The Boy from Oklahoma (1954) User Reviews (7)

Destry Rides Again, Again!

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 15 August 2014]

The Boy from Oklahoma is out of Warner Brothers and directed by Michael Curtiz. Adapted to screenplay by Frank Davis and Winston Miller from a Michael Fessier story, it stars Will Rogers Jr., Nancy Olson, Anthony Caruso, Wallace Ford, Merv Griffin, Clem Bevans, Slim Pickens and Lon Chaney Jr. Filmed in WarnerColor at the Warner Ranch in Calabasas, cinematography is by Robert Burks and music is by Max Steiner.

Scared of guns and afraid of girls...what kind of sheriff are you?

It would spawn the TV series Sugarfoot a couple of years down the line, as it stands on its own terms it's an odd Oater but one that's practically impossible to dislike. Rogers Junior is Tom Brewster, a pacifist man studying law who rides into town and becomes embroiled in the dastardly machinations of town weasel Barney Turlock (Caruso). He's hopeless with a gun, but dandy with a rope, and in spite of his goofy appearance, he's well stocked in the brain department.

It very much has shades of James Stewart's Destry Rides Again, with Rogers coming off as a weaker version, both in vocal delivery and character gait. He even is tee-total like Stewart was in Destry, only he has a penchant for Sarsaparilla as opposed to Stewart's love of Milk. Yet Rogers suits this material, OK! It's a bit of a stretch that he could romance Nancy Olson and outwit Billy the Kid, but he engages in an offbeat way and the film is better for it.

In truth the pic is a strange blend of comedy and drama, where characters shift in and out of each respective genre on a regular basis. The production is mixed as well, where crude back projection work is countered by some nifty action and camera flourishes by the wily Curtiz. In a strong year for Westerns, and a year of transition for Warner Brothers, The Boy from Oklahoma is way down the list of must sees of 1954. But for Western fans there is more than enough here to warrant inspection on a time waster basis. 6.5/10

A minor but very accomplished Western!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 7 April 2018]

No New York opening. Not copyrighted. U.S. release: 27 February 1954. U.K. release: 31 May 1954. Australian release: 10 March 1955. 7,922 feet. 88 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: Quiet-mannered sheriff restores law and order in Black Rock.

NOTES: Curtiz's last film under his Warner contract. Although Warners, Curtiz and Will Rogers, Jr. all claimed that this was only his second film, the actor had also in fact played his father in David Butler's Look For the Silver Lining (1949).

COMMENT: A minor but very accomplished Western. True, the central, idea of a mild-mannered sheriff is not new (see Destry). Likewise when this film was originally released, many of its other elements were labelled familiar and or quite ordinary. But time has given The Boy from Oklahoma a new freshness and lease of life. Broadcast no less than three times on Australian television in 1994, it found a responsive audience.

Superbly photographed both indoors - Burks can be justly proud of such suspenseful low-key lighting as the sequences in the barn - and out (Curtiz gets the most in dramatic value out of some only moderately attractive locations by using tightly composed shots with lots of pans and running inserts, all sharply cut together), and lensed on a sizable budget with lots of extras milling about its large sets, The Boy from Oklahoma is a western with pace, charm, style and artistry.

Of course a lot of that charm is contributed by a very attractive cast. Not least in this department is Will Rogers himself. Though he is obviously no youngster, Rogers displays a pleasant, thoroughly likeable personality. He is very agreeably supported by Nancy Olson. And it's nice to see Clem Bevans in a major part -- and figuring prominently in a really suspenseful moment at the climax too. Lon Chaney Jr provides a wealth of those Old Testament quotes (without which no vintage Hollywood movie is complete), whilst Wallace Ford has a wonderfully roguish part as a cowardly Caruso henchman. Caruso of course makes a breathtakingly villainous heavy. And we love James Griffith's cameo as the drunk and willing stooge. Merv Griffin however has but a few tiny spots early on before dropping out altogether. There are other players like Slim Pickens who volunteer more than their quota of entertainment, but these we will leave for you to discover yourself.

Curtiz was a marvelous all-rounder who could successfully direct all genres of film from historical epics and swashbucklers through musicals and soap operas to farces and westerns. The Boy from Oklahoma is Curtiz's attempt at a "B", with all the familiar ingredients given a new impetus and meaning by his classy style. What with in-depth compositions, tight frame arrangements, effective camera set-ups (there's even an unobtrusive long take, disguised by its deep focus, low-key lighting and the seemingly natural movements of players and camera) and sharply smooth film editing, The Boy from Oklahoma is a very accomplished "B" indeed. Moreover, Curtiz and his scriptwriters have had a bit of fun with the usual "B" conventions by exaggerating them. Thus the villain is both more brutally and more schemingly villainous, whilst the clean-cut hero is even more mild-mannered (even bookish) and philosophical. In a Charles Starrett western, for example, there's no way you could get away with such scenes as Caruso belting into Ford (an excellent no-dialogue touch) and then attempting to murder old nice guy Clem Bevans. Nor would the hero's run-ins and romance with boyish heroine Nancy Olson be welcomed.

All the same, the film certainly has enough action to satisfy any western fan. The introductory horse race is excitingly staged, despite obvious studio inserts, whilst the climax is all location action filmed with thrilling running inserts and some great stunts, all especially staged for this film. There is not a single foot of stock footage.

While the aim was undoubtedly to make a lighthearted "B" with an "A" budget, it still achieves some powerful moments of tension and suspense.

The film that inspired the TV Western SUGARFOOT

[kevinolzak · 7/10 · 11 November 2023]

1954's "The Boy from Oklahoma" is something of a misnomer, for the 42 year old Will Rogers Jr. Was certainly no 'boy,' but he's admittedly well cast as Tom Brewster, a laconic wannabe lawyer earning his keep as the new sheriff of Bluerock, New Mexico Territory, circa 1880 (on the heels of his own father's biopic "The Will Rogers Story"). His roping ability entrances the local youth but his lack of experience with a gun is the sole reason he was appointed by crooked mayor Barney Turlock (Anthony Caruso), the man responsible for the demise of his predecessor. More adept with firearms is the late sheriff's daughter Katie (Nancy Olson), who brands Brewster a coward for not packing a weapon, but grudgingly accedes that his easy going nature and quick wit manage to ease tensions with such belligerent drunks as Crazy Charlie (Lon Chaney), perfectly happy to spend a night behind bars rather than go home to a nagging wife. As he begins to unravel the mystery behind her father's death, the new lawman gets more than he bargained for in Turlock's employ. An excellent supporting cast includes Wallace Ford as the boozing postmaster, Sheb Wooley and Slim Pickens as Turlock henchmen, Lon Chaney in for just one scene, shooting up the local saloon in an effort to purge the town from sin, surrendering peacefully to the sheriff much to Katie's astonishment. The premise was good enough to inspire a TV series in 1957, Will Hutchins replacing Rogers as Tom Brewster, its pilot a virtual remake of this feature film.

Worth watching

[pmtelefon · 7/10 · 2 November 2021]

"The Boy from Oklahoma" is a nice easy going western. It's nothing we haven't seen before but it has an appealing quality to it. Will Rogers Jr isn't the strongest screen presence but he does a pretty good job. "The Boy from Oklahoma" takes a while to get going but once it does it's worth the watch.

Will Rogers, Jr. in a movie which spawned a '50s TV show!

[dr-holliday · 8/10 · 6 September 2004]

After about the first ten minutes of this movie, realization dawned - the 1950s television show, "Sugarfoot" was based upon this good-natured Will Rogers, Jr., Michael Curtiz oater of a young lawyer wanna-be attending school via correspondence; the hero's name, Tom Brewster is only the beginning.

The screenplay for this movie and the pilot of "Sugarfoot," titled "Brannigan's Boots" is so close that even the co-stars of "Boy" appear as their same characters in "Brannigan!" For example, Sheb Wooley plays the foreman of the mayor's ranch, Pete Martin, in both movie and TV show. Also doing double duty is Slim Pickens as Shorty!

Some of the dialog is also word for word although the television version is somewhat annotated and a few changes are evident. The movie Tom Brewster doesn't use a gun, instead, he's quick with a rope, as was his father in real life, that wicked twine twirler and American icon, Will Rogers. In fact, this Tom can't use a gun whereas the television Tom as portrayed by Will Hutchins, can and does, when the need arises. The movie Tom gets the heroine, or at least her promise that she'll wait for him; while the TV Tom must push on, leaving the pretty young thing to pine after what might have been.

"Boy From Oklahoma" is well-filmed in color; has a likable hero in the junior Rogers and spawned a pretty darned good TV show to boot! (Uh, no pun intended)!

Swear them in and prepare for swearing them out.

[mark.waltz · 8/10 · 6 October 2023]

Like father, like son, and Will Rogers Jr. Could be called an exact replica of his late dad; easy going, plain spoken and as all American as one can get. He had already played his famous father on-screen and now plays a role that dad could have played in his sleep yet make it seem as if he was giving a deeply thought out performance. But acting was just a side profession for Will Jr., as if he knew there could only be one of a kind and only wanted to make sure that his father wasn't forgotten.

Smarter than he looks, Rogers' character of Tom Brewster is passing through town and so impresses mayor Anthony Caruso that he offers Rogers the position of sheriff, thinking that he can control him. But Rogers has studied law, so he's aware of what he is doing when he arrests criminals and upholds the law. The late sheriff's tough tomboy daughter (Nancy Olson) resents Rogers, but comes around when she realizes what a gentle soul he is.

Veteran actors Wallace Ford, Lon Chaney (another jr.), Louis Jean Heydt and Clem Bevans (always welcome as the loveable old foggy) mix in with young whippersnappers like a pre-TV host era Merv Griffin, with Slim Pickens very noticeable long before he became the Andy Devine of the 60's and 70's. A lively and fun western comedy that makes me wish that Rogers had done more onscreen. Expertly directed by Michael Curtiz to become much more than your typical piece of fluff with lots of little moments that add up into a must see.

Beginning of the end for such a great director

[searchanddestroy-1 · 16 July 2023]

What a waste this parodic western, involving a tenderfoot - Will Rogers - becoming a sheriff against his will. Totally uninteresting for me, but after all why not...It is not without qualities, but it is not a real western, only the surroundings are. In the tenderfoot topic I prefered Jack Lemmon in Delmer Daves' COWBOY, or Dan Duryea in BOUNTY KILLER, but those two last westerns were not comedies; COWBOY just a bit light hearted but far far more interesting than this one in terms of character study and above all change during the story. DESTRY was also a western with a tenderfoot scheme, and also better than this film. But because it is from Michael Curtiz, I won't say it's a lousy film, because Curtiz was a great Hollywood vet at Warner during the previous decades.