Wesley Ruggles (1889–1972)

In its day this was a very celebrated film. It was nominated for every academy award it was eligible for, including Best Director and Actor and Actress and won for Best Picture and Best Script. Today, at least according to the Wiki, it holds the dubious distinction of frequently appearing on lists of undeserving awards. I doubt that--at least I've never heard of the pictures that were it's competition in the 1931 Academy Awards, so it's hard for me to see who was robbed.

And I did really like this. Yes, the black character Isaiah--his depiction really made me cringe. You think Gone With the Wind is bad? It was nothing compared to the awfulness of the characterizations here. At the same time, in contrast, the depiction of women, of Jews, of Native Americans was really ahead of its time--surprisingly so.

Irene Dunne was wonderful I think. The leading man, Richard Dix, much less so. I read he come from silent films and that's why his performance was so often exaggerated. And I really loved the depiction of the times, from the rawness of the frontier of 1889 Oklahoma to the then present of 1930. I won't soon forget the depiction of the 1989 run, or the raw boom town of Osage. So yes, despite its faults--I did find this worth watching.… (altro)