Totally insane


To me, the whole of the history behind this was completely new. I'd never heard of the Land Rush, and to be honest I had so much trouble believing that could ever have happened - at all, never mind quite like that - I had to stop the film and go and look it up. My god it's true! How utterly insane!

I'm from the UK, so I don't know how much it is part of the American story, but from over here it's been non-existent as a part of what we hear of US history. I'm sure there are plenty that have heard of it (at the very least from this film!), but after 45 years of being on this planet, it was a revelation to me.

I've got problems with the whole concept of Unassigned Land from the very beginning but that aside (and I don't like casually brushing that away) even working on the basis that the land was 'up for grabs' who the f&&k thought that was a good way to distribute it?!

I'm still feeling quite ignorant about the subject and would like to know more. Does anyone have a recommendation for some good further reading on this, either online or in proper book form?

reply

Oh yes. It's very true. The USPS issued a commemorative stamp for the 50th anniversary of the event. I cannot recommend a book, but another cinema example that comes to mind is the Cruise/Kidman flick "Far and Away".

reply

The Oklahoma District land run depicted in Cimarron was April 22, 1889. Oklahoma's fourth (of five) and largest (ever in the world!) land run was the Cherokee Outlet run on September 16, 1893. This was depicted in silent films Tumbleweeds (1925) and (supposedly taking place in the Dakota Territory) 3 Bad Men (1926). Keep in mind that the 1925 film was depicting events only 32 years earlier.
A modern re-enactments appears in Far and Away (1992). As of this 2015 writing, the modern film is already 23 years earlier than now.

reply

Yes, it's an incredibly exciting and unusual event in our nation's history, and totally different from how other states' lands were distributed as the United States moved westward from the 13 original colonies. For me, it has great significance. My grandfather was born on April 22, 1889, during the Land Rush, the "first white child" born in what is now Kingfisher county, Oklahoma, the same county I was born in in 1948. And though I only lived in Oklahoma the first three years of my life, I've had an affinity for the state (and for its football team) my whole life.

reply

Accidently wrote the following on someone else's computer without loging in to my own account. Sorry about that and my apologies to Kris Luber.


Yes, it's an incredibly exciting and unusual event in our nation's history, and totally different from how other states' lands were distributed as the United States moved westward from the 13 original colonies. For me, it has great significance. My grandfather was born on April 22, 1889, during the Land Rush, the "first white child" born in what is now Kingfisher county, Oklahoma, the same county I was born in in 1948. And though I only lived in Oklahoma the first three years of my life, I've had an affinity for the state (and for its football team) my whole life.

reply

You could start by reading the novel on which this film is based. Its name is "Cimmaron" by Edna Ferber. While alive she wrote some of America's most famous novels. Many of them were turned into big budget films like Giant and Show Boat. She is largely forgotten today.


You can also read "We Were There at the Oklahoma Land Run"
by Jim Kjelgaard. Also there is Oklahoma: A History by W. David Baird and Danney Goble.

If you don't want to read those you can read about it on Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_Rush_of_1889
There are also pictures of the Land Rush you can find by Googling Okalahoma Land Rush.

Some other books you might find interesting are "Oklahoma: A History of Five Centuries"
by Arrell M. Gibson

"A History of Oklahoma" by Joseph Bradfield Thoburn 1866-1941 This book was published in Dec 31, 1914.

Hope this helps you learn more about the history of the Sooner State.


reply

Show Boat is another promising idea undermined by a shapeless story line - partly the same one: the leading man just vanishes. Maybe Ferber had a thing about men born under a wandering star, but it does leave a film without a strong central character to focus on.

(But Show Boat has such great songs it hardly matters.)

reply

all thieves believe that everything is up for grabs.

reply