In 1913 Oklahoma, Lena Doyle (Faye Dunaway) explores for oil with a wildcat derrick and will not sell out to Pan Oklahoma Oil and Gas (PanOkie). Why a large corporation wants her single unit is unspecified. Her only allies are her neglectful father Cleon (John Mills), grungy drifter Noble "Mase" Mason (George C. Scott), and Indian Jimmy (Rafael Campo). Now Lena makes it perfectly clear that she has no love for men (and even women). But she recognizes that she will need help to defend her derrick. PanOkie has hired hooligan Hellman (Jack Palance) to scare her out. Now Director Stanley Kramer makes it interesting. The large company offers her $5,000, a large sum in those days, plus 10% profit on any oil find. Then again, oil is black gold. Hellman explains to Lena that the company makes a profit if just two of a thousand derricks strike soil. After Lena refuses to sell, she and her friends are beaten, and the Indian killed. They lose control of the property temporarily. One wonders if there is a sheriff in town, because after all it is 1913, not 1883! Anyway, the local lawyer is of little help as he explains that the big companies own the legal systems. Then the good guys counterattack and retake the property in an offensive that has comedic overtones. Then when the big oil buckos return in force, they are routed with grenades. Later, though, Hellman's men begin to shoot with rifles anyone that climbs the derrick, which had become temporarily disabled. Cleon perishes. Again, where is the law? Meanwhile Lena's relationship with Mase has softened. Hostility has morphed into respect, affection, and even love. Then the so-called strike happens, and some folks are covered with black goo. But then again it is just an oil bust, and everyone merely goes home oil-soaked like nothing harrowing has happened. Maybe Lena should have sold out to Pan Okie and made some nice cash, but then again there is the matter of principle. The movie's positives include good production values, beautiful cinematography, and effective acting by the leads. There is nice attention to period details, like the recreation of a pre-World War I muddy Oklahoma town. The enjoyable music is by Henry Mancini and the pleasant theme song is performed by Anne Murray ("Send a Little Love My Way"). Both Mancini and Hal David (who wrote the song lyrics) were nominated for Golden Globe awards.

Directed by Stanley Kramer (The Defiant Ones), Oklahoma Crude boasts of a great cast featuring Faye Dunaway, George.C.Scott and Jack Palance.It is about a woman, her father and a hobo who try to extract oil while fighting off evil oil companies who are trying to take over the land. The film begins with a long establishing shot of an oil derrick, with Faye Dunaway's character hard at work. The film is upto its neck with long shots of these grand vistas. The long shots are simply amazing and beautiful to look at despite the arid landscapes.Faye Dunaway's character is a tough and driven woman who would get at the oil, whatever it takes. She looks beautiful despite the tough demeanor. Her character reminded me of Henry Stamper (played by Henry Fonda) in Sometimes a Great Notion. George.C. Scott plays second fiddle to Faye Dunaway. But he is such a terrific actor that he holds his own. He is well known for playing tough authoritarian characters like Patton, the cunning attorney in Anatomy of a Murder or the strict conservative father in Hard Core or the ruthless gambler in Hustler. The scenes where Dunaway and Scott face off are terrific. They are very well written and contain some witty and intelligent dialog.There is a great musical score by Henry Mancini – the title score is rollicking. Send a little love my way is a wonderful melodious song and variations of it including instrumental versions are played throughout the film. The score also includes a this hazy tune used when Scott's character walks into the enemy camp and steals food and drink. The score is what attracted me to the film.The film is mostly a light hearted comedy with a few serious elements and action scenes. The final scene is really interesting with a Butch Cassidy like freeze frame suggesting many outcomes in the relationship between Dunaway and Scott.It is a nice comedic Western that is seriously underrated. It has a 6.3 rating on IMDb and deserves a 7 at least. It deserves to be more well known for the star cast and the score.

Arguably the best latter-day Stanley Kramer film (i.e. made during his lean 1969-79 period); being a light-hearted romp with a mean streak, it might also be his oddest. It features an eclectic cast, with both George C. Scott (as a drifter) and John Mills (as Faye Dunaway's estranged father) shining in their comical roles; Dunaway herself (in an unflattering black wig) and Jack Palance (as a menacing thug, what else?) are also well-cast. Henry Mancini's flavorful score (and song) adds to the film's eccentricity, given its proliferation of foul language and occasional bouts of violence. In essence, patchy but generally enjoyable - and occasionally uproarious (Scott's priceless reaction to Dunaway's Third Sex speech and the second Scott-Palance confrontation). I had this on a VHS of wretched quality for years (though the quality of Robert Surtees' cinematography is still evident), but only watched it now to commemorate Palance's passing.

Dismissed by critics as one of Stanley Kramer's later flops, OKLAHOMA CRUDE is not bad. It does, however, suffer from an identity crisis. Is it a comedy? Is it a drama? Is it a western? It's not really any of those. Nor, thankfully, is it one of Kramer's social issue epics. Faye Dunaway gives it her all as a demented wild-catter trying to get oil from a lone well while keeping the big time oil companies off her land. She's helped out by her ne'er do well father John Mills and a hapless drifter played by George C. Scott. Scott and Dunaway have great chemistry and Kramer wisely downplays any love story. However, although they make a scrappy team, they're not particularly likable. In fact, none of the characters in this film is very pleasant, therefore there's nobody to really root for. Kramer, like his contemporaries Billy Wilder and Otto Preminger, seemed to have lost his way by the 1970s. OKLAHOMA CRUDE doesn't click as comedy or drama. The actors are poorly directed: Dunaway is completely humorless, while Scott plays his part as if he's in a broad farce. Jack Palance, as the villain, appears to be spoofing his own clenched jaw persona.