Editing Cimarron (novel) (section)

==Films==

===1931 film===
{{main|Cimarron (1931 film)}}

[[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] had long since taken notice of writer Edna Ferber's talents. The first Ferber adaptation came in [[1918 in film|1918]] with the silent ''Our Mrs. McChesney'', based on a play Ferber had written. ''So Big'' was released as a film the same year it was published as a novel, and adaptations of ''Gigolo'' and ''Show Boat'' also followed. With the advent of sound, Ferber adaptations had even more promise. Immediately following its publication, many production companies courted Ferber. Ferber ended up selling the film rights to [[RKO Pictures]] in [[1930 in film|1930]] for a record $125,000 (a large sum even for today).

Despite America being in the depths of the [[Great Depression|Depression]], RKO immediately prepared for a big-budget picture, investing more than $1.5 million into Ferber's novel ''Cimarron''. Director [[Wesley Ruggles]] would direct stars [[Richard Dix (actor)|Richard Dix]] and [[Irene Dunne]] with a script written by [[Howard Estabrook]]. Filming began in the summer of 1930 at the [[Jasmin Quinn Ranch]] outside of [[Los Angeles]], [[California]]. The film was a massive production, especially the land rush scenes, which recalled the epic scenes of ''[[Intolerance (movie)|Intolerance]]'' some fifteen years earlier. More than 5,000 extras, twenty-eight cameramen, and numerous camera assistants and photographers were used to capture scenes of wagons racing across grassy hills and prairies. Cinematographer [[Edward Cronjager]] spent overtime planning out every scene in accordance to Ferber's descriptions.

The film was premiered in [[New York City]] on January 26, 1931, to much praise, and a Los Angeles premiere followed on February 6. Three days later the film was released to theaters throughout the nation. Despite being a critical success, the high budget and ongoing Great Depression combined against the film. While it was a commercial success in line with other films of the day, RKO could not recoup their investment in the film.

===1960 film===
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{{main|Cimarron (1960 film)}}

The remake of ''Cimarron'' included many changes from the Ferber novel and especially from the 1931 film. With the [[Civil Rights Movement]] gaining momentum, the script, written by [[Arnold Schulman]], took a kinder approach to Native Americans. Schulman gave the people more dignity and recognized that they were losing land that was rightfully theirs through the 1893 land rush that was the film's centerpiece. He also introduced several minor characters, such as journalist Sam Pegler ([[Robert Keith (actor)|Robert Keith]]) and Wes Jennings ([[Vic Morrow]]), a prominent member of Cherokee Kid's ([[Russ Tamblyn]]) gang.

In 1961 the film was nominated for two [[Academy Awards]]: [[Academy Award for Best Art Direction|Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color]] (art directors [[George Davis (art director)|George W. Davis]] and [[Addison Hehr]]) and [[Academy Award for Sound|Best Sound]], but failed to win either. ''Cimarron'' marked the end of the Ferber adaptations.