This week’s mystery movie was the 1973 Columbia film Oklahoma Crude, with George C. Scott, Faye Dunaway, John Mills, Jack Palance, William Lucking, Harvey Jason, Ted Gehring, Cliff Osmond, Rafael Campos, Woodrow Parfrey, Larry D. Mann, John Dierkes, Hal Smith, Karl Lukas and Wayne Storm.

Photographed by Robert Surtees.

Production design by Alfred Sweeney.

Costume design by Bill Thomas.

Set decoration by Maury Hoffman.

Script supervisor Marshall Schlom.

Company grip Don Lambert.

Property master Max Frankel.

Chief electrician Glen Bird.

Camera operator Chris Schwiebert.

Costumer Seth Banks.

Production manager Ralph Black.

Stunt coordinator John Hudkins.

Assistant director Joseph M. Ellis.

Second assistant directors Walter Dominguez, and Mel Efros.

Photographed at Ospital Ranch, Stockton, California.

Sound effects by Edit-International.

Music editor Else Blangsted.

Main title design by Wayne Fitzgerald.

Special effects Alex Weldon.

Special photographic effects by Albert Whitlock.

Sound Charles Knight.

Re-recording by Richard Portman.

Casting by Steven R. Stevens.

Public relations by John Blowitz.

Technical advisor Earl “Andy” Anderson.

Music by Henry Mancini.

Send a Little Love My Way, music by Henry Mancini, lyrics by Hal David.

Sung by Anne Murray.

Edited by Folmar Blangsted.

Associate producer Ivan Bolkman.

Filmed in Panavision.

Written by Marc Norman.

Produced and directed by Stanley Kramer.

Further information on Oklahoma Crude is available from the AFI Catalog.

Oklahoma Crude is available on DVD from Critics’ Choice Video.

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In keeping with the request for more “recent” (as in the 1970s) films, I opted for Oklahoma Crude, a sprawling picture in Panavision. It’s like McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), but about the oil business.

Are we in Vincent Canby territory by this point? Let’s see….

Yes! It’s Vincent Canby time! (The New York Times, July 4, 1973):

Oklahoma Crude is Stanley Kramer’s least solemn movie since So This Is New York, the very funny but financially unsuccessful adaptation of the Ring Lardner novel that marked Kramer’s debut as a film producer in 1948 (and is still one of my favorite comedies). It is less solemn than even It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, that behemoth of a slapstick comedy, which Kramer directed as well as produced …  Oklahoma Crude is Stanley Kramer, the director-producer, working very hard — doing his damndest, as a matter of fact — to entertain us with the kind of fiction that Edna Ferber used to write with such an easy touch that cliche was gentled into something approaching true style. ..  Marc Norman’s original screenplay (which was later turned into a novel) is not exactly wall-to-wall with surprises, but part of the appeal of such fiction is the anticipation of scenes we know to be obligatory… Suspense is never a matter of what, but of who and when.

For Monday, we have a mysterious fellow.

Update: This is William Lucking.

Mystery movie update: The consensus has been to keep doing what I’ve been doing, but perhaps include more recent films. Thanks for all the compliments and thank you for playing!

For Tuesday, we have a mysterious gent.

Update: This is Woodrow Parfrey.

For “Hm Wednesday,” we have a mysterious fellow. His mystery companion has been cropped out due to insufficient mysteriousness and will appear Friday.

Update: For Friday, we add our mysterious leading lady.

Update: This is Faye Dunaway and John Mills.

Brain Trust roll call: L.C. (mystery movie and mysterious cast), Stacia (mystery movie, Monday’s and Tuesday’s mystery guests) and Mike Hawks (Tuesday’s mysterious fellow).

For “Aha Thursday,” we have a mysterious fellow.

Update: This is Jack Palance.

For Friday, we have our mysterious leading lady and enigmatic leading man.

Update: This is Faye Dunaway and George C. Scott.

Brain Trust roll call: Sylvia (mystery movie and all mysterious guests, mystery guest cropped out due to lack of mysteriousness and upcoming leading man and leading lady), Anne Papineau (mystery movie, Wednesday’s and Thursday’s mystery guests) and Mike Hawks (mystery movie, Wednesday’s and Thursday’s mystery guests).