War of the Wildcats (1943)
Cowboy Dan Somers battles ruthless oilman Jim Gardner for drilling rights on Oklahoma tribal land, and travels all the way to Washington to win President Theodore Roosevelt's backing before Gardner's sabotage — and the novelist Dan meets along the way — upend his plans.
Released under its original title, In Old Oklahoma, this was Republic Pictures’ biggest hit of 1943 — two Academy Award nominations and enormous box-office returns that convinced the studio to bankroll bigger-budget prestige pictures. It was reissued a few years later under the title used here, War of the Wildcats.
Background
War of the Wildcats is a 1943 Republic Pictures Western, released in its original form as In Old Oklahoma. John Wayne and Martha Scott star, and Albert Dekker plays the ruthless oilman Jim Gardner. The film was one of Republic’s biggest hits of 1943 and received Academy Award nominations, which encouraged the studio to invest in bigger, more prestigious pictures. It was reissued a few years later under the title used here. Its story concerns a drilling dispute over tribal land in Oklahoma, which Wayne’s cowboy character takes to Washington in an effort to win official backing. It runs about 102 minutes.
What to watch for
Look for the conflict over oil drilling on Oklahoma tribal land, which drives the plot and frames the characters’ conflicts. Wayne’s cowboy travels to Washington to press his case, and the film’s journey structure gives the story room to expand beyond the range. Dekker’s villain is the film’s main antagonist, and his sabotage complicates the plans of the protagonists. The film’s sense of Oklahoma’s history is romanticized, and its treatment of tribal land rights is largely a backdrop to the romance and rivalry. Notice how the film’s prestige ambitions show in its longer running time and its larger scope compared with Republic’s usual B-Westerns.
