A recent printing of Edna Ferber's Cimarron.

For other uses, see Cimarron (disambiguation).

Cimarron is the title of a novel published by popular historical fiction author Edna Ferber in 1929.
The book was adapted into a critically acclaimed film in 1931 through RKO Pictures.
In 1960, the story was again adapted for the screen to meager success by MGM.
Both the novel and 1931 film have fallen out of favor due to perceived racism. Image File history File links Edna Ferbers Cimarron book cover This image is of a book cover, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by the publisher of the book. ... Edna Ferber (August 15, 1885 - April 16, 1968), Jewish-American novelist, author, and playwrite. ... Cimarron may refer to many different things: Communities in the United States Cimarron, Colorado, Montrose County, Colorado. ... Edna Ferber (August 15, 1885 - April 16, 1968), Jewish-American novelist, author, and playwrite. ... 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... The classic logo of RKO Radio Pictures. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... For alternate meanings of MGM, see MGM (disambiguation). ... An African-American man drinks out of the colored only water fountain at a racially segregated streetcar terminal in the United States in 1939. ...

Background

Edna Ferber, circa 1915.

Image File history File links Edna Ferber, circa 1915 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Edna Ferber (August 15, 1885 - April 16, 1968), Jewish-American novelist, author, and playwrite. ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

The Author

Main article: Edna Ferber

Born on August 15, 1885, in Michigan, Ferber had lived through the latter development of the West.
She also grew up on the stories of her parents and grandparents, who had moved west from New York many years before her birth. Her writing career began as a journalist, and Ferber published her first novel in 1911. Ferber's early works were mostly light romance. It was not until 1924's So Big that Ferber's career as a novelist came to fruition. That novel, about love and sacrifice in the "old" West, earned Ferber a Pulitzer Prize. She then immersed herself in historical epics, following So Big first with Show Boat, based on and around the Mississippi River, and then with Cimarron in 1929. Edna Ferber (August 15, 1885 - April 16, 1968), Jewish-American novelist, author, and playwrite. ... August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ... 1885 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... State nickname: The Wolverine State, The Great Lakes State Official languages English de-facto Capital Lansing Largest city Detroit Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) Senators Carl Levin (D) Debbie Stabenow (D) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 11th 96,889 mi² / 250,941 km² 41. ... State nickname: The Empire State Official languages None. ... 1911 was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from the revision dated 2005-04-13, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... So Big! is a 1932 film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, and Bette Davis. ... Show Boat is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II (with the notable exception of Bill, the lyrics of which were written by P. G. Wodehouse). ... This page is about the river in the United States; there is also a Canadian Mississippi River (Ontario). ... 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The Land Rush

Main article: Oklahoma Land Race

The Oklahoma Land Rush (also called the Oklahoma Land Race and Cherokee Strip Land Run) plays a pivotal role in both the novel and film adaptations. "Manifest destiny" and the desperation of the settlers involved in the rush provides the opening drama and sets the stage for the twists and turns in the book. Every settler is desperate to stake his claim on the best piece of land (near water). Waiting for the opening of the Cherokee Strip The Oklahoma Land Race or the Cherokee Strip Land Run was a land run or land rush that took place on April 22, 1889. ... Waiting for the opening of the Cherokee Strip The Oklahoma Land Race or the Cherokee Strip Land Run was a land run or land rush that took place on September 16, 1893. ... There were two Cherokee Strips in the United States: The more well known Cherokee Outlet in present-day Oklahoma. ... Categories: Stub | Oklahoma history ... This painting (circa 1872) by John Gast called American Progress is an allegorical representation of Manifest Destiny. ...

Photograph of the 1893 Oklahoma Land Rush, depicted in Ferber's book and films.

The actual land rush occurred on September 16th, 1893. The piece of land in question had been allotted to the Cherokee people as part of their 1828 treaty,
while the rest of the Oklahoma Territory had been open to settlers. As commerce grew across the area of Kansas and Oklahoma, cattlemen became increasingly annoyed by the presence of the Cherokee on prime land that they wanted to use to drive cattle from northern ranches to Texas. In the 1880s, the government attempted to lease the land to cattle farming, but the Native Americans refused. Eventually, the Cherokee people did sell the land to the government and were forced into cramped reservations scattered across Arizona, New Mexico, and southwestern Texas. Image File history File links Oklahoma Land Rush (taken September 16th, 1893) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... 1893 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Oklahoma is a state of the United States, lying mostly in the southern Great Plains, and its U.S. postal abbreviation is OK; others abbreviate the states name Okla. ... Waiting for the opening of the Cherokee Strip The Oklahoma Land Race or the Cherokee Strip Land Run was a land run or land rush that took place on April 22, 1889. ... 1893 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... For other uses, see Cherokee (disambiguation). ... 1828 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Oklahoma Territory was an organized territory of the United States from May 2, 1890 until November 16, 1907, when Oklahoma became the 46th state. ... State nickname: The Sunflower State Official languages None Capital Topeka Largest city Wichita Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D) Senators Sam Brownback (R) Pat Roberts (R) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 15th 82,277 mi²; 213,096 km² 0. ... Oklahoma is a state of the United States, lying mostly in the southern Great Plains, and its U.S. postal abbreviation is OK; others abbreviate the states name Okla. ... For other uses, see Cherokee (disambiguation). ... ... Assiniboin Boy, an Atsina Native Americans in the United States (also Indians, American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Peoples, Aboriginal Peoples, Aboriginal Americans, Amerindians, Amerinds, or Original Americans) are those indigenous peoples within the territory that is now encompassed by the continental United States, and their descendants in modern times. ... For other uses, see Cherokee (disambiguation). ... State nickname: The Grand Canyon State, The Copper State Other U.S. States Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Governor Janet Napolitano (D) Senators John McCain (R) Jon Kyl (R) Official language(s) English Area 295,254 km² (6th)  - Land 294,312 km²  - Water 942 km² (0. ... State nickname: Land of Enchantment Official languages English and Spanish Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Governor Bill Richardson (D) Senators Pete Domenici (R) Jeff Bingaman (D) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 5th 315,194 km² 0. ... ...

Throughout the remaining 1880s various cattle associations and ranches fought over the land. Disputes even turned deadly, as large cattle companies and small ranchers both claimed the land as their own. This eventually led to a ban on cattle farming in the area, and in 1893 the land, 58 miles (93 km) wide by 225 miles (362 km) long, was opened to homesteaders. The land was divided into 42,000 claims, and each homesteader had to literally stake (put a stake with a white flag attached) their claim, and pick up a certificate back at the starting place. Nearly 100,000 people arrived for the rush, and over half of them would be sent back home after the day was through. 1893 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Homestead Act is a piece of U.S. legislation which gave one quarter of a section of a township (160 acres, or about 65 hectares) of undeveloped land in the American West to any family head provided he lived on it for five years, or allowed the family head...

The Novel

Cimarron derives its name from the Cimarron Territory. The Cimarron Territory was an unrecognized name for "No Man's Land," unsettled areas of the West and Midwest, especially lands once inhabited by Native American tribes such as the Cherokee and Sioux. In 1886 the government declared such lands open to settlement. Oklahoma at the time of the novel's opening is one such "Cimarron Territory." Cimarron Territory, a provisional name for No Mans Land from 1886 until United States government. ... Assiniboin Boy, an Atsina Native Americans in the United States (also Indians, American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Peoples, Aboriginal Peoples, Aboriginal Americans, Amerindians, Amerinds, or Original Americans) are those indigenous peoples within the territory that is now encompassed by the continental United States, and their descendants in modern times. ... For other uses, see Cherokee (disambiguation). ... A Sioux in traditional dress including war bonnet, circa 1908. ... 1886 is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) // Events January 18 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ... Oklahoma is a state of the United States, lying mostly in the southern Great Plains, and its U.S. postal abbreviation is OK; others abbreviate the states name Okla. ...

The novel is set in the Oklahoma of the latter nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It follows the lives of Yancy and Sabra Cravat, as they emigrate from the east to Oklahoma. While there they befriend the Rickeys, a Jewish printing family setting up a newspaper, and Yancy decides to work for Mr. Rickey. In 1893 the Peglers and the Cravats, and numerous other settlers, try their luck in the 1893 land rush. Eventually the Cravats take over the newspaper and build their fortune amongst Indian disputes, outlaws, and the discovery of oil in Oklahoma. Oklahoma is a state of the United States, lying mostly in the southern Great Plains, and its U.S. postal abbreviation is OK; others abbreviate the states name Okla. ... Oklahoma is a state of the United States, lying mostly in the southern Great Plains, and its U.S. postal abbreviation is OK; others abbreviate the states name Okla. ... 1893 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Waiting for the opening of the Cherokee Strip The Oklahoma Land Race or the Cherokee Strip Land Run was a land run or land rush that took place on April 22, 1889. ...

Upon its publication, Cimarron was a sensation in America and came to epitomize an era in American history.
This novel became Ferber's third successful novel and paved the way for many more historical epics penned by the author. ... Pre-Colonial America For details, see the main Pre-Colonial America article. ...

Films

Movie poster of the Academy Award winning 1931 movie

The film was made into two successful movies.
A 1931 version, which won 3 Academy Awards, with Richard Dix and the Anthony Mann-directed 1960 version. Image File history File links Cimarron (1931) movie poster This is a copyrighted poster. ... Image File history File links Cimarron (1931) movie poster This is a copyrighted poster. ... Hollywood had long since taken notice of writer Edna Ferbers talents. ... Richard Dix publicity photo Richard Dix (July 18, 1893 - September 20, 1949) was an American actor. ... Anthony Mann (born June 30, 1906 in San Diego, California; died April 29, 1967 in Berlin, Germany) was an American actor and film director. ... The 1950s brought renewed interest in Edna Ferbers works. ...

See also

• 1992's Far and Away starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman,
  also depicted the 1893 Oklahoma Land Race.

This is a list of film-related events in 1992. ... DVD cover Far and Away is a 1992 drama film directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. ... Tom Cruise (born July 3, 1962) is the stage name of Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, an American actor, producer, and Scientologist who has starred in a number of top-grossing movies and remains one of the biggest movie stars in the world. ... Nicole Mary Kidman (born June 20, 1967) is an Academy Award-winning American-born Australian actress, producer and singer. ... 1893 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Waiting for the opening of the Cherokee Strip The Oklahoma Land Race or the Cherokee Strip Land Run was a land run or land rush that took place on April 22, 1889. ...

References

• Bart, Peter (1991). Fade Out: The Calamitous Final Days of MGM, Anchor Books. ISBN 0-38-541892-2.
• Ferber, Edna (1929). Cimarron, Grosset & Dunlap. ISBN 1-19-973350-4.
• Jewell, Richard B.; & Harbin, Vernon (1982). The RKO Story, Arlington House. ISBN 0-51-754656-6.
• Neibaur, James L. (2005). The RKO Features, McFarland & Company. ISBN 0-78-642166-5.