WillSushyMedia
This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.
Tobias Burrows
It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.
Married Baby
Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?
PimpinAinttEasy
Directed by Stanley Kramer (The Defiant Ones), Oklahoma Crude boasts of a great cast featuring Faye Dunaway, George.C.Scott and Jack Palance.It is about a woman, her father and a hobo who try to extract oil while fighting off evil oil companies who are trying to take over the land. The film begins with a long establishing shot of an oil derrick, with Faye Dunaway's character hard at work. The film is upto its neck with long shots of these grand vistas. The long shots are simply amazing and beautiful to look at despite the arid landscapes.Faye Dunaway's character is a tough and driven woman who would get at the oil, whatever it takes. She looks beautiful despite the tough demeanor. Her character reminded me of Henry Stamper (played by Henry Fonda) in Sometimes a Great Notion. George.C. Scott plays second fiddle to Faye Dunaway. But he is such a terrific actor that he holds his own. He is well known for playing tough authoritarian characters like Patton, the cunning attorney in Anatomy of a Murder or the strict conservative father in Hard Core or the ruthless gambler in Hustler. The scenes where Dunaway and Scott face off are terrific. They are very well written and contain some witty and intelligent dialog.There is a great musical score by Henry Mancini – the title score is rollicking. Send a little love my way is a wonderful melodious song and variations of it including instrumental versions are played throughout the film. The score also includes a this hazy tune used when Scott's character walks into the enemy camp and steals food and drink. The score is what attracted me to the film.The film is mostly a light hearted comedy with a few serious elements and action scenes. The final scene is really interesting with a Butch Cassidy like freeze frame suggesting many outcomes in the relationship between Dunaway and Scott.It is a nice comedic Western that is seriously underrated. It has a 6.3 rating on IMDb and deserves a 7 at least. It deserves to be more well known for the star cast and the score.
JLRMovieReviews
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.
MARIO GAUCI
Arguably the best latter-day Stanley Kramer film (i.e. made during his lean 1969-79 period); being a light-hearted romp with a mean streak, it might also be his oddest. It features an eclectic cast, with both George C. Scott (as a drifter) and John Mills (as Faye Dunaway's estranged father) shining in their comical roles; Dunaway herself (in an unflattering black wig) and Jack Palance (as a menacing thug, what else?) are also well-cast. Henry Mancini's flavorful score (and song) adds to the film's eccentricity, given its proliferation of foul language and occasional bouts of violence. In essence, patchy but generally enjoyable - and occasionally uproarious (Scott's priceless reaction to Dunaway's Third Sex speech and the second Scott-Palance confrontation). I had this on a VHS of wretched quality for years (though the quality of Robert Surtees' cinematography is still evident), but only watched it now to commemorate Palance's passing.
Poseidon-3
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.
