Oklahoma Crude (1973)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Stanley Kramer

Writer:

Marc Norman (written by)

Release Date:

24 August 1973 (Denmark)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

A wild raunchy rip-roaring yarn!

Plot:

It's oil boom time in Oklahoma and Lena Doyle, a hard-bitten, cyncial feminist has a fight on her hands:...

Plot Keywords:

Oil | Oklahoma | Oil Company | Misanthrope | Rifle

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win

Cast

George C. Scott	...	Noble 'Mase' Mason
Faye Dunaway	...	Lena Doyle
John Mills	...	Cleon Doyle
Jack Palance	...	Hellman
William Lucking	...	Marion
Harvey Jason	...	Wilcox
Ted Gehring	...	Wobbly
Cliff Osmond	...	Massive Man
Rafael Campos	...	Jimmy
Woodrow Parfrey	...	Lawyer
John Hudkins	...	Bloom
Harvey Parry	...	Bliss
Bob Herron	...	Dulling
Jerry Brown	...	Rucker
Jim Burk	...	Moody

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Stanley Kramer Productions

Quotes:

Mason: You don't like men much, do you?
Lena: No.
Mason: Maybe you're the kind who prefers women.
Lena: No. Women are even worse; they try to be like men, but they can't cut it. I'd like to be a member of a third sex.
Mason: Third sex? Mmm-hmmm. Well, which article would you have - the one that goes in, or the one that goes out?
Lena: Both.
Mason: Well, which one would you favor?
Lena: Both. If I had both sex organs, I could just screw myself, couldn't I? Well, couldn't I?
[Mason gets up to leave the shack]
Lena: Aren't you going to finish your soup?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Times Square (1980)

Soundtrack:

Send a Little Love My Way

Worth digging up.

A neat cast and a decent script help make this unusual, romantic neo-western come alive. Dunaway is a humorless, stubborn, single woman, doggedly trying to derive oil out of her tiny homestead while a massive Oklahoma company pressures her to sell to them. The company's hired goon (Palance) will stop at absolutely nothing to secure her land. A shiftless drifter (Scott) attempts to aid Dunaway even as she resists him and goes out of her way to repel him. There is an interesting and entertaining dynamic between Dunaway and Scott and between them and Palance. Also on Dunaway's side for reasons of his own is Mills (who is as equally loathed by her as Scott is.) Scott gives a wonderfully thoughtful and delicately nuanced performance with bits of comedy strewn throughout the sometimes dark storyline. Dunaway is raw and unvarnished, completely tossing away her previous glamor-girl trappings and enjoying a vulgarity and earthiness that is startling, but effective. She has to stand as one of the most driven women imaginable. (She also, at one point, receives what has to be one of the most brutal and sustained beatings of any woman in a major studio film!) Palance discards much of the hamminess he had developed at this stage of his career and gives a strong and menacing, yet believable performance. His small army of henchman cut dashing figures in their bowlers and long coats. Mills is thoroughly winning and delightful, giving the film a dose of class and heart. Campos, as an Indian helper, couldn't possibly have a more thankless role. There is great cinematography, several memorable interchanges between Dunaway and Scott and a strong combination of character study and storyline. Grungy, frank and seemingly simplistic, this tale is surprisingly endearing and psychologically complex, showing real heart and occasionally touching emotion at times. The juxtaposition of violence and comedy is sometimes a bit hard to take, but that's the way life is.