Cimarron

Starring: Richard Dix, Irene Dunne, Estelle Taylor
Directed by: Wesley Ruggles
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Western
1931

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Yancey Clavat (Richard Dix) is a former gunslinger turned newspaper man who moves out West with his family, intent on starting a new life and seeking his fortune.

Review:

Tim: Is this the worst film to ever win an Academy Award for Best Picture? It certainly may be. I am shocked and amazed that in 1931, this movie was deemed the Best Picture of the year. I am surprised, because this is not a great movie. In fact, it is often boring and occasionally mind-numbing. This is nothing but a run-of-the-mill, normal movie. It certainly does not deserve the awards it received.

The major flaw with the movie is that the story is just very boring. Yancey Clavat (what a terrible name) is not a very likeable character, as he strangely abandons his family for years and decades at a time, for no real reason, always appearing again with very little or any explanation. His family seems fine with it. What is that? The cast are all holdovers from the silent films days, and they do not make the transition very well. The movie lumbers along at a frighteningly slow pace. The film is a ridiculous 133 minutes, which is way, way too long. It is oftentimes painful to get through.

The cast is not great. I simply couldn't stand Richard Dix in the lead role. He is a major overactor and not very effective at all. I simply didn't believe him or like him in the least. This obviously hurts the movie. Irene Dunne, on the other hand, is quite good. This is only her second role, but you can see her star potential. I really enjoyed her performance. The rest of the cast isn't really worth mentioning.

Now, I have gone on and on about this film's flaws, but I have to admit there are some strengths as well. This movie is the first Western to win a Best Picture, and it does so because of the epic scale it brings to the genre. This film is truly massive in scale. This is perhaps most evident in the opening scene, a gigantic recreation of the 1889 Oklahoma Land Rush. This truly sets a great tone for the picture (which it subsequently squanders), as this opening sequence is truly amazing. It was probably my favorite of the film.

Cimarron is not a great movie. Yes, it is epic in scale, which is impressive in its own right. However, the story and the characters are lacking. It did win 3 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Art Direction, and Best Adapted Screenplay. For that reason, this movie might be worth seeing, but just know that it is not very good at all. It is a decent movie that has some rare good moments, but as a whole, it is a disappointing, forgettable movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Wings, How the West Was Won