Monday, August 28, 2017

Best Pictures #44: 1930-31 (4th) Academy Awards Outstanding Production Winner Cimarron (1931)

by A.J.

Best Pictures #44: 1930-31 (4th) Academy Awards Outstanding Production Winner
Cimarron (1931)
Cimarron, RKO’s big budget western that was the Academy’s choice for Outstanding Production of 1930-31, has not aged well. It was well received by critics at the time, but a modern viewer would be likely to disagree. I know I did. As of 2017, Cimarron holds a 53% rating on RottenTomatoes.com, based on only 17 reviews. It did not perform well at the box office and actually lost money for RKO in its initial theatrical release. Its poor box office performance was more than likely due to the onset of the Great Depression, which was in full effect by 1931. It was rereleased in 1935 and made back most of its money. 
Cimarron tells the decades spanning story of 19th century newspaper editor Yancey Cravat who settles his family in the boom town of Osage, Oklahoma just after the Land Rush. Richard Dix plays Yancey and though he received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, his performance comes across as overly grandiose and exaggerated even for an era with heightened acting styles. Dix uses big gestures the way a silent film actor would, and one must keep in mind that talkies were only three years old when Cimarron was made. Yancey is determined to settle on a piece of one of the last frontiers of the United States. In the most exciting scene in the movie, Yancey takes place in the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889. This reenactment took one week to film, used 5000 extras, and required 28 cameramen to shoot. We see horses and covered wagons at the starting line waiting for the starting pistol. Despite not getting any land in the Rush, Yancey moves his family to Osage against the protestations of his wife, Saba, played by Irene Dunne. Yancey is set on building a new home in a new land for his family. 
As a modern-day viewer, I found Cimarron old fashioned and dated, and not in a charming way. The very first thing we see and hear in the movie is a couple of cowboys yelling at some American Indians, calling them “redskins.” Yancy’s wife, Saba, is especially repulsed by the native peoples, calling them “dirty” and “filthy” and scolds her son for playing with a Native American boy. It is mentioned briefly by another character that Yancey is sympathetic to Native Americans, which does not win him any favor with the white settlers. However, aside from naming his son Cimarron, there is only one scene showing his sympathy for Native Americans when Yancey objects to a businessman’s scheme to steal Native American land on which oil was recently discovered. This scene takes place in 1907 when Yancey is running for governor. He jeopardizes his campaign by printing an editorial that states: “the time has come to give the redman full citizenship.” 
A young black boy named Isiah moves with Yancey to Osage and Yancey is kind to him, but he also points out a watermelon patch to Isiah when they first arrive in Osage. Isiah is the most servile character in the movie and is meant to be comic relief; this character portrayal is one of many things that has not aged well. His scenes would make a modern audience cringe. However, at least Isiah is a character. There are no Native Americans with speaking parts in a film called Cimarron. The portrayal of the treatment of blacks and Native Americans is unfortunately period appropriate, but does not enhance the film with any sense of realism. 
Female characters fair only slightly better in terms of portrayal and treatment in Cimarron. In a scene which I was only able to half enjoy, Sabra marches right up to the town bully and scolds him for shooting her husband’s hat off his head—bullets were more accurate back then, I guess. Yancey marches up to her and tells her not to interfere in a “friendly shootout” between two men. He tells her that it will all over town that he hides behind his wife’s petticoat. Yancey may be out to tame the west but it is Sabra that runs the home and the newspaper on the many occasions when Yancey gets “wanderlust” and leaves his home and family at the drop of a hat to take part in a new land rush or settle new lands. We’re supposed to accept and even admire that he cannot set down roots for more than a few years. He disappears for years at a time without a word sent home which is something I cannot admire, no matter much land there is to tame. In her husband’s absence Sabra becomes a congresswoman, but the film barely pays attention to that. At least Irene Dunne received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her role as Sabra.
Despite Cimarron’s epic scope, it does not have breathtaking visuals or memorable set pieces aside from the Land Rush scene at the opening of the film. The cinematography was nominated for an Oscar and while I’ll concede that what is on screen is well photographed, there is no distinct visual style or flair to any scene of the movie. Cimarron did win an Oscar for Art Direction, which is an impressive element of the movie. RKO bought 89 acres of land outside of Encino, CA to build the “boomer town” of Osage. The sets and look of the town make the shots of the crowded downtown area impressive. The set design likely helped the cinematography get a nomination, but much more likely the Academy voters liked the film so much they nominated it for every category for which it qualified. Cimarron had the most nominations of any film at the 4th Academy Awards with a total of seven. It was the first film to be nominated for all of the “major categories” (Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, Screenplay). Cimarron would be the most awarded film of the night with 3 wins: Art Direction, Writing Adaptation, and Outstanding Production. It was the only film produced and released by RKO to win Best Picture. 
Cimarron is technically a Pre-Code film but has none of the daring or boldness associated with Pre-Code movies. It feels dull and bland today. Even with shoot outs and the Land Rush scene, this movie lacks thrills and excitement. The characters and dialogue are stock, stilted, and bland. Dix’s character is overblown. He is THE MAN in Osage; he runs the newspaper, shoots down outlaws, becomes the town minister, is known by everyone, shoots a whiskey bottle out of someone’s hand, and when he shoots an outlaw, the outlaw essentially thanks Yancey before he dies. It’s a bit much. Yancey is practically a superman and because of this I never felt any danger or concern for him or his family. There is no challenge that is not immediately and easily conquerable for Yancey, aside from the Land Rush. His character feels artificial, perhaps because Dix’s dated performance and the way the character is written. Yancey has a vision of taming the West that many male characters have in classic westerns, but Cimarron does not feel like a classic western. A film has no control over which elements will become dated and effect the way it is viewed by later audiences. There are countless films that have dated themes, acting styles, or dialogue but still retain their entertainment value and a sense of charm. Cimarron, however, is not one of those films. 
Nominee: RKO
Producer: William LeBaron
Director: Wesley Ruggles
Screenplay: Howard Estabrook, based on the novel by Edna Ferber
Cast: Richard Dix, Irene Dunne, Estelle Taylor
Release Date: February 9th, 1931
Total Nominations: 7, including Outstanding Production
Wins: 3, including Outstanding Production, Writing Adaptation-Howard Estabrook, Art Direction-Max Rèe
Other Nominations: Actor-Richard Dix, Actress-Irene Dunne, Director-Wesley Ruggles, Cinematography-Edward Conjager

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