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Lobby card from
Cimarron (1960)
Land Rush! For as far as the eye can see...
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Hollywood, CA, 1960
Glenn D. Shirley Western Americana Collection, RC2006.067.3.00383 |
The Oklahoma land runs of 1889 and 1893
have been depicted in several Hollywood movies. Shown here
are images of the 1889 run re-enactment in the 1960 movie,
Cimarron, starring Glenn Ford, Maria Schell, and
Anne Baxter.
Do you think these movies have authentically captured the
essence of the land runs they depict? Are there any obvious
anachronisms or outright inaccuracies portrayed? Are there
instances when the runs are merely used for dramatic effect
and serve only the plot of the screenplay?
In many of these films, the term, "sooner(s),"
is used. Sooners is a derogatory term to describe the group
of settlers who unlawfully claimed lands by laying claim
to the lands before the time set for opening. They had cheated
their way into their land claims by entering the region
too soon. In spite of military efforts to keep them from
entering the country before the run, it is estimated that
from three hundred to one thousand Sooners were in and about
Guthrie by the morning of April 22nd, 1889.
Over time, the term sooner lost its derogatory
connotations. In 1908 Sooner was adopted by the University
of Oklahoma in 1908 as their football team's name. Oklahoma's
nickname today is the Sooner State.
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Film still from Cimarron
Waiting for the Run of 1889
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Hollywood, CA, 1960
Glenn D. Shirley Western Americana Collection, RC2006.067.2.00354-1
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Film
still from Cimarron
The 1889 Rush for Land Begins
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Hollywood, CA, 1960
Glenn D. Shirley Western Americana Collection, RC2006.067.2.00360 |
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Film still from Cimarron
Interrupted Suspension of Disbelief
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Hollywood, CA, 1960
Robert E. Cunningham Collection, 2000.005.9.1029 |
Film
still from Cimarron
"Like a fleet of ships upon the undulating
sea"
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Hollywood, CA, 1960
Robert E. Cunningham Collection, 2000.005.9.1060 |
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