Oklahoma Crude (1973)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

So much average

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

This film has an atmosphere of "grit" to it, and the title helps suggest that. It's a story of a small person against a large corporation in the early part of the twentieth century.There are four major characters that are the focus of the story. The beautiful young woman played by Faye Dunaway is holding onto a well in which she hopes oil will emerge is the catalyst. John Mills plays her father, a stranger to her, arrives, trying to make amends and help her against a mercenary leader played by Jack Palance, hired by the huge oil company to steal her claim. The fourth is the "drifter", the "everyman" who is swept up into the act as her employee, played by George C Scott.A lot of what happens is very fresh even today, and goes against the "usual story line". Very unexpected events.What makes a simple story become a good story is the supporting characters, and this film cleverly makes the story actually be seen through the eyes mostly of the "fifth and sixth characters", both from very different social castes. These two are the witnesses from both castes who would want something better than the bloodshed that goes on. We only get glimpses of this, as they watch the four main characters duke it out, but both try vainly to bring sense to the situation. They are the "eyes" of the viewer put into the story. It is quite well done.

George C. Scott, Faye Dunaway, John Mills and Jack Palance (all Oscar winners) star in this comedy set in Oklahoma. It feels like a precursor to Daniel Day-Lewis' There Will Be Blood, in that the commodity's oil. Who's got it is keeping it, despite the fact there are those who will do whatever they have to to take it from them. Faye is John's daughter and, when John goes to hire hands to help Jane guard her oil rig, George C. Scott is hired. Once there, he finds out that Jane is cantankerous and quite an obstinate and independent person. She refuses to give an inch on any subject or let her guard down long enough to trust anyone. In fact, when the subject of the battle of the sexes (being a man versus a woman in the world) comes up, I got one of the biggest laughs I've ever had from a movie, from her severe and hardened disposition and attitude and the lack of the need for anyone in her world and George C. Scott's reaction to it. Jack Palance is the greedy opportunist who wants her oil and will try all he can to steal it from her. If you get a chance to see this wild and outrageous film, don't turn the channel. Watch and enjoy. It's an experience you're not likely to forget.

A strange, downbeat western that is just simply dull at times, it nevertheless has a few amusing moments and exciting bits in the mix. George C. Scott does quite a decent job with a charismatic, interesting character, yet all the characters come off as cold and hard to like, particularly the feminist played by Dunaway, who is only angry for most of the time. What occurs between the characters is pretty easy to predict, as is most of the plot, despite its unusualness. Henry Mancini's bouncing score is perhaps the film's strongest point. His music is fitted in a bit awkwardly at times, but it generally provides a western feel quite well. While I cannot think of a large number of reasons to recommend this film, Kramer does not do too poor a job with the material, so perhaps the film is worth a look.

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.