards) to be an insensitive husband with the attention span of a gnat on crystal meth.
In all honesty, one of the reasons the film held my interest was I was curious to see if Yancy would get any kind of "come-uppance." Sadly, he doesn't, which makes me think that the producers intended him to be the seriously-taken hero. I'm actually curious to know how he was received by audiences back in the time, if they hated him as much as I did.
The film is also racist in its portrayals of African and Native Americans (as well as the one Jewish character in it) though these can probably be excused (though NOT forgiven) as products of the times. You can also say it's somewhat mysogynistic, as Yancy's long-suffering wife is shown to humbly obey and deal with him demurely with almost no sticking up for herself. Again, I'm mildly interested to know if contemporary audiences would have been as put off as my girlfriend and I were.
Not recommended, except perhaps as an historical curiosity.
Movie Review: A Creaky Western Saga
Summary: 2 Stars
It's hard to believe this 1931 relic won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Wesley Ruggles' clumsy production of Edna Ferber's "Cimarron" survives only as a curio. The western saga opens with a rehash of the Oklahoma land-rush sequence from William S. Hart's 1925 classic "Tumbleweeds" and goes downhill fast. Richard Dix's cartoonish portrayal belongs in the School of Bad Acting, but Irene Dunne makes the most of her first starring role. In retrospect, "Cimarron" might have worked better as a silent film.