I figured there are some good movies out there, with ties to Oklahoma. Feel free to post and recommend or not recommend movies that you've seen that are somehow related to Oklahoma.


To start; my wife and i recently discovered a movie from 1983, titled 'Silkwood'.
****No spoilers here.**** It's based on the true story of Karen Silkwood, who worked at a plutonium processing plant owned by Kerr-McGee.

The name sounds familiar, right? It should, those two names are used through out the state of Oklahoma.

It's amazing the work conditions they had for this stuff back in the early 1970s. There's got to be more to the story than the movie told. I must read the book. I would imagine that you could take a geiger counter to where the old plant location was and find lots of interesting stuff buried out of site, out of mind.

I give this movie two thumbs up.

 

I need too look into that one,

My roommate in Stillwater, he and his sister are in the movie twister which everyone prob knows was shot in Wakita

 

Well, some shots are there. But the opening scene where the farm yard is shown in black and white was shot near Ponca City. The clue is the Cross Oil Company fuel tank on stilts. That outfit was on North 1st street and I used to get Stoddard solvent from them. And, I have some friends, from Ponca, who were extras in the movie as well.

 

lol. I hadn't seen Twister in years. I thought it was in Kansas. I need to watch it again.


Another couple movies we can recommend:

Ken Burns made a detailed documentary in 2012; The Dust Bowl.
-amazing stuff. I cant believe how hard they all had it back then.

Oh ya, and who cant forget the amazing "The Grapes of Wrath", from 1940. Truly one of the great black and white movies of all time.

 

There was a movie that probably nobody cares about called rudderless that was filmed in Oklahoma with Selena Gomez. The only reason I know is because I was heading with my boat after work to Lake hefner to drop it in the water for a few hours to test some new stereo equipment I installed and I got stopped and told that I couldn't take my boat off of the trailer because Selena Gomez was on the lake. I told the officer "WHO?" and he laughed and said "I don't know somebody famous I guess"

 

Never heard of that one. I'll have to look into it.


We just watched August Osage County last night. Warning, it's got lots of cursing and the movie focuses on a dysfunctional family living in or near Pawhuska.

It was a drama with some laughs throughout.

 

I'm sorry to say we saw August Osage County. Other than the few shots done in Pawhuska or Barnsdall, and some on Hw 60 as well as just south of Shidler, I did not like it. Excellent acting of a horrible plot. Once is enough, if not too much, for one lifetime.

 

While Oklahoma is not exactly the movie capital of the world, there have been some fairly significant films made entirely or at least in part within the state. From the more famous such as the small Oklahoma towns in Twister to the relatively obscure like the OSU Student Union's appearance in a campy thriller, these are the best.
1. Rain Man


1988- Won Best Actor and Best Picture Oscars.

Rain Man tells the story of Raymond Babbitt (Dustin Hoffman), an autistic savant whose brother Charlie (Tom Cruise) "kidnaps" him because their father has left Raymond the family fortune. It's a humorous and touching road trip in a Buick Roadmaster as the two form an unlikely bond.

Watch for the streets of Guthrie when Raymond is taken to a clinic doctor as well as El Reno's Big 8 Motel that "plays" an Amarillo motel in the film.


2. The Outsiders

1983

The Outsiders makes the cut over Oklahoma-native S.E. Hinton's other novel turned Francis Ford Coppola film, Rumble Fish. It's the story of rival gangs, "Greasers" and "Socs," in 1963 Tulsa. Two young boys are on the run after killing a rival in self defense.

Watch for Tulsa's Admiral Twin Drive-In as well as extensive scenes filmed throughout Tulsa including downtown and Tulsa Regional Medical Center.

3. Twister

1996

It's no cinematic masterpiece, but this disaster pic with Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton may be the quintessential Oklahoma film because of the state's prominence in the story. Written by Michael Crichton, the movie about tornado trackers was a box office success.

Watch for the small town of Wakita, Oklahoma where "Aunt Meg" lives, and the University of Oklahoma's Owen Field hides itself well as the site of a destroyed house through which the characters drive.

4. Near Dark

1987

I'll undoubtedly get e-mails about this one. This horror movie about a group of traveling vampires is not exactly an award-winner. In fact, it's rather silly and yet brutal all at the same time. Nevertheless, the Bill Paxton flick has become somewhat of a cult classic.

It's a bit hard to tell you what to watch for here, though, as the majority of the filming was done on Oklahoma roads and rural locations. Can you pick out any Oklahoma locales?

5. Far and Away

1992

Another Tom Cruise movie filmed partially in Oklahoma, Far and Away co-starred Nicole Kidman and was directed by Ron Howard. It was supposed to be the kind of big budget epic that takes home Oscars. Unfortunately, the story of romance during the Oklahoma Land Run received mixed reviews.

Most of the movie was not filmed in Oklahoma. Even the Land Run was shot in Montana, but the Oklahoma Film Commission says there were portions filmed in our state.

6. Phenomenon

1996

This John Travolta with super powers tear-jerker seems to be a love-it or hate-it kind of a movie. After seeing a strange light, car mechanic George Malley (Travolta) suddenly becomes very intelligent, even possessing telekinesis. Everyone wants to know the reason for his change, but George wants to court Jace (Kyra Sedgwick), a single mother new to town.

Watch for various areas in and around Tulsa, one of 10 filming locations for the movie.

7. Elizabethtown

2005

The most recent of the bunch, this Cameron Crowe romantic dramedy largely disappointed critics. Orlando Bloom is a desperate young man who returns to his Kentucky hometown after his father passes away. Falling in love with a flight attendent (Kirsten Dunst), though, can cure many ills.

Watch for the Cherokee Trading Post in El Reno and the Oklahoma City skyline as a backdrop. Guthrie also appears briefly before the OKC National Memorial.

8. The Frighteners

1996

Another critical disappointment, The Frighteners was directed by Peter Jackson who would go on to make the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong. Starring Michael J. Fox, the comedy-horror tells the story of a psychic who finds himself in a mystery when small town inhabitants begin dying mysteriously.

Filmed mostly in New Zealand, Tulsa is the only US location in which the movie filmed, but identifying the scenes is certainly difficult.

9. Dillinger

1973

By vote of the people, I'm removing the independent film of questionable quality, Keys to Tulsa, and replacing it with this early 70's gangster favorite about the notorious John Dillinger.

Starring Warren Oates, Ben Johnson, Richard Dreyfuss and more, Dillinger was filmed entirely in Oklahoma, with scenes shot in Enid, Nash and OKC. OKC's old Midwest Theatre on Harvey (demolished in 1976) served as a Chicago stand-in, and scenes were also shot at the Skirvin Hotel (now renovated).

10. All-American Murder

1992

This one makes the list for purely sentimental reasons. This campy B thriller directed by Anson Williams (Potsie from The Happy Days) stars Christopher Walken and utilizes the campus of my alma mater, Oklahoma State, prominently. In all honesty, it's simply not a good movie.

Watch for the burning body being thrown off the balcony of Oklahoma State's Student Union. Many of the campus house scenes were filmed on the streets around the University of Tulsa campus.

 

a few more on this list

A

• August: Osage County (film)

B

• Bringing Up Bobby (2011 film)
• Bully (2011 film)

C

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Snow
• Cowgirls 'n Angels
• Cradle Song (1981 film)

D

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daughter_of_Dawn

E

• Elizabethtown (film)

F

• Fingerprints (film)
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Frighteners

G

• The Grapes of Wrath (film)

H

• Heaven's Rain

K

• The Killer Inside Me (2010 film)

L

• The Lamp (2011 film)

M

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_Runaround

N

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_Dark

O

• Offerings (film)
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okie_Noodling
• The Outsiders (film)

P

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Passing_of_the_Oklahoma_Outlaws
• Phenomenon (film)

R

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain_Man

R cont.

• The Rock 'n' Roll Dreams of Duncan Christopher
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudderless
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumble_Fish

S

• Splinter (2008 film)

T

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terror_at_Tenkiller
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_the_Wonder
• Twister (1996 film)
• Two-Lane Blacktop

U

• UHF (film)

 

Also where the red fern grows (both the 1974 and 2003 versions) were filmed in eastern Oklahoma. Vian talequah Cookson hills area

 

That's right! I graduated from Northeastern in 69 and was thrilled to see all of the coverage that area got in the 74 version. Good call.

 

Lol! Bsipes30 covered all of them! I could only do 15 mins of August Osage county. But I love UHF! Good ol Weird Al. There are many many Tulsa sites to identify, and if you're interested, the commentary on the dvd is a great tour of Tulsa given by Weird Al himself.

There was a fake billboard for one of the gags in the movie: Spatula City! It was left up unchanged for years after production ended. Probably for cheap advertising, in keeping with the rest of the low budget theme for the movie.

 

Geez Louise, no one has mentioned the most obvious of all .. OKLAHOMA! (RKO: 1955).

 

"Contrary to its name, Oklahoma! was filmed mainly in Arizona's San Rafael Valley, a vast area along the Mexican border about 30 miles from Rancho Grande. Primary filming locations were The Green Cattle Co. ranch in San Raphael Valley, the Hamlet of Amado, Canoa Ranch & San Rafael Ranch State Park in Arizona.Jun 19, 2014"



i had no clue either.since you mentioned it and it wasn't mentioned prior,i got suspicious lol.i haven't seen this old classic for many years.

 

A coupla days ago, TCM ran Cimarron, which starred Richard Dix & Irene Dunne. It was made by RKO in 1931. It was the first Western to win an Oscar for best picture.

Most of the film takes place in OK .. but none of it was filmed in OK

Cimarron was remade in 1960, starred Glenn Ford. IMO, it stinks compared to the original.