Cimarron
About Cimarron
Yancey Cravat (Richard Dix) and his wife Sabra (Irene Dunne) join the 1889 Oklahoma land rush. Dixie Lee beats him to the Bear Creek claim, so he settles in the boomtown of Osage, kills the outlaw Lon Yountis, and starts the newspaper the Oklahoma Wigwam. When an old friend called the Kid leads a gang into town, Yancey kills him too, then leaves Sabra for the Cherokee Strip opening and the Spanish-American War. She runs the paper, becomes Oklahoma's first congresswoman, and changes her mind about her son's Osage wife. Yancey comes back once more after an oil-field explosion and dies in her arms.
Cast & crew
More about Cimarron
Wesley Ruggles directed. Howard Estabrook and Louis Sarecky wrote the script from Edna Ferber's 1930 novel. William LeBaron produced, with Sarecky as associate producer. The New York premiere was January 26, 1931, Los Angeles followed on February 6, and the general U.S. release was February 9. It was RKO's most expensive film to that date and lost $565,000 on the first run. A 1935 reissue earned some of that back. Max Rée's Osage sets on the Encino acreage became the core of RKO's movie ranch.
Themes
Background
RKO spent $1,433,000 putting Ferber's land-rush novel on screen, from the 1889 opening of the Unassigned Lands through an oil boom.
In film history
It was the first Western to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Dances with Wolves (1990) was the next.
Reviews
Mordaunt Hall, in the New York Times, called it a graphic and engrossing screen conception of Ferber's story. Variety called it an elegant piece of super filmmaking. John Mosher in The New Yorker praised the historical detail and said the second half sagged.
Look
Edward Cronjager photographed the land rush at the Quinn Ranch outside Los Angeles in the summer of 1930.
Music
Max Steiner composed the score.
Preservation
The picture and Ferber's novel entered the U.S. public domain on January 1, 2026. A file is on Wikimedia Commons.
Notes
- The story span on screen is 1889 to 1929, through Oklahoma statehood in 1907 and the oil boom.
- Estelle Taylor, Edna May Oliver, and Roscoe Ates play supporting roles. William Collier Jr. is also billed.
- William Hamilton edited. Max Steiner wrote the music.
- Because the copyright was registered late in 1930, the film and Ferber's novel entered the public domain together on January 1, 2026.
- Wikidata's duration is 131 minutes. The Wikipedia running time is 124.
Awards
- Academy Award for Outstanding Production (Best Picture), 1930-31, RKO Radio Pictures, producer William LeBaron
- Academy Award for Best Writing, Adaptation, Howard Estabrook
- Academy Award for Best Art Direction, Max Rée
- National Board of Review Top Ten Films, 1931
Scenes
- Dixie Lee reaches the Bear Creek claim ahead of Yancey in the land rush.
- Yancey faces the Kid in the street of Osage and kills him.
- Sabra reaches him after the oil-field blast, and he dies in her arms.
Influenced by
- Cimarron (1930 novel by Edna Ferber)
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (Cimarron (1931).webm)
