The 1931 Western based on an Edna Ferber novel that won Best Picture was Cimarron.
Directed by Wesley Ruggles, Cimarron stars Richard Dix and Irene Dunne and adapts Ferber’s 1930 novel about Yancey and Sabra Cravat. Its story spans four decades, beginning with the 1889 Oklahoma Land Rush and continuing through the growth and modernization of the fictional town of Osage.
Cimarron won the Outstanding Production prize at the 4th Academy Awards, the period’s name for the award now known as Best Picture. It also won Oscars for Howard Estabrook’s adapted screenplay and Max Rée’s art direction. The film was RKO Radio Pictures’ first Best Picture winner and one of its most ambitious productions.
It was the first Western to win the top Academy honor, a distinction it held alone for nearly six decades until Dances with Wolves won in 1991 for films released in 1990. High Noon, Shane, and Stagecoach are celebrated Westerns, but none won Best Picture. Cimarron’s historical spectacle was acclaimed in its era, though modern viewers often discuss its dated racial portrayals and other stereotypes.