Oklahoma! (1955)

In the Oklahoma territory at the turn of the twentieth century, two young cowboys vie with an evil ranch hand and a traveling peddler for the hearts of the women they love.

Director:

Fred Zinnemann

Writers:

Sonya Levien (screen play), William Ludwig (screen play),

Stars:

Gordon MacRae, Gloria Grahame, Gene Nelson

Won 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gordon MacRae	...	Curly McLain
Gloria Grahame	...	Ado Annie Carnes
Gene Nelson	...	Will Parker
Charlotte Greenwood	...	Aunt Eller
Shirley Jones	...	Laurey Williams
Eddie Albert	...	Ali Hakim
James Whitmore	...	Mr. Carnes
Rod Steiger	...	Jud Fry
Barbara Lawrence	...	Gertie Cummings
Jay C. Flippen	...	Skidmore
Roy Barcroft	...	Marshal
James Mitchell	...	Dream Curly / Dancer
Bambi Linn	...	Dream Laurey / Dancer
Jennie Workman	...	Dancer
Virginia Bosler	...	Dancer

Storyline

In the Oklahoma territory at the turn of the twentieth century, two young cowboys vie with an evil ranch hand and a traveling peddler for the hearts of the women they love.

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Plot Keywords:

peddler | oklahoma | cowboy | ranch hand | kansas city | 

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Taglines:

It's Here! (first run Todd- AO version)

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Genres:

Musical | Romance | Western

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 January 1956 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

Oklahoma

Filming Locations:

Amado, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Magna Theatre Corporation, Rodgers & Hammerstein Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

145 min

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)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The general release version, shot in CinemaScope, is the one that played most theatres throughout the USA. This version was not released until late 1956, after the first-run Todd-AO version had played New York for more than a year and after the film versions of two other Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II stage musicals, Carousel and The King and I, had already been released throughout the United States.

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Goofs

At the train station, Will Parker gets off the train and gives Aunt Eller a white box of something. Aunt Eller sits down on a bench and the camera shows her from the back, looking at Will. He says something like "let me show you guys something", to his other cowboy friends and starts to walk toward them. Aunt Eller puts the white box on the bench to her left and starts to stand up. In the shot immediately following, now showing the front of Aunt Eller, she puts the white box to her left and stands up again in the exact same way she did before.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Gamera vs. Guiron (1991)

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Soundtracks

"Laurey's Dream Ballet"
(1943) (uncredited)
Music by Richard Rodgers
Danced by James Mitchell, Bambi Linn, Rod Steiger, and Dancers

User Reviews

Nice, Old-Fashioned Fillm But Too Long

I really liked the first part of this movie, with all the famous songs and great color that looks even better on DVD....and just a great feel of old-fashioned wholesomeness.

The rest of the film doesn't live up to that first part as the songs aren't as good and the thin storyline is stretched out too long. They didn't need to make this 145 minutes. Two hours would have been plenty.

The story is just about two romances: the main "contest:" Gordon McCrae and Rod Steiger both vying for Shirley Jones, and the minor one with Gloria Grahame and two suitors. Grahame, with her humor as "Ado Annie Carnes" is the best character in the film, at least to me. Eddie Albert also chips in with some humor as the "peddler" and Charlotte Greenwood was good as "Aunt Eller."

Jones and McCrae are about as "All-American" as you can get and Steiger is the lone "villain" of the film. The most colorful segment of the movie was the dream scene that featured a great set. The dancing didn't do much for me, but the bright colors sure did.

Overall, a refreshing nice old-fashioned musical and a visual treat as well. If it's a little long, well, so be it.