Cimarron (1960 film)

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Cimarron

Directed by	Anthony Mann
Produced by	Edmund Grainger
Written by	Arnold Schulman
Starring	Glenn Ford Maria Schell Anne Baxter Harry Morgan
Music by	Franz Waxman
Cinematography	Robert Surtees
Editing by	John D. Dunning
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s)	December 1960
Running time	147 min.
Country	U.S.A.
Language	English
Budget	approx. $20M (US)
All Movie Guide profile
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Cimarron is a 1960 film directed by Anthony Mann and based on the Edna Ferber novel Cimarron.

1 Background
2 Reception
3 Cast
4 External links

[edit] Background

The 1950s brought renewed interest in Edna Ferber's works. Show Boat was adapted in a highly successful film in 1951. So Big and Giant followed in 1953 and 1956, respectively. In 1960 MGM and Warner Bros. competed with two adaptations of Ferber novels, Warner producing Ice Palace, a later Ferber novel; and MGM remaking Cimarron.

The remake of Cimarron saw many changes from both the Ferber novel and especially the 1931 film. With the Civil Rights Movement gaining momentum, the script, written by Arnold Schulman, took a kinder approach to Native Americans. Schulman gave the people more dignity and recognized that they were losing land that was rightfully theirs through the 1893 land rush that was the film's centerpiece. He also introduced several minor characters, such as journalist Sam Pegler (Robert Keith) and Wes Jennings (Vic Morrow), a prominent member of Cherokee Kid's (Russ Tamblyn) gang.

Anthony Mann, known for his film noir mysteries and successful westerns, directed the new project, with Glenn Ford and Maria Schell starring. Cimarron was the first of three epics (including El Cid and The Fall of the Roman Empire) Mann directed. Despite high production costs and an experienced cast of western veterans, stage actors, and future stars, the film was released to little fanfare on its December release.

[edit] Reception

In 1961 the film was nominated for Best Art Direction (art directors George W. Davis and Addison Hehr) and Best Sound, but failed to win either. Cimarron marked the end of the Ferber adaptations. While the 1931 adaptation is arguably the better and more successful of the two, the 1960 remake receives more attention and is still broadcast on television.