Considered the first Western to win the Academy Award, Cimarron is an ambitious adaptation of the Edna Farber novel of the same name. It has a some charm, bringing us into the world of the Okalahoma territory during the land rush, but it moves along at a snails pace. The movie was made still in the early years of “talkies” and it has its roots in silent films with stiff dialogue. The movie follows the lives of Yancey Cravat and his family over a 40 year period as they move west into the Oklahoma territory, start a newspaper and become some of the most popular citizens of the Cimarron territory (Oklahoma).
The film opens the morning of the Oklahoma land rush and Yancey Cravat a well known newspaperman is set to stake his claim in the territory. By some misfortune Cravat does not get his piece of land but returns to Wichita to get his wife and infant son to return to Oklahoma. He decides to settle in one of the largest boomtowns called Osage (fictional). When they arrive Yancey quickly realizes that he is around many of his old pals, other frontier adventurers.
Yancey decides to do what he knows best and that is start a newspaper. His paper quickly becomes a success and he becomes the unofficial mayor the town. He also becomes Forrest Gump, a major player in every event that happens in town.
First there is an outlaw gang that terrorizes many of the local citizens and businesses. Out of nowhere a gun fight erupts and Yancey leaps from his office to go out on the street and engage in the gunfight. He ends up shooting down the head of the gang and being hailed as a hero by the towns people. Yancey is now the most well known citizen in all of the Oklahoma territory.
Now things get positively confusing. The movie had a good linear story line to this point but now it breaks off into a wild screenplay that has no direction. Yancey somehow becomes the preacher for the towns church because of his ability to bring everyone together. This storyline lasts about 3 minutes. I guess this is Yancey’s fate, but he is always looking for a new challenge.
At this point the movie takes a dramatic shift, only adding to the confusion.. Yancey wants to now explore the Cherokee strip, a new land rush area of Oklahoma. He tries to convince his wife to leave but she declines and he takes off for three years. Now the character of Ms. Sabra Cravat’s character goes from being an obedient wife to a newspaper tycoon like her husband.
If none of this is making sense, just wait until you watch the movie. Sabra has now raised her family and has two adult children. Yancey returns from nowhere, saying he has no land in the Cherokee strip. Literally the day he returns there is major trial have to do with some Indian relations and somehow Yancey becomes the defense lawyer and dramatically wins the case. Yancey and Sabra’s marriage is teetering on the brink because she has now established herself.
Yancey is soon back established as the towns preeminent citizen. So much so, that Oklahoma is receiving statehood and the townspeople want him to run for governor as part of the progressive party. Though Yancey is intrigued he feels he would have to compromise his belief structure in order to be governor so he declines, but his wife is interested in the world of politics. Oklahoma is getting statehood mainly because of the discovery of oil. Again Yancey cannot resist and he runs off to be an oil man.
Sabra again becomes the head of the family and follows in her husbands footsteps, getting involved in politics. Eventually she is elected as the first female congressmen. Her kids are grown, her husband is gone and she is now the most popular person in Osage. The movie wraps up with a big dinner honoring Sabra and her accomplishments, but there is one final twist that is so ludicrous to try and describe would make your head hurt.
As you can tell from this synopsis, I was not big fan of the movie. What’s worse is I think there is a movie in there somewhere, but it was just all a big jumbled mess. Like I said earlier the movie never found its way and stayed on a storyline. The scenery and set pieces were ambitious for the time, including the opening land rush scenes, but the movie just didn’t work. It’s the first true clunker on the list and I give it only a 1.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
Mutiny on the Bounty, 1935
One of the first real “action” movies tells the story of harsh treatment and mutiny aboard the H.M.S. Bounty, highlighting the stories of the evil Captain Bligh and First Mate Fletcher Christian. This films pits two of the best actors of its time, Clark Gable as Christian and Charles Loughton as Bligh (most famous for his role as Quasimodo in 1939’s Hunchback of Notre Dame). Though based on a factual event the movie definitely takes many historical liberties, but what historical movie doesn’t.
The film starts in the English town of Portsmouth as the men are given their orders. They are to set sail on the H.M.S. Bounty and head for Tahiti to acquire breadfruit trees. The men know that it will be a long difficult journey, two years at sea, but there is an honor and whimsical feeling of being a sailor of that era. The men are proud and happy to serve their country and truly want to be good sailors.
As they are about to set sail they quickly learn that Capt. Bligh will be a harsh commander. He takes a sailor who stole rations and sentences him to a flogging. When they pull this soldier out in front of the men, the sailor is already dead, but Bligh has him flogged anyway. The next 35 minutes of the movie uses what is commonly known as an American montage. Using a map to indicate time is passing and then showing scenes to elaborate that passage of time.
Each vignette is basically another case of a sailor doing something “wrong” and Bligh punishing him. He makes one sailor sit in the lookout post for three days through a driving rain. Another man he has thrown over board to drown, and various floggings and imprisonments to others. Many of the sailors begin to grow weary and tired of the shabby treatment. On several occasion the ships first mate Fletcher Christian (Clark Gable) openly questions Capt. Bligh. After imprisoning several men for a theft they did not commit Christian decides its time to truly speak up.
Captain Bligh brings Christian up on trial for mutiny. However, as the proceedings are being conducted land is spotted off in the distance, they have reached their destination. The men will get a few months leave as they restock the ship and make repairs to sail back to England. However, Bligh makes Christian stay on the ship and oversee the repairs not granting him any shore leave. Eventually Bligh grants Christian some shore leave, but he abuses it showing up back to the ship two days late. Christian has fallen in love with a Tahitian girl, the daughter of the chief of the island.
As they ship out for their return to Portsmouth Bligh orders that water supply for the men be cut in order to provide enough water to keep the breadfruit plants alive. This turns out to be the last straw for Christian. He gathers up most of the underlings on the ship to lead a mutiny against Bligh. Most of the officers on the ship are on Bligh’s side and there is a set of 5 men who do not take either side. Christian sets Bligh and his supporters adrift on a small boat with some rations, supplies, and navigation equipment. Christian then announces to his men that they are setting sail back for Tahiti where they will live.
Bligh is an expert sailor and he sets his sights on the small island of Timor. As Bligh and his men have a harsh time getting to Timor, Christian and his men are enjoying a wonderful life on Tahiti. Bligh eventually reach’s his destination, and presumably finds safety. The men on Tahiti are enjoying themselves when after a year passes a ship is spotted in the distance flying the British flag. Captain Bligh is back for revenge, but Christian wants no conflict. He takes his men and sets the Mutiny at sail to find their own island to live. Bligh lands ashore on Tahiti and takes the five men who did not commit the mutiny under arrest.
The movie is a little confusing and jumps back and for the without much of a narrative as you can see by this rambling review. I don’t know how else to describe this movie but to try and show the back and forth. The men go back to England and are put on trial because even though they did not participate they did not do anything to prevent the mutiny. The one man sailor who is on trial is named Byam because he was heard plotting with Christian. As the trial is going on the Bounty has found an island to land on and live. But this is really the end of what we know about he sailors on the bounty. Byam is eventually found guilty of mutiny, but then the verdict is reversed and he is allowed to be a sailor again. That is the happy ending to the movie, but overall the end is rushed an inconclusive.
The movie was considered great at the time of its release presumably because of the power of the two main actors and because some of the sea scenes were monumental for the time. They actually set sail with a ship to shoot parts of the movie and went on location to Tahiti which in 1934 I can assume was not as easy as location shooting is today. Overall it was a disappointing movie, especially because of the ending. The other problem was Clark Gable was way too movie star handsome to be playing a gruff 18th century sailor. I have a problem saying it was any better than a 2 star movie.
The film starts in the English town of Portsmouth as the men are given their orders. They are to set sail on the H.M.S. Bounty and head for Tahiti to acquire breadfruit trees. The men know that it will be a long difficult journey, two years at sea, but there is an honor and whimsical feeling of being a sailor of that era. The men are proud and happy to serve their country and truly want to be good sailors.
As they are about to set sail they quickly learn that Capt. Bligh will be a harsh commander. He takes a sailor who stole rations and sentences him to a flogging. When they pull this soldier out in front of the men, the sailor is already dead, but Bligh has him flogged anyway. The next 35 minutes of the movie uses what is commonly known as an American montage. Using a map to indicate time is passing and then showing scenes to elaborate that passage of time.
Each vignette is basically another case of a sailor doing something “wrong” and Bligh punishing him. He makes one sailor sit in the lookout post for three days through a driving rain. Another man he has thrown over board to drown, and various floggings and imprisonments to others. Many of the sailors begin to grow weary and tired of the shabby treatment. On several occasion the ships first mate Fletcher Christian (Clark Gable) openly questions Capt. Bligh. After imprisoning several men for a theft they did not commit Christian decides its time to truly speak up.
Captain Bligh brings Christian up on trial for mutiny. However, as the proceedings are being conducted land is spotted off in the distance, they have reached their destination. The men will get a few months leave as they restock the ship and make repairs to sail back to England. However, Bligh makes Christian stay on the ship and oversee the repairs not granting him any shore leave. Eventually Bligh grants Christian some shore leave, but he abuses it showing up back to the ship two days late. Christian has fallen in love with a Tahitian girl, the daughter of the chief of the island.
As they ship out for their return to Portsmouth Bligh orders that water supply for the men be cut in order to provide enough water to keep the breadfruit plants alive. This turns out to be the last straw for Christian. He gathers up most of the underlings on the ship to lead a mutiny against Bligh. Most of the officers on the ship are on Bligh’s side and there is a set of 5 men who do not take either side. Christian sets Bligh and his supporters adrift on a small boat with some rations, supplies, and navigation equipment. Christian then announces to his men that they are setting sail back for Tahiti where they will live.
Bligh is an expert sailor and he sets his sights on the small island of Timor. As Bligh and his men have a harsh time getting to Timor, Christian and his men are enjoying a wonderful life on Tahiti. Bligh eventually reach’s his destination, and presumably finds safety. The men on Tahiti are enjoying themselves when after a year passes a ship is spotted in the distance flying the British flag. Captain Bligh is back for revenge, but Christian wants no conflict. He takes his men and sets the Mutiny at sail to find their own island to live. Bligh lands ashore on Tahiti and takes the five men who did not commit the mutiny under arrest.
The movie is a little confusing and jumps back and for the without much of a narrative as you can see by this rambling review. I don’t know how else to describe this movie but to try and show the back and forth. The men go back to England and are put on trial because even though they did not participate they did not do anything to prevent the mutiny. The one man sailor who is on trial is named Byam because he was heard plotting with Christian. As the trial is going on the Bounty has found an island to land on and live. But this is really the end of what we know about he sailors on the bounty. Byam is eventually found guilty of mutiny, but then the verdict is reversed and he is allowed to be a sailor again. That is the happy ending to the movie, but overall the end is rushed an inconclusive.
The movie was considered great at the time of its release presumably because of the power of the two main actors and because some of the sea scenes were monumental for the time. They actually set sail with a ship to shoot parts of the movie and went on location to Tahiti which in 1934 I can assume was not as easy as location shooting is today. Overall it was a disappointing movie, especially because of the ending. The other problem was Clark Gable was way too movie star handsome to be playing a gruff 18th century sailor. I have a problem saying it was any better than a 2 star movie.
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