THE OKLAHOMA KID
DIRECTED BY LLOYD BACON
PRODUCED BY HAL WALLIS/ JACK L. WARNER
MUSIC BY MAX STEINER
WARNER BROS.
INFORMATION FROM IMDb
Plot Summary
McCord's gang robs the stage carrying money to pay Indians for their land, and the notorious outlaw "The Oklahoma Kid" Jim Kincaid takes the money from McCord. McCord stakes a "sooner" claim on land which is to be used for a new town; in exchange for giving it up he gets control of gambling and saloons. When Kincaid's father runs for mayor, McCord incites a mob to lynch the old man whom McCord has already framed for murder..
Written by Ed Stephan
Cast
James Cagney ... Jim Kincaid
Humphrey Bogart ... Whip McCord
Rosemary Lane ... Jane Hardwick
Donald Crisp ... Judge Hardwick
Harvey Stephens ... Ned Kincaid
Hugh Sothern ... John Kincaid
Charles Middleton ... Alec Martin
Edward Pawley ... Doolin
Ward Bond ... Wes Handley
Lew Harvey ... Curley
Trevor Bardette ... Indian Jack Pasco
John Miljan ... Ringo
Arthur Aylesworth ... Judge Morgan
Irving Bacon ... Hotel Clerk
Joe Devlin ... Keely
Wade Boteler ... Sheriff
and many more...
Directed
Lloyd Bacon
Writing Credits
Warren Duff ... (screen play) &
Robert Buckner ... (screen play) and
Edward E. Paramore Jr. ... (screen play) (as Edward E. Paramore)
Wally Kline ... (from an original story by) (as Wally Klein)
Jerome Odlum ... (uncredited)
Norman Reilly Raine ... (uncredited)
Produced
Samuel Bischoff ... associate producer (uncredited)
Hal B. Wallis ... executive producer (uncredited)
Jack L. Warner ... executive producer (uncredited)
Music
Max Steiner
Cinematography
James Wong Howe ... (photography)
Trivia
Humphrey Bogart was widely quoted as saying that co-star James Cagney looked like "a mushroom" in his costume.
This was James Cagney's first western. He would appear in only two more westerns--Run for Cover (1955) and Tribute to a Bad Man (1956)--both of them much later in his career.
According to a contemporary magazine article, Hugh Sothern and Al J. Jennings had been participants in the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1895.
Regarding Humphrey Bogart's "mushroom" jibe about James Cagney in his cowboy hat--Bogart said that Cagney looked like a mushroom--Cagney had a revenge of sorts. After seeing Bogie picking his nose in his car, he wrote a little rhyme: "In this little town of ours, people see all sorts of primps and poses . . . but movie stars in fancy cars shouldn't pick their famous noses". Apparently, according to Michael J. Fox in his excellent documentary about Cagney--James Cagney: Top of the World (1992)--he sent it to Bogart, but didn't receive a reply.
Goofs
Anachronisms
In the scene with the baby, when Cagney is strumming a guitar, it is a "flat top" style acoustic, much too modern for the time period of the movie.
Character error
When the Kid visits Jane, he ties his horse to the bar in front of the house. A short time after that, Ned arrives. He's searching for the Kid. He is so eager to get him that (later in the movie) he even shoots at him (when the Kid is fleeing from the court house). But when Jane tells Ned that the Kid is not there, he believes her without asking about the horse, which he must have seen when he arrived.
Continuity
In the bar room, shortly after Whip McCord tells The Oklahoma Kid to give him back the Indian money, the Kid shoots Curley in the belly. A few moments later, Curley walks out as if he had never been shot.
Miscellaneous
Bogart's character claims to be from "the panhandle". But in what seems like strange casting. He has a strong New York accent.
The Oklahoma Kid has a New York accent. The Oklahoma Kid who should sound like someone from Oklahoma. Instead, he sounds like someone from Hell's Kitchen in NYC. Curious casting.
Spoilers
Continuity
The Kid shoots Indian Joe a short time after Joe and McCord's (three) other henchmen have lynched his father, so there's no need to print a 'wanted' circular for Indian Joe. And when the circulars for the lynchers are hung up, there is indeed no circular for Indian Joe. However, later in the movie, when Judge Hardwick and Alec Martin talk about the Kid, the Judge has four circulars, including one for Indian Joe.
Filming Locations
Iverson Ranch - 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA
Warner Ranch, Calabasas, California, USA