"Man From Oklahoma" is a pretty bad film....and I don't like saying that because I generally like Roy Rogers movies. But the plot is poor, the finale very stupid and the film offered little that I enjoyed.
Now before I go on, I should point out that I could not find the original version of this movie but watched one that was edited down for television back in the 1950s. And, inexplicably, they removed some plot but left in two god-awful songs that clearly did nothing to advance the plot. You wonder WHO was in charge of editing this down to a television time slot. Was his mother or brother in one of those song and dance numbers?! And, why keep one of the numbers in particular..the very offensive Cherokee song that is guaranteed to make anyone (particularly Native Americans) wince!!
The story begins with Roy and his band stuck in New York City after a crook stole their money. In desperation, Roy approaches Peggy Lane (Dale Evans) and begs her for a loan so they can return home to Oklahoma, where they think Gabby is on death's door. This is desperate, as the Whitakers (of which Roy is one) and Lanes hate each other and have been feuding ever since the Land Rush of 1889! That's a LONG time to hold a grudge! Inexplicably, she does give him the money and they head back home. Also inexplicably, although Peggy never mentioned it, she is also back in Oklahoma now...and seems to have beaten Roy and the band there!
Soon the nasty feuding (with words only, fortunately) is on again and Gabby (who is NOT dying) and the matriarch of the Lanes (Maude Eburne) start trying to one-up each other at the festival....and it gets both sides in major trouble. Both the Whitaker and Lane properties are put up by the two old goats as the prizes for whoever wins the big wagon race. But they didn't consider that a Lane or Whitaker wouldn't win...as the evil J.J. Gardner plans on winning at ALL costs. Why? Because he alone knows that the Lane and Whitaker clans are rich and don't realize it, as the land is rich in oil! What's next? Why, the big race...and the future of the Lane and Whitaker clans!
The songs are terrible. But what REALLY is terrible is the finale where Gardner's men cheat horribly. This is because apparently there were about a dozen invisible camera crews who caught every single incident of cheating...with one impossible close-up camera shot after another after another. Heck, the camera people would have needed to have been in wagons along side the Gardner wagon to get half the shots!! It was just stupid and horribly handled and showed a lot of contempt for the audience watching this film. And, no one noticed any of this until footage of the race was shown later!!! All in all, a huge letdown of a movie...with a dumb ending.
Now before I go on, I should point out that I could not find the original version of this movie but watched one that was edited down for television back in the 1950s. And, inexplicably, they removed some plot but left in two god-awful songs that clearly did nothing to advance the plot. You wonder WHO was in charge of editing this down to a television time slot. Was his mother or brother in one of those song and dance numbers?! And, why keep one of the numbers in particular..the very offensive Cherokee song that is guaranteed to make anyone (particularly Native Americans) wince!!
The story begins with Roy and his band stuck in New York City after a crook stole their money. In desperation, Roy approaches Peggy Lane (Dale Evans) and begs her for a loan so they can return home to Oklahoma, where they think Gabby is on death's door. This is desperate, as the Whitakers (of which Roy is one) and Lanes hate each other and have been feuding ever since the Land Rush of 1889! That's a LONG time to hold a grudge! Inexplicably, she does give him the money and they head back home. Also inexplicably, although Peggy never mentioned it, she is also back in Oklahoma now...and seems to have beaten Roy and the band there!
Soon the nasty feuding (with words only, fortunately) is on again and Gabby (who is NOT dying) and the matriarch of the Lanes (Maude Eburne) start trying to one-up each other at the festival....and it gets both sides in major trouble. Both the Whitaker and Lane properties are put up by the two old goats as the prizes for whoever wins the big wagon race. But they didn't consider that a Lane or Whitaker wouldn't win...as the evil J.J. Gardner plans on winning at ALL costs. Why? Because he alone knows that the Lane and Whitaker clans are rich and don't realize it, as the land is rich in oil! What's next? Why, the big race...and the future of the Lane and Whitaker clans!
The songs are terrible. But what REALLY is terrible is the finale where Gardner's men cheat horribly. This is because apparently there were about a dozen invisible camera crews who caught every single incident of cheating...with one impossible close-up camera shot after another after another. Heck, the camera people would have needed to have been in wagons along side the Gardner wagon to get half the shots!! It was just stupid and horribly handled and showed a lot of contempt for the audience watching this film. And, no one noticed any of this until footage of the race was shown later!!! All in all, a huge letdown of a movie...with a dumb ending.