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One of the most eagerly anticipated films of its time, this flamboyant adaptation of the classic Rodgers & Hammerstein stage musical -- filmed in the then-new Todd AO process -- wowed moviegoers when it hit theater screens in 1955, more than a decade after the original show took Broadway by storm. Handsome, husky Gordon MacRae made a perfect Curly, and young, fresh-faced Shirley Jones entranced audiences as Laurie. Veteran stage and screen star Charlotte Greenwood was a thorough delight in the role of Aunt Eller, with Gene Nelson contributing vigorous hoofing as Will Parker and Gloria Grahame nearly stealing the show as Ado Annie. Rod Steiger, very much out of place in a musical, was suitably unlikable as Jud Fry, the nominal villain. The film’s story hewed fairly closely to that of the stage incarnation; simply put, it involves the efforts of two cowboys to win the hearts of two young ladies they meet in the Oklahoma territory at the turn of the 20th century. The rest was movie-musical magic, from the lush orchestrations by Robert Russell Bennett to the dynamic choreography of Agnes De Mille (who’d performed the same chore for the stage show). And then there were those unforgettable songs -- “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning,” “Surrey with the Fringe on Top,” “People Will Say We’re in Love,” “Many a New Day,” “I Cain’t Say No,” and, of course, the title tune. Somewhat out of his element, High Noon director Fred Zinnemann still manages to present and stage the material inventively. To some of today’s home viewers, Oklahoma! will seem at best quaint and at worst extremely silly. It represents a magnificent accomplishment in a genre that is, sadly, out of favor. But fans of the form still revere this marvelous musical, which after 50 years remains a treat for both eye and ear. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

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

Product Details

• UPC: 024543208433
• Source: 20TH CENTURY FOX
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 2.55:1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Español
• Time: 2:25:00
• Sales Rank: 3,216

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• The Rodgers & Hammerstein Collection
• The Fox-MGM Hollywood Musicals Collection

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