Oklahoma! (1955)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Fred Zinnemann

Writers:

Lynn Riggs (play)
Oscar Hammerstein II (play)

Release Date:

9 January 1956 (Brazil)

Genre:

Musical | Romance | Western

Tagline:

Now a motion picture as big as all outdoors! (first run Todd-AO version)

Plot:

A couple of young cowboys win the hearts of their sweethearts in the Oklahoma territory at the turn of the century...

Plot Keywords:

Cowboy | Oklahoma | Peddler | Love | Ranch Hand

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Gordon MacRae	...	Curly McLain
Gloria Grahame	...	Ado Annie Carnes
Gene Nelson	...	Will Parker
Charlotte Greenwood	...	Aunt Eller Murphy
Shirley Jones	...	Laurey Williams
Eddie Albert	...	Ali Hakim
James Whitmore	...	Andrew Carnes
Rod Steiger	...	Jud Fry
Barbara Lawrence	...	Gertie Cummings
Jay C. Flippen	...	Ike Skidmore
Roy Barcroft	...	Marshal Cord Elam
James Mitchell	...	Dream Curly
Bambi Linn	...	Dream Laurey
Jennie Workman	...	Dancer
Virginia Bosler	...	Dancer

Runtime:

145 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Sound System) (CinemaScope version) (35 mm magnetic prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Mono (Western Electric Sound System) (35 mm optical prints)

Certification:

Canada:F (Ontario) | Canada:G (Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | West Germany:12 | Australia:G | New Zealand:G | Finland:K-12 | UK:U | USA:G (1982)

Filming Locations:

Amado, Arizona, USA

Company:

Magna Theatre Corporation

Trivia:

The film's soundtrack album became one of the most successful movie albums ever released, more successful than the 1943 original Broadway cast album of "Oklahoma!", although the Broadway production was the biggest stage hit of its time, and for many years after. The film soundtrack album continues to be a popular seller even to this day.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: There are no mountains visible near Catoosa.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Curly: [singing] There's a bright golden haze on the meadow, There's a bright golden haze on the meadow. The corn is as high as a elephant's eye, And it looks like it's climbin' clear up to the sky. Oh, what a beautiful mornin', Oh, what a beautiful day! I got a beautiful feelin' Everything's goin' my way.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "3rd Rock from the Sun: Frozen Dick (#1.12)" (1996)

Soundtrack:

Many A New Day

Kudos, comments, and a Grail-like search

I've just hopped, skipped and jumped through seven pages of back-to-back kudos and other favorable comments on this great movie, and can do little but add mine to the chorus. Therefore, I'd like to focus on some minutiae.

The outstanding actress, among the many, is Gloria Grahame. In my humble opinion, she LIVED the part of Ada Annie. Watch her facial expressions during "I caint say no" and "All or Nuthin' ". The woman radiates sensuality with every line.

In the version shown recently on TV (04/03/06), it appears some lines were cut from "I caint". Unless I'm hallucinating, I remember her singing the following lyrics:

"Cain't seem to say it at all - I hate to disserpoint a beau When he is payin' a call! - Fer a while I ack refined and cool, - A settin on the velveteen setee - Nen I think of thet ol' golden rule, - And do fer him what he would do fer me!"

and at that point she starts idling her hips and flashes a grin of triumph that just REEKS sensuality. Anybody else remember this?

Another subplot(?) rarely mentioned is those two young girls who have a crush on Will and show up in every dance routine. I was enchanted by that little blonde pixie and have been going nuts trying to find out who she was. I suspect she is "Jennie Workman", the first credited dancer (she had one line in "Kansas City"). If so, sadly, she has only this one movie to her credit. If anyone has info on this little charmer, please email me.

I saw this movie soon after it's release in 1955, and was floored by the brilliance of the lyrics, actors in out-of-part roles doing a fantastic job, and the innovative dance routines, including the surreal barroom scene - it IS a dream after all. Fifty years later I still get the same WOW! reaction despite viewing this movie on an almost weekly basis this past month (that darned pixie has got me hooked!).

I wish some local theaters, facing declining audiences and the "home theater" threat, would feature a weekly "Classics Night" and show films like this again. Even a 52" HDTV pales in comparison to the Big Screen impact of some of these old movies, and this one would knock the socks off not only the current generation, but old geezers like myself who remembers when GOOD movies were the norm.