The Oklahoman (film)

Last updated

The Oklahoman
The Oklahoman 1957.jpg
Directed by Francis D. Lyon
Written by Daniel B. Ullman
Produced by Walter Mirisch
Starring Joel McCrea
Barbara Hale
Brad Dexter
Cinematography Carl E. Guthrie
Edited by George White
Music by Hans J. Salter
Color process Color by DeLuxe
Production
company
Allied Artists Pictures
Distributed by Allied Artists Pictures
Release date
  • May 19, 1957 (1957-05-19)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Oklahoman is a 1957 American CinemaScope Western film starring Joel McCrea, Barbara Hale, and Brad Dexter. [1] It was also the last film of actress Esther Dale.

Contents

Plot

On his way to California, a doctor, John Brighton, decides to stay in Oklahoma Territory after his wife dies in childbirth. He takes a room at the home of elderly Mrs. Fitzgerald, who helps raise his new daughter Louise.

Five years later, as he becomes acquainted with attractive widow Anne Barnes and her mother, Mrs. Waynebrook, the doctor treats the ill child of an Indian named Charlie. He also meets Charlie's teen daughter, Maria, who is so good with children that he puts Louise in her care after Mrs. Fitzgerald's death.

Publicity photograph of Joel McCrea and Gloria Talbott for the film Joel McCrea-Gloria Talbott in The Oklahoman.JPG
Publicity photograph of Joel McCrea and Gloria Talbott for the film

Wealthy rancher Cass Dobie and brother Mel are gobbling up land in the territory. When they determine that oil is on Charlie's property, they scheme to get it. Mel even tries to shoot Charlie, but is killed in self-defense. John testifies on Charlie's behalf.

While awaiting a legal decision on the shooting, Maria professes her love for John. The angry Cass has a confrontation with John, who prevails, after which Maria realizes that John is actually in love with Anne.

Cast

Comic book adaptation

Related Research Articles

<i>Dead End</i> (1937 film) 1937 film by William Wyler

Dead End is a 1937 American crime drama film directed by William Wyler. It is an adaptation of the Sidney Kingsley 1935 Broadway play of the same name. It stars Sylvia Sidney, Joel McCrea, Humphrey Bogart, Wendy Barrie, and Claire Trevor. It was the first film appearance of the acting group known as the Dead End Kids.

The year 1947 in film involved some significant events.

The year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning Going My Way plus popular murder mysteries such as Double Indemnity, Gaslight and Laura.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel McCrea</span> American actor (1905–1990)

Joel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he became best known.

"The Skye Boat Song" is a late 19th-century Scottish song adaptation of a Gaelic song composed c.1782 by William Ross, entitled Cuachag nan Craobh. In the original song, the composer laments to a cuckoo that his unrequited love, Lady Marion Ross, is rejecting him. The 19th century English lyrics instead evoked the journey of Prince Charles Edward Stuart from Benbecula to the Isle of Skye as he evaded capture by government soldiers after his defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Women's Hall of Fame</span> American institution created in 1969

The National Women's Hall of Fame (NWHF) is an American institution founded to honor and recognize women. It was incorporated in 1969 in Seneca Falls, New York, and first inducted honorees in 1973. As of 2021, it had 303 inductees.

<i>These Three</i> 1936 American drama film directed by William Wyler

These Three is a 1936 American drama film directed by William Wyler and starring Miriam Hopkins, Merle Oberon, Joel McCrea, and Bonita Granville. The screenplay by Lillian Hellman is based on her 1934 play The Children's Hour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Hale</span> American actress (1922–2017)

Barbara Hale was an American actress who portrayed legal secretary Della Street in the dramatic television series Perry Mason (1957–1966), earning her a 1959 Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She reprised the role in 30 Perry Mason made-for-television movies (1985–1995).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brad Dexter</span> American actor (1917–2002)

Brad Dexter was an American actor and film producer. He is known for tough-guy and western roles, including the 1960 film The Magnificent Seven (1960), and producing several films for Sidney J. Furie such as Lady Sings the Blues. He is also known for a short marriage to Peggy Lee, a friendship with Marilyn Monroe and for saving Frank Sinatra from drowning. Dexter's tough-guy roles contrasted with his easygoing and friendly real-life personality.

AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars is the American Film Institute's list ranking the top 25 male and 25 female greatest screen legends of American film history and is the second list of the AFI 100 Years... series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Britton</span> American actress (1920–1980)

Barbara Britton was an American film and television actress. She is best known for her Western film roles opposite Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, and Gene Autry and for her two-year tenure as inquisitive amateur sleuth Pam North on the television and radio series Mr. and Mrs. North.

<i>Variety Girl</i> 1947 film by George Marshall

Variety Girl is a 1947 American musical comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Mary Hatcher, Olga San Juan, DeForest Kelley, Frank Ferguson, Glenn Tryon, Nella Walker, Torben Meyer, Jack Norton, and William Demarest. It was produced by Paramount Pictures. Numerous Paramount contract players and directors make cameos or perform songs, with particularly large amounts of screen time featuring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. Among many others, the studio contract players include Gary Cooper, Alan Ladd, Paulette Goddard, Ray Milland, William Holden, Burt Lancaster, Robert Preston, Veronica Lake, William Bendix, Barbara Stanwyck and Paula Raymond.

<i>Alfred Hitchcock Presents</i> (1985 TV series) American anthology series which started airing in 1985

Alfred Hitchcock Presents, sometimes called The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents, is an American anthology series that aired on NBC from 1985 to 1986 and on the USA Network from 1987 to 1989. The series is an updated version of the 1955 eponymous series.

<i>The Left Handed Gun</i> 1958 film by Nik reby

The Left Handed Gun is a 1958 American Western film and the film directorial debut of Arthur Penn, starring Paul Newman as Billy the Kid and John Dehner as Pat Garrett.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esther Dale</span> American actress (1885–1961)

Esther Dale was an American actress of the stage and screen.

<i>The Affairs of Dobie Gillis</i> 1953 film by Don Weis

The Affairs of Dobie Gillis is a 1953 American comedy musical film directed by Don Weis. The film is based on the short stories by Max Shulman collected as The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. Bobby Van played Gillis in this musical version, co-starring with Debbie Reynolds and Bob Fosse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal</span> Award

The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people.

Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary is a three-volume biographical dictionary published in 1971. Its origins lay in 1957 when Radcliffe College librarians, archivists, and professors began researching the need for a version of the Dictionary of American Biography dedicated solely to women.

<i>The Law</i> (1974 film) 1974 American TV series or program

The Law is a 1974 Universal Television made-for-television film directed by John Badham starring Judd Hirsch as defense attorney Murray Stone with John Beck, Bonnie Franklin and Gary Busey.

References

  1. Thomas, Tony (December 1, 1991). Joel McCrea: Riding the High Country. Riverwood Press. p. 5. ISBN   978-1-880756-00-3.
  2. "Dell Four Color #820". Grand Comics Database.
  3. Dell Four Color #820 at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original )