Cimarron (1960)

Directed by Anthony Mann
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Bros)

Glenn Ford and Maria Schell head out to Oklahoma for the Land Rush of 1889. It's a spectacular scene as thousands are lined up across the prairie to make their claim, and surprisingly violent once the race starts. The couple don't get their land, but end up running the local newspaper. Ford is not a newspaperman, but is a crusader for the rights of others, particularly the hated Indians. This unpopular stance gets him into trouble with the locals, including his wife. He leaves, for years at a time, to fight in wars. His wife seems content to wait, and spends the time building up the newspaper and raising their son, who falls in love with an Indian himself. The last third or so of the film, when Ford is mostly absent, concentrates on these less interesting domestic disputes.