Plot

Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1943 Broadway musical was considered revolutionary for a multitude of reasons, not least of which were the play's intricate integration of song and storyline, and the simplicity and austerity of its production design. The 1955 film version of Oklahoma! retains the songs (except for Lonely Room and It's a Scandal!, which are usually cut from most stage presentations anyway) and the story, but the simplicity is sacrificed to the spectacle of Technicolor, Todd-AO, and Stereophonic Sound. The story can be boiled down to a single sentence: a girl must decide between the two suitors who want to take her to a social. In her movie debut, 19-year-old Shirley Jones plays Laurie, an Oklahoma farm gal who is courted by boisterous cowboy Curley (Gordon MacRae) and by menacing, obsessive farm hand Jud Frye (Rod Steiger). Fearing that Jud will do something terrible to Curley, Laurie accepts Jud's invitation to the box social. But it's Curley who rescues Laurie from Jud's unwanted advances, and in so doing wins her hand. On the eve of their wedding, Laurie and Curley are menaced by the drunken Jud. During a fight with Curley, Jud falls on his own knife and is killed (this sudden-death motif was curiously commonplace in the Rodgers and Hammerstein ouevre). The local deputy insists that Curley be arrested and stand trial, but he is outvoted by Curley's friends, and the newlyweds are permitted to ride off on their honeymoon. Counterpointing the serious elements of the story is a comic subplot involving innocently promiscuous Ado Annie (Gloria Grahame), her erstwhile sweetheart Will Parker (Gene Nelson) and lascivious travelling salesman Ali Hakim (Eddie Albert). None of the Broadway cast of Oklahoma! was engaged for the film version, though Charlotte Greenwood is finally able to essay the role of Auntie Eller that had been written for her but she'd been unable to play back in 1943. The evergreen songs include Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin', Surrey with the Fringe on Top, People Will Say We're In Love, I Cain't Say No, and the rousing title song. Two versions of Oklahoma! currently exist: the Todd-AO version, filmed on 65-millimeter stock, and the simultaneously shot CinemaScope version, shipped out to the theaters not equipped for the wider-screen Todd-AO process. Both versions have been issued in "letterbox" form on laser disc, and the subtle differences in performance style and camera angles in each and every scene are quite fascinating. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Review

There may have been better musicals, but few left as lasting a cultural impact as Oklahoma!, whose optimistic, broadly American songs by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein became instant and permanent classics. The enduring and endearing music in this Western included the enchanting Oh What a Beautiful Morning! and the clever Surrey with the Fringe on Top as well as the title song. It was based on the smash Broadway play that had its run in the 1940s. Shirley Jones made her film debut as the country girl who falls in love with a cowboy (Gordon MacRae) but is pursued by a sinister farmhand (Rod Steiger, in one of his earliest roles). At 145 minutes, the film is a little too pleased with itself, but the fresh, sunny impact of the movie triumphed. Its corny sentiments perfectly fit the mood of expansive, contented mid-1950s America. The film actually was shot in Arizona! ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

Cast

• Gordon MacRae - Curly
• Shirley Jones - Laurey
• Gene Nelson - Will Parker
• Charlotte Greenwood - Aunt Eller
• Gloria Grahame - Ado Annie Carnes
• Rod Steiger - Jud Fry

Eddie Albert - Ali Hakim; James Whitmore - Carnes; Barbara Lawrence - Gertie; Jay C. Flippen - Skidmore; Roy Barcroft - Marshal; James Mitchell - Dream Curly/Dancer; Bambi Linn - Dream Laurey/Dancer; Jennie Workman - Dancer; Kelly Brown - Dancer; Lizanne Truex - Dancer; Evelyn Taylor - Dancer; Jane Fischer - Dancer; Marc Platt - Dancer; Virginia Bosier; Ben Johnson - Cowboy at Train Depot; Rory Mallinson - Young cowboy at box lunch auction

Credit

Joseph C. Wright - Art Director, Agnes de Mille - Choreography, Orry-Kelly - Costume Designer, Motley - Costume Designer, Fred Zinnemann - Director, George Boemler - Editor, Gene Ruggiero - Editor, Adolph Deutsch - Composer (Music Score), Rodgers & Hammerstein - Composer (Music Score), Richard Rodgers - Composer (Music Score), Jay Blackton - Composer (Music Score), Robert Russell Bennett - Composer (Music Score), Russell Bennett - Musical Direction/Supervision, Adolph Deutsch - Musical Direction/Supervision, Jay Blackton - Musical Direction/Supervision, Robert Russell Bennett - Musical Direction/Supervision, Oliver Smith - Production Designer, Floyd D.Crosby - Cinematographer, Robert Surtees - Cinematographer, Arthur Hornblow, Jr. - Producer, Fred Hynes - Sound/Sound Designer, Sonya Levien - Screenwriter, William Ludwig - Screenwriter, Oscar Hammerstein II - From Musical by, Lynn Riggs - Play Author

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