The Oklahoman
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Francis D. Lyon
Joel Mccrea
Barbara Hale
Brad Dexter
Gloria Talbott
Michael Pate
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In 1870, after his wife Louise dies in childbirth on the way to California, Dr. John Brighton decides to remain in the nearby town of Cherokee Wells in the Oklahoma Territory with his newly born daughter, whom he names after her mother. Five years later, the Brightons are settled at the home of elderly widow Mrs. Fitzgerald, who is helping to rear Louise. Cherokee Wells is generally a peaceful town, but wealthy rancher Cass Dobie and his brother Mel will stop at nothing to get their own way. One day, John is visited by Charlie Smith, an Indian, whose son Little Charlie developed a stomachache after drinking some swamp water. Noticing that Charlie's eighteen-year-old daughter Maria is good with children, Mrs. Fitzgerald hires her to care for the energetic Louise. Afterward, John visits the ranch of widow Anne Barnes and her mother, Mrs. Waynebrook, who invites John, Mrs. Fitzgerald, Louise and Maria to attend her sixtieth birthday party. Later, Mrs. Fitzgerald dies after suffering a stroke and, when Maria stays on to care for Louise, the townspeople begin to gossip about the relationship between John and Maria. Dobie, meanwhile, has secretly discovered oil on Charlie's land and offers to buy the land. When Charlie refuses, Dobie threatens him. During Mrs. Waynebrook's party, Mel sneaks onto Charlie's land to get a sample of the oil. Charlie discovers him, and when Mel shoots at him, Charlie kills him in self-defense. Dobie's men interrupt the party to announce that Charlie has given himself up to the sheriff, pleading self-defense. Anne begs John not to get involved in the quarrel, but believing that Charlie will not get a fair trial, John comes to his defense. Because of John's intervention, Charlie is allowed to return home, and his fellow Indians set up a guard on his property. That evening, to John's surprise, Maria announces that she is in love with him. The following day, John defends her against Dobie, thus making an enemy of the rancher. Then, while John is on his way to Oklahoma City to fetch an Indian agent to attend the inquest, his horse is killed by Dobie. John walks to Anne's ranch and together, they check on Charlie. John begins to suspect that Dobie did not intend to kill him, but rather wanted to stop him from reaching the Indian agent. When Little Charlie shows John the jar of water Mel was collecting from the swamp, he realizes that the swamp is full of petroleum. The next morning, John, Anne and Charlie ride into town for the inquest. John tells the marshal and the townspeople about the oil. The marshal reports that Mel's gun had been fired, confirming Charlie's claims of self-defense. Dobie then calls John a liar and in the ensuing gunfight, Dobie is killed and John is wounded. Realizing that Anne and John are in love, Maria tells Anne that she will return to her father. When he recovers, John proposes to Anne, to the delight of her mother.
Director
Francis D. Lyon
Cast
Joel Mccrea
Barbara Hale
Brad Dexter
Gloria Talbott
Michael Pate
Verna Felton
Douglas Dick
Anthony Caruso
Esther Dale
Adam Williams
Ray Teal
Peter Votrian
John Pickard
Mimi Gibson
I. Stanford Jolley
Diane Brewster
Sheb Wooley
Harry Lauter
Robert Hinkle
Wheaton Chambers
Earle Hodgins
Watson Downs
Leslie Kimmell
Rankin Mansfield
Don Marlowe
Lennie Geer
Laurie Mitchell
Jenny Lea
Tod Farrell
Scotty Beckett
Al Kramer
Doris Kemper
Dorothy Neumann
Gertrude Astor
Crew
Ralph Butler
Richard M. Chaffee
Harry Eisen
Sam Gordon
Carl Guthrie
Richard Heermance
Bert Henrikson
Austen Jewell
Joseph Kish
Emile Lavigne
Dave Milton
Walter Mirisch
Alice Monte
Hans Salter
Charles Schelling
Daniel B. Ullman
Jimmy West
George White
Allen K. Wood
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Spring May 1957
Released in United States Spring May 1957
Released in USA on video.
CinemaScope
