Oklahoma! (1955) User Reviews (125)

One of the Strongest Stage to Screen Musicals

[evanston_dad · 8/10 · 2 August 2006]

The stage-to-screen musical became an institution during the 1950s, one that would reach its peak in the mid-1960s and then quickly decline. Within the industry, I wonder if a certain prestige attached itself to established directors who could create good musicals, because many a veteran director tried his hand at it. Between 1955 and 1970, directors like Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Robert Wise, George Cukor and Carol Reed, none of them known as musical directors, would make some of the best-known and best-loved screen musicals of all time. Fred Zinneman tossed his hat into the ring with "Oklahoma!"

And, as it happens, made a pretty good job of it. Many a film director struggled with how to open up stage-bound material for the screen. Some didn't try (George Cukor in "My Fair Lady") and some improved on the original material through doing so (Robert Wise in "The Sound of Music"). Zinneman's efforts fall somewhere in between. The vast landscapes that serve as a background for his film contribute a realism that the stage version could never capture, but Zinneman doesn't always know what to do with the space he's given, and his transitions from scene to scene (that would have been covered up on stage through extra business and music) suffer from clunkiness. The score sounds remarkable, and those involved knew well enough to leave the original songs mostly intact.

Where "Oklahoma!" surpasses other film musicals is in its wonderful cast. Gordon MacRae could play a signing cowboy without making him twerpy. Shirley Jones could convince you with her soprano warble that she was an innocent country girl. Rod Steiger is almost too good for the material as the psycho Jud Fry. James Whitmore, Eddie Albert and Charlotte Greenwood have priceless little bits that they make the most of. And Gene Nelson and Gloria Grahame steal scene after scene, making you almost wish the movie was about them.

Most importantly, Zinneman knew how to stage a musical number and effectively capture dance on film, which is something Mankiewicz, whose "Guys and Dolls" came out in the same year, did not.

Grade: A

A Long Time to Say It All

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 23 March 2006]

I love the music. The story is great. The tension between the farmers and the cowboys is presented well. Poor Judd is about as threatening as can be. Everything about the play is excellent; it's why it has stood the test of time. Nevertheless, I wish it were about a half hour shorter. There are some things that are endless (especially the famous dream sequence). These could have been choreographed with more concision and kept the viewer involved. There are also times when it get so dark that it falls away form the comedic nature that really carries things. I'm not so sure why Rogers and Hammerstein made Judd so vicious. Maybe he has to be. His presence is almost terroristic. It may have been better to make him a possible rival. He's bona fide psychotic, so he is like a snake or some other poisonous creature. Also, the ending always leaves me cold. It's so abrupt and anticlimactic. That aside, there are incredible songs, wonderful dance sequences, and very good acting. Don't miss this if you've never seen it.

Great film adaptation of the Rogers & Hammerstein musical

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 5 September 2021]

The story follows various characters in the Oklahoma territory at the turn of the century. Much of the drama concerns who's taking who to the big dance: Laurey Williams (Shirley Jones) wants to go with Curly McLain (Gordon MacRae), but ends up being asked by the creepy Jud Fry (Rod Steiger). Cowboy Will Parker (Gene Nelson) pines for Ado Annie (Gloria Grahame), but she's with traveling salesman Ali Hakim (Eddie Albert).

Charlotte Greenwood, with whom I am most familiar in her early talking picture days, shows up in several of these Fox musicals in supporting roles and adds punch to any part she takes.

This movie is notable for a few reasons. It was the first movie made in the Todd-AO 70mm format, a process so new that, just in case things went wrong, the movie was simultaneously shot in CinemaScope. Most theatergoers saw the CinemaScope version which was distributed by first RKO and then Fox, while the Todd-AO version was taken out by the Magna Theater Corporation as the first of the "roadshow" musicals that began to dominate the genre for the next 20 years.

Director Fred Zinnemann does a terrific job of utilizing the widescreen format, filling the screen with activity and beautiful scenery. The songs, many of which have become standards, are infectious if occasionally overlong, much like the movie itself. The performances are all BIG, too, from Steiger's method intensity to MacRae's wholesome hero. Lovely Shirley Jones makes her film debut and acquits herself well enough. Gene Nelson gets some of the best dance numbers, naturally. It may be blasphemous, but I could have done without the lengthy vocal-less dancing dream sequence. The movie earned Oscar nominations for Best Color Cinematography (Robert Surtees) and Best Editing (Gene Ruggiero, George Boemler), and it won for Best Score (Robert Russell Bennett, Jay Blackton, Adolph Deutsch) and Best Sound.

A great movie, but the dancers get no respect

[nevkid12 · 10/10 · 11 April 2006]

Since I'm a Newbie and go into detail on some the dance routines, I'm stating that there may be spoilers here just to cover myself.

Being afflicted with little coordination or a reliable short-term memory, I've developed a great respect, if not admiration for anyone who is or aspires to be a dancer, since those qualities are essential.

I used to attend the Solid Gold shows and marveled at how those dancers were expected to pick up complicated steps on the first take, repeat the routine time and time again until the director was happy, and then show lots of first-take energy. One dancer told me they always had swollen and sometimes bloody feet after the show. But at least they were always properly credited. I have no doubt that it's the same for the stage and screen dancers except that in so many cases they are treated as a throwaway commodity when it comes time to the credits.

Although "Oklahoma" is one of my all-time favorites, it is a classic example of the latter. In earlier viewings, I had noticed/liked/wondered about that perky little blonde dancer who has a crush on Will (Gene Nelson) and her almost-prominent presence in all of the dance routines. Being laid up with a broken foot gave me time to scan IMDBs comments and message board quotes for this movie, which prompted me to take a detailed, and in some cases a frame-by-frame look at this dancer's performances.

Well, leisurely dissecting her work in freeze-frame and slo-mo, you suddenly discover what a talented little gem this girl is (apparently Jennie Workman, but how can we be sure? - Updated 07/24/06 - Nope, it turns out she's Lizanne Truex). She first appears, and immediately establishes a stand-out presence as an infatuated-with-Will teenager in "Everything's Up To Date In Kansas City". At one point in the "ragtime" routine, she kicks so high she knocks off Will's hat -- and he is not a short guy. I thought he used the old trick of snapping his head back, but no, that little gal kicks her foot up as high or higher than her head with a disciplined precision (how many takes for that one?). Her disapproving look at Will's horse (who nuzzled him) typifies a little girl pique. Check out her adoring looks at Will while dancing with him as compared to her partner, who seemed concentrating on the steps. When the girls race with Will to the train, her arm-swinging energy makes it look like the start of a 100-yard dash. Freeze-frame caught her extra little toe-heel-toe step just before she jumped on the train – a nice professional flourish that I don't think was choreographed as her partner, who usually danced in unison, didn't perform.

Then there was her performance in "Many a New Day". First it was a how-can-I-fix-my-hair primping before a mirror followed by a hair-fluffing attention-getter and a dreamy head-in-arms swoon that personifies a young girl in love. At the end of the routine, when the dancers all fall to the floor around Laurey, she assumes a contorted position with such a fluid and graceful movement that you wonder if she has any bones.

In the early part of Laurey's (Shirley Jones) dream sequence, she shyly presents a bouquet of flowers to Dream Curly (James Mitchell) and when he accepts, she flashes such a winsome smile that it squeezes your heart. Dagnabbit, I'm in love -- and with a 50-year-old image at that! Follow her around in the "Farmers and Ranchers" bit and notice how she's not just acting, but having REAL fun -- by-God-enjoying every minute of it and probably thinking "And to think they're paying me to do this!"). There's a notably cute bit where she bounces up on Will's hip, seemingly light as a feather, and then rewards him with a very ladylike curtsy.

In "All er Nuthin" she and her partner come out and do some fancy high-stepping and strutting around Will and when he gives her girlfriend a peck on the lips, she does a great arms-akimbo pouting look of HMMMPH! This little lady consistently gives a great professional account of herself throughout the film both as an actress and a dancer. She has spot-on timing and always seems to kick a little higher and express a little more verve and elan than the others.

And for all this she gets a generic "Dancer" in the film credits!!! They could at least have said "Perky Little Blonde Teenager" or "Foxy Teenage Blonde Infatuated with Will". Heck, I'd even settle for "Young Girl No. 1". At least you would have been pointed in the right direction. Shame on whomever was responsible, for this little lady had lots of potential and in my opinion, her subsequent absence was a loss to the trade. Evidently this was her only film and biographical info on her is non-existent. All the other Internet movie references for her appear to be taken from IMDBs database. Perhaps she was so disgusted at the lack of recognition that she quit the business. Then again, I'd like to think some smart (as in lucky) guy married her soon after and by now she has lots of grandchildren.

In any event, I pass on a "Well Done and I wish I could have seen more of you" to her, wherever she is. It's the least I could do for someone who owns part of my heart. In keeping with IMDb's restriction on URLs, check out my tribute to her by clicking on nevkid12's name in the message board's reply to "Who are the 2 dancers?".

The sexiest film of the 1950's

[schappe1 · 25 December 2003]

`Oklahoma' is the sexiest film of the 1950s. The film is all about sex, (well, it's about romance, as well, but what does that lead to?). Curley keeps finding different ways to woo Laurie. Jud, who lives in a dug-out surrounded by pictures of naked women, has plans for her, too. Will and Ado Annie have plans of their own, if they can ever stop both their wandering eyes. Annie's father knows what they are up to and figures to use his shot gun to set things right. Those spyglasses with the interesting pictures keep showing up. Women dance around in their underwear and we visit a dance hall where they are similarly dressed except for the colors. Finally there is Laurie's skinny dipping sequence. I assume Shirley Jones had a flash-colored bathing suit, but who knows? Deep Throat isn't any more about sex than this film is. Yet it's Rogers and Hammerstein so it's shown constantly as a family film. Well, I guess that's how families get made!

Other comments: I see nothing in the choreography that Gordon McRae and Shirley Jones couldn't have done, at least in the close-ups. We see Rod Steiger in the dream sequence and to see two other faces as Laurie and Curly kind of shatter the illusion.

While many sequences are clearly shot on a sound stage, the beautiful outdoors photography in Todd-AO adds so much to the spectacle. When I saw the recent tape of a British stage play of this, it had no where near the impact and this was one of the reasons.

Another was the casting, which was dead-on perfect. Gordon McRae is the picture of the singing cowboy, (which was not a Hollywood invention). He more than holds his own with Rod Steiger, a year after Steiger was holding his won with Brando. Shirley Jones is the image of Laurie. She has all the physical endowments of a Marilyn Monroe but with the added qualities of sweetness and intelligence that make her marvelously sexy and appealing. Steiger gives the piece dramatic weight. He also shows surprising singing ability, (this site says he had an operatic voice but no sense of key), Gloria Grahame is the ideal Ado Annie. I saw a clip of Celeste Holm, of whom I am a big fan, doing `I Can't Say No' on the Ed Sullivan show. She doesn't hold a candle to Grahame, who underplays the lines but has the sex coming out of her eyes, right along with the innocence. Gene Nelson is a wonderfully easy going dancing cowpoke and his songs with Ado Annie have unending charm. Charlotte Greenwood is a wonder as Aunt Eller, all arms and legs and home spun philosophy. James Whitmore makes a meal of shotgun toting Dad. Eddie Albert has one of his best roles as Ali Hakim. It's hard to imagine anyone being better in these roles.

Of course, Roger's and Hammerstein's music and lyrics are timeless. The title tune, `Oh What Beautiful Morning `, `Surrey With the Fringe on Top', `People Will Say We're in Love', `Everything's Up-to-Date in Kansas City', `I can't Say No', and the others keep playing in your memory long after you've heard them.

But that story, (you can't really call it a plot). Have you ever seen a musical like it?

An atrocious film that we love to hate.

[pjmartinau-1 · 6/10 · 18 November 2009]

I give the movie 6 out of 10 simply for the music. The music is classic and exceptional. Some of the songs however, are terrible. The song, "I can't say no" is so bad that it is good, and was sung by Polly in a Fawlty Towers episode.

The acting, the characters and the plot made my stomach turn. The people we are meant to like in the film are cocky, arrogant, over-the-top and superficial. The women in the movie are mean-spirited and shallow. The guys have plastic smiles that scream of insincerity.

The only character with any personality and depth is Jud - the one who is vilified as a loser, and we are meant to hate and despise him. Yet watching the movie makes you feel sympathy for him - especially the scene where one of the cocky cowboys pays him an unwanted visit and sings about how Jud's life is doomed, and finds a knife in his shed,and says to him encouragingly, "You could kill yourself with this." What are Jud's main crimes? He is poor and gruff-looking. He is not wealthy and lives in a small shed as a farm labourer. One of the girls has a bad dream with him in it (all he does in the dream is hold out his hand towards her). He causes headaches for everyone at an auction by offering a few cents more in money than the other bidders. This is after the girl has left him stranded many miles away from the auction and offers him no apology.

The movie reaches it grand climax when the enraged Jud reaches his breaking point tries to burn them down. The cowboy jumps on him forcing him to stab himself and he dies. Everyone is comical and happy that Jud is gone and we are meant to laugh when the cowboy is cleared of charges.

In a nutshell, the heroes repulsed me, the villain gained my sympathy, and the movie was way to long, and there is nothing to like about a single character in the film.

Kudos for Richard Rogers for the great music, nothing can be said for anything else in the film

"You're Doing Fine Oklahoma, Oklahoma OK"

[bkoganbing · 9/10 · 5 May 2007]

Back in 1957 I saw this film when it was re-released and playing as a double feature with Carousel. Talk about musical entertainment, you can't do much better than that.

With a few numbers cut, this film version of the legendary Broadway musical is a faithful adaption of the show that premiered in 1943 and set a record of 2212 performances in a five year Broadway run at the St. James Theater. Oklahoma set a host of firsts on Broadway, the first musical to have an original cast album, the first also in the partnership of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, II.

Oklahoma on stage was also daring in that it had an extensive use of ballet, something unheard of for Broadway. Well, not quite because Richard Rodgers when he was writing with Lorenz Hart had Georges Balanchine do the famous Slaughter on Tenth Avenue ballet for On Your Toes.

But that was not as long as the dream ballet of Laurie that Agnes DeMille choreographed for Oklahoma. Agnes had previously choreographed Aaron Copland's composition Rodeo for a ballet and was a perfect choice for the musical with the western setting.

Would you believe that Oklahoma's origins came from a flop play by Lynn Riggs called Green Grow the Lilacs? The first person to play Curly was not Alfred Drake on stage or Gordon MacRae on film, but Franchot Tone. It's the closest the urbane Mr. Tone ever got to a western in his career. June Walker played the Laurie part in Green Grow the Lilacs that Joan Roberts did on stage and Shirley Jones did in this film. Green Grow the Lilacs ran a total of 64 performances back in 1931. But Dick Rodgers saw the musical possibilities in it.

MacRae was a proved commodity, but this was Shirley Jones's big screen debut. She followed it up with Carousel again co-starring with MacRae, just as the era of big screen musicals were ending. To some of us she's better known for singing those Rodgers&Hammerstein songs than for being the mother of the Partridge Family.

The secondary characters in the show are nicely cast with the secondary romantic triangle of Gene Nelson, Gloria Grahame, and Eddie Albert. One of the songs cut is a number called, It's a Scandal, It's an Outrage that Albert's character, peddler Ali Hakim sings. Albert did sing on stage and screen occasionally, I wish his number had stayed in. All he got out of the film as we well know is a three day bellyache.

The songs of Oklahoma are part of our national musical treasure from the opening of Oh, What a Beautiful Morning to the rousing title song almost at the very end. On stage, Oh, What a Beautiful Morning is sung off stage with a farm house setting and the Aunt Eller character, Charlotte Greenwood, sitting and churning butter. On stage MacRae is on horseback, riding through a cornfield where you can really see the corn is as high as an elephant's eye.

Rodgers&Hammerstein also gave one state in the union probably the best state song ever written at least in my humble opinion. The infectious and optimistic Oklahoma is in fact now the state song of the Sooner state. You can't sit quietly and listen and watch that number when its on, I defy anyone to.

Another big hit is People Will Say We're in Love that MacRae and Jones sing trying terribly hard to convince each other they're not crushing out. A favorite of mine has always been the ballad that Jones sings, Many A New Day to cheer herself up when MacRae hasn't asked her to the dance.

The plot of Oklahoma is slight, a couple of wholesome young people playing courting games about a dance. The problem is that the brooding hired hand of Jones and Greenwood's farm is used to make MacRae jealous. That would be Jud Fry, played with appropriate menace by Rod Steiger. The method acting Mr. Steiger stands out in this cast, but he's supposed to, because he's not really part of the community of farmers and cowmen. Among all these musical performers, Mr. Steiger proves to actually have a few nice notes in his voice as he joins MacRae singing Poor Jud is dead.

It took over ten years for Oklahoma to finally make it to the big screen. It took home Oscars for sound and musical scoring. It was well worth the wait.

Wife loves it

[ted-97 · 7/10 · 11 October 1999]

Back when roles of men and women were well defined there was the MUSICAL. Men sang. Women sang. Men sang about women, Women sang about men. Then came the 60s and men and women sang about other issues that were pertinent to them at that time.

If you want to have a good time singing about the old times watch Oklahoma, if you desire plot, watch something else.

Much Ado about Gloria Grahame

[ianlouisiana · 10/10 · 27 January 2006]

There are many moments in "Oklahoma" when you want to jump out of your seat and shout for sheer joy,Gordon Macrae singing "The corn is as high as a elephant's eye" with magnificent disregard for the indefinite article,a daringly cast Rod Steiger intoning "Poor Jud is daid","Everything's up to date in Kansas City","I'm just a girl who cain't say no",I'm in danger of turning this into a list of songs but the film is so much more than a hook to hang the music on. Agnes de Mille's choreography makes use of stylised "western" dancing as its starting point then adds athleticism and grace in an exhilarating mix. Its great strength is in its apparent spontaneity,the sure sign of months of hard preparation.If there is a better choreographed scene than "Kansas City" in any movie musical I have yet to see it. Gloria Grahame,more usually cast as a gangsters' moll or a good-time girl has just the proper air of bruised innocence for Ado Annie with her wide eyes and slight lisp."I wanna say come on let's go just when I oughta say nix" is a brilliant marriage of words and music and she interprets it as if she was genuinely confused by her mixed feelings. A wonderful performance and the benchmark against which every subsequent Ado Annie should be measured. The young Shirley Jones brings an unprecedented freshness and joie de vivre to the role of Laurey at the start of a long and distinguished movie career.Her peaches and cream beauty graced the big screen for another 40 - odd years but never to better effect. I have reservations about the ballet which I daresay was avant garde at the time of the first stage production in 1943 but nowadays judged within the context of the whole movie seems out of place .Perhaps it was initially conceived as a sop to the culture commissars of the day in order to boost the film musical's attempt to be recognised as "art". It became a bit of a vogue for a short while in the mid - fifties but thankfully a rather brief one as neither balletomanes nor musical fans were entirely happy with the hybridised product. In an era when the word "great" is so over used as to become virtually meaningless,it is no longer sufficient to say that Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote some great musicals.You have to say that they wrote some superlative musicals. And "Oklahoma" was arguably the most original innovative,tuneful and influential of them all. I am grateful to all the considerable artists concerned in its production.

Oklahoma was OK at the time, but now, it's pretty mediocre.

[ironhorse_iv · 6/10 · 19 September 2015]

Oh what a beautiful morning! Yes, what a wonderful day! You know, I've got a beautiful feeling! Everything's, everything's going my way! Yes, indeed, it's a great time to talk about this classic musical. Based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs, and turn into a Broadway musical in 1943 by a team of composers, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. In return, the stage play was turn into a 1955 movie musical, which itself was a box-office smash, not only with audiences, but with critics. The film won several Academy Awards that year. Set in 1906 Oklahoma, the movie tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain (Gordon MacRae) looking forward to asking his long-time, off and on, girlfriend, farm girl Laurey Williams (Shirley Jones) to the box social dance. Only to find out, that her creepy farm hand, Jud Fry (Rod Steiger) has ask her out, first. Laurey accept his hand, only to regret it, later, when he tries to committed unlawful advantages toward her. Now Curly must find a way to rescue his girl from this brute, before it's too late. Can Curly save Laurey or will Curly and Laurey end up getting burn? Watch the movie to find out! Without spoiling the movie, too much; I have to say, that this film was very disappointing to me. I thought, some of the songs were somewhat too generic peachy & All-American bland. A good example is the love ballad, 'People Will Say we're in Love'. I was really, hoping for a stronger, more risky love piece. Another thins that kinda upset me about the songs used in the film is the censorships. I don't like, how the song, "Kansas City' was rewritten to make it, more family-friendly, yet they have songs like 'Poor Jud is daid', being allowed. I found that song, in which the hero try to suggest the villain to commit suicide to be out of character, crude, and disturbing. I really don't get, how Curly can be, call a hero, after that!? I don't like, how the film omit, some songs like "It's a Scandal, It's an Outrage" and "Lonely Room". "Lonely Room" more, because that song gave Jud, so much, more depth that was really needed. Songs like "The Farmer and the Cowman" are just awful. First off, it does not further the plot, at all. Second off, the lyrics are repetitive, corny, annoying, and childish uninspiring. Last, I dislike how the song end, mid-through, because of a fight, only to continue after worth. It was a waste of time. Talking about waste of time, any of the songs that Will Parker (Gene Nelson) & Ado Annie (Gloria Grahame) had to sing, felt like filler. I really didn't care about their love subplot, at all, due to their horrible acting. I really didn't like, how Gloria Grahame plays Ado Annie at all. She seem more like a clueless naïve asexual bookworm, than a floozy. Also, she sings as if she's about pee her pants. I really don't get, why they hired a tone-deaf actress for this role!? Honestly, most of the characters seem, underdeveloped and unlikeable. I really can't like, Curly, because he's the one that kinda leaded Laurey into making stupid decision. Second off, I can't really, feel bad for Laurey, because her troubles began when she was trying to spite Curly. It's her damn fault! The few characters that I seem to like, was Jud. The reason, why is because Rod Steiger really play him, wonderful. Also as creepy as Jud is, it's hard not to feel at least a little sorry for him, with the way he's ostracized by the town and seems to be completely starved for affection. He had the most character development, and by far, had one of the better singing voices in the film. I just hate, the film ends him, very anticlimax. Another character that I love, is Aunt Eller (Charlotte Greenwood). She had some of the best funny one-liners in the film. The songs that I love are, 'Oklahoma', 'Oh, What a beautiful Morning', & 'The Surrey with the Fringe on Top". They're by far, the most entertaining parts of the film. It's also nice to hear that the song "Oklahoma" was made the state song in 1953. Another thing that I adore, is the surreal ballet dream sequence. While, I really found it to be, out of place. It's by far, the best thing in the film. Way better than those cheesy tap dance numbers. Not only that, you really get to see, the fever dream, that the writer was going through, when writing this sequence. Writer, Lorenz Hart was going through, his longstanding alcoholism, when ask to help out on Oklahoma by Hammerstein & Rodgers. You really get to see, his downward spiral, here in this part. Sadly, the alcoholism, was too much for him, as he had to exit the product, because writing anymore, and Rodgers & Hammerstein, went to find a new collaborator. Parts of his work, are still shown here. Surprising, the film 'Oklahoma!' follows, the original stage version extremely closely, more so than any other Rodgers and Hammerstein stage-to-film adaptation. It does help, that Rodgers & Hammerstein personally oversaw the film to prevent the studio from making much changes. While in 2007, Oklahoma! was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant', for me, it wasn't that good. Overall: As a 'book musical'! It doesn't work. The songs and dances are not fully integrated into a well-made story with serious dramatic goals that are able to evoke genuine emotions other than laughter. While, upbeat, and colorful in 1950s. These days, the musical movie comes off, as very vanilla & plain. Way too sweet for a cowboy film. I do recommended watching, but it's has little to no re-watch ability for me.

Worst of the classic musicals

[slofstra · 4/10 · 21 July 2006]

I have to admit that there are some great songs. And great dance scenes, some clever comedy, more great songs, but I find myself restive watching the entire movie, and finally, disappointed at the end. I think the problem is the the story line and lack of plot development. In a musical plot shouldn't matter. Certainly Singin' in the Rain or Easter Parade, both of which are much more enjoyable to watch, have little to offer in terms of story. Perhaps the problem here is the lack of cohesion between the movie elements and the overall story line. It certainly promises more. The romance also is quite dull, and the "big conflict" at the end is the most anti-climactic ending that's ever been scripted. I'm thinking that while the songs will be remembered for aeons that the musical itself will not continue to find favour. It seems quite dated to me. Later edit - Given that this is the "least helpful" review I have written, my point of view must be at odds with many viewers. I do like a large number of musicals, but for the reasons cited I found this one to be a big miss. But the individual elements of the movie, many of which are well executed, might work for you. For me, a musical still has to have a good story to work, and that is missing here.

Kudos, comments, and a Grail-like search

[borg1005 · 10/10 · 5 April 2006]

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.

A fine musical with Rod Steiger singing and the charming Charlotte Greenwood

[JuguAbraham · 7/10 · 13 September 2021]

A fine musical, if ever there was one, especially considering it was made in 1955. The highlights of the film for me were the charming performance of Charlotte Greenwood as "Aunt Eller" and of Rod Steiger as a singing farm worker. The negative role of Steiger probably led to his casting in a parallel role in David Lean's "Doctor Zhivago." Zinnemann is to be credited for picking Steiger in two of his early films--this one and in Steiger's debut film "Teresa" (1951).

Magnificent Choreography

[turk_182 · 3/10 · 8 July 2002]

This is a musical with some marvelous Rogers & Hammerstein songs, but they are mere accoutrements for Agnes DeMille's sagebrush ballets. Every step is artistically perfect. The result is magnificent for choreography students and dance afficienados but tremendously slow for the rest of us. Rod Steiger is much too affected in his role. Gordon McRae is adequate,, but Shirley Jones and Eddie Albert come off as most memorable in an impressive, albeit overstuffed, cast. Altogether, this is great art, dance, and music, but a so-so movie.

Execellent

[Marie-62 · 10/10 · 19 November 2000]

In the great land of Oklahoma there is no better romance blossoming than that between Curly (Gordon McRae) and Laurie (Shirley Jones). Just these two people alone would make the movie a perfect 10. But then you add Eddie Albert, and the characters Will and Ado Annie, and you have a 100! The music is delightful, so delightful, in fact, that you'll probably want to go and buy the soundtrack the minute after you hear the first song. Some really drop-dead-funny parts (Persian good-byes and Oklahoma hellos, Poor Jud is Dead) and some real romance. Excellent. I highly suggest it for people who like wester musical romances.

OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MOVIE...

[wrdiggs · 28 January 2001]

After seeing OKLAHOMA! on the screen in Todd-AO for the first time 44 years ago, it immediately became my all-time favorite film. Today, it still holds that lofty ranking.

The beautiful Rodgers & Hammerstein score includes some of the greatest music ever written. The two collaborated on nine broadway musicals, many of which were adapted to the screen, notably CAROUSEL, SOUTH PACIFIC, THE KING AND I, and THE SOUND OF MUSIC, but OKLAHOMA! tops them all.

Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones are perfectly cast as the young couple experiencing the magic of first love, and their singing of some of the show's classic tunes, such as "Surry With the Fringe On Top" and "People Will Say We're In Love" is a pleasure to listen to.

Miss Jones, making her screen debut as Laurie Williams, instantly establishes her image of the "girl next door"--did I grow up in the wrong neighborhood? She is captivatingly charming as she tries to make Curly (MacRae) jealous by accepting a date to the box social with her Aunt Eller's hired farmhand, Jud Fry, played menacingly by Rod Steiger.

It is the supporting cast of characters that really bring this musical to life--particularly Aunt Eller, played by Charlotte Greenwood. Doesn't everyone have an Aunt Eller in their life? Then there's Ado Annie Carnes (Gloria Grahame) and her longsuffering boyfriend Will Parker (Gene Nelson), who lights up the screen with a great dance number. Throw in a travelling salesman, Ali Hakim (Eddie Albert); Gertie Cummings (Barbara Lawrence), who tries to steal Curly away from Laurie; and Mr. Carnes (James Whitmore), who insists on a shotgun wedding for his daughter, Ado Annie, rather than see her marry Will; and you have some unforgettable characters indeed.

The film's one dissenting note was the class distinction warfare between the handsome, clean-cut Curly, who everyone knows "Laurie has her cap set fer" and the rough and dirty, working-class Jud. Jud meets his untimely end, but, after all, he is the villain.

Not to fear, it's a happy ending for all. Curly gets Laurie, Will gets Ado Annie, and Ali Hakim gets....Gertie? When Ado Annie and Gertie get into a jealous fight which Will attempts to break up, explaining "I'm trying to keep Ado Annie from killing your wife", Ali Hakim responds, "Why don't you mind your own business?" In the end, the farmer and the cowman do learn to get along and become friends, the new schoolhouse gets built, and the Oklahoma territory is about to become a state.

OKLAHOMA! won two Oscars, for Best Sound Recording and Best Scoring of a Musical Picture. How could they go wrong with great orchestral direction by Robert Russell Bennett and the musical score by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II? The American theatre will never see their equal again.

Entertaining Charade.

[anaconda-40658 · 7/10 · 16 December 2015]

Oklahoma (1955): Dir: Fred Zinnemann / Cast: Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Gene Nelson, Gloria Grahame, Charlotte Greenwood: Corny yet festive musical set in a land where horse and carriage are still in, and cowboys and farmers attempt to live together. Gordon MacRae plays Curly, a cowboy who guides in the cattle yet really desires to take the lovely Laurey to the local dance. She is played by Shirley Jones with sunny appeal but she is also sighted by a creepy hired hand named Jud. Gene Nelson plays cowboy Will Parker who arrives back in town to marry Ado Annie with the fifty dollars he promised her father he would have. She is played with great comic flare by Gloria Grahame who is also promised to a sneaky peddler. Charlotte Greenwood oversees everything as Aunt Eller and with the local auction tied in with the dance she hopes to raise enough funds for a new school house. Directed by Fred Zinnemann who previously made High Noon and From Here to Eternity. His screenplay is flawed by pointless and overlong musical numbers, some of which are way too corny. Also the concluding court session held in a kitchen is also pathetically contrived. The villain seems unfairly outcast with even a horrid suicidal song sung to his suggestion. The musical numbers look festive with a slice of country life that drives home the theme of togetherness. Score: 7 / 10

A Bright Golden Haze at the Movies.

[mark.waltz · 10/10 · 5 April 2013]

It took seemingly forever for the first Broadway musical teaming of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein to make it to the screen. The Broadway production lasted 7 years, and the touring production, which would later come back to Broadway, kept the anticipation for the movie version at a great height. New York has been revisited by the musical numerous times, through brief City Center revivals in the 1950's and 60's, a Lincoln Center production in 1969, a successful production in 1979 and as recently as 2002, a revival based upon a successful London revision which was filmed for BBC and PBS starring Hugh Jackmann. I saw that brilliant Broadway production which only increased my admiration for the film, one of the very first movie versions of a Broadway musical I saw in my youth.

It is ironic that the play, "Green Grows the Lilacs", has pretty much disappeared other than as a script since the first production of the musical in 1943. A folksy reminder of home, family, friendship and the power of the land, it was the definitive Broadway show for the era of World War II. While the movie opened long after the war had ended, it was greeted with cheers and has remained a favorite among connoisseurs of Broadway musicals, praised for remaining faithful to the original book. The film has perfect casting with Gordon MacRae as the cowboy Curly, Shirley Jones as the sweet but feisty Laurie, Charlotte Greenwood as the leggy Aunt Eller, Gene Nelson as good ole' boy Will, Gloria Grahame as the flirty Ado Annie (as far from her film noir roles as you can get!) and Rod Steiger as the misunderstood Jud, a villain you empathize with.

MacRae and Jones are as memorable a team as Jeanette and Nelson, Judy and Mickey, Kathryn and Howard, and of course, Gordon and Doris. It is sad that their teaming came towards the end of the big movie musical era with only one other pairing ("Carousel") and that Jones is more remembered as a mother on a TV sitcom than for her musical talents and dramatic abilities which won her an Oscar for the powerful "Elmer Gantry". MacRae is masculine without being macho, rugged without being a bully, and confidant without being egocentric. Greenwood utilizes her trademark kick in the big "Kansas City" production number, still able to do this 30 years after her success as a singing and dancing Broadway comic. Grahame manages to instill Ado Annie with heart as well as feistiness, and while maybe a tad too old for the part, is still convincing.

As for the songs, it is one of the most sung Broadway scores in history, but some of these songs ("Many a New Day" and "All Er' Nuthin'" to name a few) have been lost in the success of the score. "Many a New Day", in particularly, has been beautifully filmed, and is one of my favorite moments in the film. Of the songs cut from the original score and not utilized in the film, their absence doesn't take anything away from the movie and has helped speed it up a bit as well. Director Fred Zinneman gives the film a perfect pacing, and the entire ensemble pitches in to make this a rousing classic that will remain legendary while other films will fade into obscurity.

Not top Rodgers and Hammerstein

[parkerbcn · 7/10 · 26 July 2021]

A classical Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical play adapted to the screen with all the glamour of the time (there were two versions filmed, one in 35mm Cinemascope and one even more spectacular in 70mm Todd-AO at 30fps). It has some very famous musical numbers and visually it's a pure beauty, but the story and characters are not as strong as other works from the pair. But if you love musicals, it's a must.

My favorite movie of all time!

[Zoes · 10/10 · 20 July 1999]

This is the best movie! I loved it...I could watch it over and over again! The music, the acting, the choreography...it's all fantastic! I first saw this movie about four years ago, and within the first 5 minutes, I was hooked, wondering if Laurey would choose Jud or Curly, if Ado Annie would choose Ali Hakim or Will, or if Curly would choose Laurey or Gertie! I think Gordon McRae did an an awesome job portraying Curly, and I strongly believe that probably no one in this world could play the part of Curly with all of the energy and enthusiasm Gordon McRae had. Shirley Jones, for being only 19 in this film, did a beautiful job playing Laurey. She sang like a bird, performed the part wonderfully, and really became the character. Strong performances by Rod Steiger, Gloria Grahame, Eddie Albert, Charlotte Greenwood, and Gene Nelson also added life and enthusiasm to the film. This superb cast made Oklahoma! one of the best movies of all time, in my opinion. With the wonderful choreography, great cast, and terrific direction of Rodgers and Hammerstein, this movie is a definite 10!

Oklahoma....little more than OK.

[peacham · 7/10 · 5 November 2001]

While not the best film version of a Broadway musical,Oklahoma is certainly not the worst.On the plus side are the breath taking location footage,some strong performances and what remains of a lush and beautiful score by Oscar Hammerstein and Richard Rodgers. Unfortunately,comparing the film to the play you can see the flaws. While Shirley Jones is quite fetching as Laurey Williams,she lacks the spunk and frontier toughness the character needs to become a 3 dimenional heroine. Rod Steiger's Jud Fry is deprived of his sexual undertones and his big song.."Lonely Room". This song elevates the role beyond that of a mere stock villian.Another loss is the showstopping comedy number "Its A Scandal" sung by Persian Peddler Ali Hakim. (Eddie Albert's portrayal of the role,however is one of the films highlights.) While the Hammerstein script comes through almost intact,the shows darker moments seem to be downplayed in the Hollywood version. Other highlights are Charlotte Greenwood's hearty performace of Aunt Eller and Gloria Grahame and Gene Nelson's Ado and and Will Parker. Gordon MacRae gives us a very likeable Curley but it becomes a courtship story between Laurey and Curley instead of a Relationship triangle between Laurey,Curley and Jud..all due to Director Fred Zinneman's decision to excise Jud's solo and tone down his confrontation scene with Laurey. Over all its an enjoyable film,but with the layers missing. Unfortunately the layers are what made the original play a masterpiece.

Kissing goodbye, the Persian way

[Prismark10 · 5/10 · 4 January 2018]

Oklahoma is an enduring musical, but with such a simple story it is also overlong, has two dimensional characters and despite some classic songs it also has its share of forgettable ones and there are lots of them.

The story is just about two romances in the rural farmland. Curly (Gordon McCrae) a cowboy who guides cattle and Jud (Rod Steiger) a hired farm hand both pursue the lovely Laurey (Shirley Jones.) It is a losing battle for the poor and brooding Jud and the rejection is driving him insane.

The other story is more comic, Ado Annie (Gloria Grahame ) also being pursued by two suitors. The exotic slippery tongued peddler Hakim from Persia (Eddie Albert) and Will Parker (Gene Nelson) a cowboy who arrives to town to marry Ado Annie with the fifty dollars he promised her father he would have. The film was made in 1955, Hakim does not have a chance to marry a white woman! Then again Hakim just wants girls who want to have fun.

The film is colourful but hokum. There are some nice sequences such as a dream sequence featuring Steiger. However Steiger who would go on to become an Oscar winning actor is woefully misused in this film. Just cast as a blatant villain when his character should had been more shaded and Steiger would had delivered a much better performance in spades.

The ending is rather poorly staged with the haystack fire and the fight between Jud and Curly. The courtroom scene is also rather laughable.

Nice, Old-Fashioned Fillm But Too Long

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 25 April 2006]

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.

It all depends on your point of view

[poj-man · 6/10 · 12 June 2013]

I watched this with my 88 year old mother. 3/4 of the way through Mom made the sage observation of "I don't see any point to this." I basically agree with Mom. This is the kind of movie that makes other races say "White People!" in a sarcastic disdainful manner. The movie is filled with a bunch of silly white folk fantasizing in a sort of Barbie style world.

If the sanitized 1950s white folk Barbie style film is what sends you to heaven...as it does for many of the reviewers on this site...then you will really enjoy Oklahoma. If not then you can probably appreciate it but will find yourself wishing for an end.

Technically the film and actors are fine. But...unless you have a G rated Barbie style view of the world where beautiful young girls in dresses pine to be married happily every after the film just drags on.

Oklahoma is notable for a psycho Rod Steiger. Rod displays the acting talents that will serve him well in meatier roles down the road.

Eddie Albert is also fun to see 10 years younger than Green Acres. He's a schmoozing traveling salesman who ends up with a shotgun wedding.

Oklahoma also features a strange dream sequence in the middle. The fantasy of a young girl dreaming of heroes and marriage. The scene is surreal compared to the rest of the musical.

As far as musicals go this one drags on and on with little happening. It is the antithesis of the My Fair Lady which is even longer but never drags like this one.

Hopeless

[duho-3 · 2/10 · 2 August 2009]

"Oklahoma" have been not ever showed in my country. So I bought the hard-to-get Fox DVD to see it. The surprise was that it's the Samuel Goldwyn production. A nice surprise. And here's the next, unpleasant surprise: Everything fails here: 1) The direction: Zinnemann didn't know how to figure the cinemascope view. That's why we see dancers without heads and legs! Where the photographer was to show the director how to use the brand new system then? 2) The lenght: nothing happens here, everything is very static and the movie needs a solid cut 3) Agnes de Mille should be burned alive!: you can expect a crowd of flying cowboys with their lassos and you finally obtain nothing but 2 sequences of the lazy, noninventive "move". 4) Well, okay, there are at least 3 beautiful songs here, but it's not much for over 2 hours of monotony.