Oklahoma! (1955)
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95% of critics liked it
(22 reviews) -
72% of users liked it
(30,370 ratings)
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… More 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
- Directed By
- Fred Zinnemann
- Written By
- Lynn Riggs, Oscar Hammerstein, Sonya Levien, William Ludwig
- Genres
- Western, Romance, Musical & Performing Arts, Classics
G,
- In Theaters
- Oct 11, 1955 Wide
- On DVD
- Apr 27, 1999
- Studio
- Samuel Goldwyn Company
Critic Reviews
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Variety Staff, Variety
The wide screen used for the Todd-AO process adds production scope and visual grandeur, capturing a vista of blue sky and green prairie that can be breathtaking.
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Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
The film heaves and sputters from one indifferently rendered number to the next.
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Wally Hammond, Time Out
My favourite is the odd cast singing 'The Farmer and the Cowman should be friends', a sentiment I have long believed in.
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Douglas Pratt, Hollywood Reporter
The film is so richly layered that multiple viewings become compulsive -- you think it's all there in front of you, but every time you revisit it, you notice something more, and finish with a desire to go back again.
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Bosley Crowther, New York Times
A full-bodied Oklahoma! has been brought forth in this film to match in vitality, eloquence and melody any musical this reviewer has ever seen.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Currently unavailable on Flixster
Cast
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Gordon MacRae
as Curly
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Shirley Jones
as Laurey
- Gloria Graham
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Gene Nelson
as Will Parker
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Charlotte Greenwood
as Aunt Eller
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Gloria Grahame
as Ado Annie Carnes
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Rod Steiger
as Jud Fry
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Eddie Albert
as Ali Hakim
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James Whitmore
as Carnes
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Barbara Lawrence
as Gertie
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Jay C. Flippen
as Skidmore
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Roy Barcroft
as Marshal
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James Mitchell
as Dream Curly/Dancer
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Bambi Linn
as Dream Laurey/Dancer
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Jennie Workman
as Dancer
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Kelly Brown
as Dancer
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Lizanne Truex
as Dancer
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Evelyn Taylor
as Dancer
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Jane Fischer
as Dancer
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Marc Platt
as Dancer
- Virginia Bosier
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Ben Johnson
as Cowboy at Train Depot
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Rory Mallinson
as Young cowboy at box lunch auction
