Oklahoma Crude (1973)

Taglines: An epic story of wooden derricks, iron men…and a defiant woman.

Oklahoma Crude movie storyline. It’s the early twentieth century. Lena Doyle (Faye Dunaway) is an independently minded woman who has no need for others in her life, men or women. She owns a piece of property on the Oklahoma plain on which she is speculatively drilling for oil. She is approached by Pan-Oklahoma Oil who want to pay her for the oil rights to her property, they figure that they easily have the resources to drill a hundred wells, and even if one comes through, it will have made up their investment.

Lena, however, vehemently declines their offer, wanting instead to drill on her own terms. Lena’s decline of their offer leads to a stand-off of sorts between the two. Although Lena does not want his help, her father, Cleon Doyle (Sir John Mills), who was largely not there for her when she was growing up, hires an itinerant oil worker, Noble Mason (George C. Scott), to be her right-hand man. Lena accepts their help only on the condition that she remains the boss.

Of what naive Cleon is unaware, when he hired Mason, is that Mason is the type of person whose allegiance goes to the highest bidder, and as such, he has no loyalty to Lena. But as the stand-off between her and Pan-Oklahoma, led by the vicious Captain Hellman (Jack Palance), increases, as Lena receives unofficial legal advice on the matter, and as Mason begins to get to know Lena, the two may begin to have a different type of relationship, one that doesn’t have much of a chance against the wranglings of Pan-Oklahoma unless they strike oil quickly.

Oklahoma Crude is a 1973 American comedy-drama western film directed by Stanley Kramer in Panavision. It stars George C. Scott, Faye Dunaway, John Mills and Jack Palance. It was entered into the 8th Moscow International Film Festival where Kramer won the Golden Prize for Direction. The song “Send a Little Love My Way”, sung by Anne Murray, was featured in the film and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song in 1973.

Directed by: Stanley Kramer
Starring: George C. Scott, Faye Dunaway, John Mills, Jack Palance, William Lucking, Harvey Jason, Ted Gehring, Rafael Campos, Woodrow Parfrey, John Hudkins, Harvey Parry, Jerry Brown
Screenplay by: Marc Norman
Production Design by: Alfred Sweeney
Cinematography by: obert Surtees
Film Editing by: Folmar Blangsted
Costume Design by: Bill Thomas
Set Decoration by: Morris Hoffman
Music by: Henry Mancini
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: July 3, 1973