Movie of the Day

Cimarron (1931)

This historical early western stars Richard Dix, Irene Dunne and a brilliant cast of supporting characters. Based on the novel by "Giant" author Edna Ferber this early talking western is an historically important movie. Depicting the great Oklahoma land rush of 1889, this film chronicles the life of an adventurer named Yancey Cravat, his wife and his family during the early part of the 20th century.
I had never even heard of the Oklahoma land rush of 1889 before I seen this movie. Perhaps I had seen it in a book I was suppose to read or heard about it in class but not until I viewed the movie Cimarron did I learn exactly what it was. This movie is a great time capsule of that time and place. The viewer gets to see exactly how people lived in that part of America starting with the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889.
Now maybe learning about this event could not change the world as we know it, but it is an interesting depiction on what society was like back then. How will we ever know where we are if we do not learn about where we have been.
Cimarron was remade with Glenn Ford in 1960. This version is just as good as the original and harder to find since it is not on DVD yet. While the story is basically the same, it has a bit more spit and polish and the ending is a bit different.




The Richard Dix version should be viewed first for posterities sake. Also because 1931 is not very far away from the time period the story is depicting, this version is more realistic. The Glenn Ford version however is also amazing, but for different reasons. There is a DVD version available for the original version but not for the remake. Lets hope things do not always come in threes. I would hate to see a 21st century remake on this. But what I do need to see is a DVD release for the 1960 Glenn Ford version. As a Glenn Ford fan, this film is an essential. If your a Richard Dix fan, the 1931 version is a must have. But the youth of today need to see both versions. The kids of today need to experience something outside of the 21st century. These are confusing times. In the past are the answers for the questions we seek to ask.

Links for both films
1931
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021746/
1960
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053715/

Thanks for reading. Now go rent/buy these titles, you will not be disappointed.

For more info on classic film and classic film on TV check out:
Turner Classic Movies
http://www.TCM.com