Oklahoma! (1955)

Oklahoma! is a 1955 American musical film based on the 1943 musical of the same name by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, which in turn was based on the 1931 play Green Grow the Lilacs written by Lynn Riggs. It stars Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones (in her film debut), Rod Steiger, Charlotte Greenwood, Gloria Grahame, Gene Nelson, James Whitmore, and Eddie Albert. The production was the only musical directed by Fred Zinnemann. Oklahoma! was the first feature film photographed in the Todd-AO 70 mm widescreen process (and was simultaneously filmed in CinemaScope 35mm).
Set in Oklahoma Territory shortly after the turn of the 20th century, it tells the story of farm girl Laurey Williams (Jones) and her courtship by two rival suitors, cowboy Curly McLain (MacRae) and the sinister and frightening farmhand Jud Fry (Steiger). A secondary romance concerns Laurey's friend, Ado Annie (Grahame), and cowboy Will Parker (Nelson), who also has an unwilling rival. A background theme is the territory's aspiration for statehood, and the local conflict between cattlemen and farmers.
The film received a rave review from The New York Times, and was voted a "New York Times Critics Pick". It won Academy Awards in the categories of musical scoring and sound recording. 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".
== Plot ==
Good-natured cowboy Curly McLain admires the beautiful morning while riding his horse to the farm of Laurey Williams, his secret love, and her aunt, Aunt Eller. At the farm he invites Laurey to a box social being held that night to raise money for a new schoolhouse. Frustrated that he waited so long to ask her, Laurey refuses his invitation. Curly tempts her by describing the surrey he plans to drive her in, then tells her he made the story up to get back at her for refusing him. Laurey gets her own revenge by agreeing to go with their menacing field hand, Jud Fry.
Cowboy Will Parker arrives by train from a trip to Kansas City and seeks out his sweetheart, Ado Annie, who, in Will’s absence, has become smitten with itinerant peddler Ali Hakim. Will tells Annie that he has earned the $50 her father, a farmer who does not like cowboys, told him he had to earn before he would allow him to marry Annie, but he spent it all on presents for her. Annie tries to resist Will, but eventually gives in, leaving her torn between Will and Ali.
The townspeople gather at Aunt Eller’s farm to refresh themselves before the box social. Gertie, a flirtatious woman with a loud, annoying laugh, flirts with Curly and upsets Laurey, despite her promises to not let his games bother her, and Curly flirts back to make Laurey jealous. Curly asks Laurey again if she will go to the social with him, but Laurey, fearful of Jud, refuses again. Curly angrily confronts Jud in the smokehouse, leading to each man firing their gun. Curly stalks off and Jud again threatens Laurey if she changes her mind. Uncertain what to do, Laurey uses a bottle of smelling salts she bought earlier from Ali, hoping to find her answer in a dream. She dreams that she marries Curly, but Jud eventually kills him.
As Jud drives Laurey to the box social, he tells her he is in love with her and tries to kiss her. She whips the horses, causing them to bolt. Once Jud gets them under control, Laurey leaves Jud behind and drives to the social alone.
At the social, despite the host's encouraging everyone to get along, Ado Annie’s father belittles the cowboys, causing a fight to break out which Aunt Eller breaks up. Will makes his $50 back by selling his presents to Ali Hakim, who pays Will more than each gift is worth to get Annie back together with Will. When the auction of ladies’ picnic baskets begins, Ali Hakim outbids Will to get Annie's basket so Will won't lose the $50 he needs to marry Annie. Curly and Jud get into a bidding war over Laurey’s basket. Curly sells his saddle, horse, and gun to raise enough money to beat Jud’s highest bid and win. Laurey fires Jud after he confronts her and Jud sneers that she will never be rid of him. When Laurey tells Curly what happened, he offers to stay the night at their farm for protection, then goes further and proposes marriage, which Laurey accepts. Meanwhile, Will tells Ado Annie she must stop flirting with other men, despite not being willing to stop flirting with other women. Ali Hakim tells Annie she is better off marrying Will and then resumes his travels.
Weeks later, Curly and Laurey are married. After the ceremony, Jud appears and tries to kill Curly, but Curly kills Jud in self-defense. The townspeople hold an impromptu trial in Aunt Eller’s kitchen where Curly is found not guilty. He and Laurey leave for their honeymoon, admiring the beautiful morning.
== Cast ==
== Release ==
Magna held invitational screenings of Oklahoma! over three days at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City starting on October 11, 1955. The official public premiere was on October 13. The film was shown on a two-a-day reserved seat policy with three shows at the weekends and holidays and grossed $573,493 in its first 12 weeks in New York. The film opened on the same roadshow basis at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles on November 18 and then at the McVicker's Theater in Chicago on December 26.
In its initial theatrical release, the Magna Theatre Corporation handled distribution of the roadshow presentations in 70 mm Todd-AO. In 29 American and 2 Canadian cities it grossed $8,970,087 from 4,672,184 patrons.
RKO Radio Pictures distributed the general release version (in 35 mm anamorphic CinemaScope), which was released after its roadshow run ended. Later, when RKO was experiencing financial turmoil, 20th Century Fox assumed distribution of the general release edition.
Outside the United States, the film was a box office disappointment.
All rights to the film are owned by the estates of Rodgers and Hammerstein. In 1982, the US/Canadian distribution rights to this film were acquired by The Samuel Goldwyn Company and re-issued both the 70 mm and 35 mm versions theatrically. The original 70mm version was restored and screened for the first time since its initial engagements.
In April 2014, a restored version of the Todd-AO version was screened at the Fifth Annual TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood. The eight-month restoration was developed in conjunction with 20th Century Fox and the studio's film preservationist Schawn Belston.
===First telecast===
The Cinemascope version of the film was first telecast as a Thanksgiving Day special by CBS, on the evening of November 26, 1970. Unlike some later telecasts of the film, this one was presented complete and uncut, except for the Overture, Entr'acte, and Exit Music. As with its 1960s telecasts of The Wizard of Oz, CBS felt that the film needed a host to introduce it, so they brought in Sebastian Cabot, Anissa Jones, Johnny Whitaker, and Kathy Garver, all from the long-running CBS sitcom Family Affair, to serve as hosts. The four of them, rather than appearing as themselves, spoke their lines in character, as if they were still playing their roles from the series. Because the film was shown on a Thursday evening, it occupied the same time slot in which Family Affair was shown in 1970, which explains the selection of the four actors from the show to host the film. It earned a Nielsen rating of 27.9 and an audience share of 47%.
===DVD===
For unexplained reasons the original UK DVD release is a pan and scan version from a noticeably grainy CinemaScope print, even though the companion DVD of South Pacific was taken from a pristine Todd-AO master and presented in widescreen. The 50th Anniversary US DVD release of Oklahoma! by partial rights holder 20th Century Fox is a double-disc release that includes both the CinemaScope and original 70 mm Todd-AO versions in widescreen. The Todd-AO version has an Overture, intermission with Entr'acte, and Exit Music. The CinemaScope version is without intermission or any traditional roadshow features. Shirley Jones does audio commentary on the Todd-AO presentation. In March 2006 this version was also released in the UK as part of a set of remastered Rodgers & Hammerstein DVDs.
===Blu-ray===
In 2014, 20th Century Fox released in the US a special 4-disc Blu-ray and DVD combo set, with both Todd-AO and CinemaScope 35 versions. The Todd-AO version was superior in definition to the Cinemascope version in this release.
===Streaming===
In 2021, it was announced that the film will stream on Disney+ beginning April 30, 2021, following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by The Walt Disney Company. The Todd-AO version was used on the app. In 2022, it was announced that the film will stream on the Criterion Channel starting January 2023. In April 2023, the Disney Plus service removed the film from its services in all countries. However, the film is not currently offered by the Criterion Channel. The non-roadshow version in CinemaScope is currently streaming on Prime Video.
== Awards and nominations ==
Award 	Category 	Nominee(s) 	Result
Academy Awards 	Best Cinematography – Color 	Robert Surtees 	
Academy Awards 	Best Film Editing 	Gene Ruggiero and George Boemler 	
Academy Awards 	Best Scoring of a Musical Picture	Robert Russell Bennett, Jay Blackton and Adolph Deutsch 	
Academy Awards 	Best Sound Recording 	Fred Hynes 	
National Film Preservation Board	National Film Registry 	Oklahoma! 	
Satellite Awards 	Best Classic DVD 	Oklahoma! (part of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Box Set Collection)	
Writers Guild of America Awards 	Best Written American Musical 	Sonya Levien and William Ludwig 	
== Musical numbers ==
*"Overture" – Orchestra (played before the film actually begins)
* "Main Title" – Orchestra (played over the opening credits)
*"Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" – Curly
*"Laurey's Entrance" ("Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'") – Laurey
*"The Surrey with the Fringe on Top" – Curly
*"The Surrey with the Fringe on Top" (Reprise) – Curly
*"Kansas City" – Will, Aunt Eller, Male Ensemble
*"I Cain't Say No" – Ado Annie
*"I Cain't Say No" (Reprise) – Will and Ado Annie
*"Entrance of Ensemble" ("Oh What a Beautiful Mornin'") – Curly, Gertie, and Ensemble
* "Many a New Day" – Laurey and Female Ensemble
*"People Will Say We're in Love" – Curly and Laurey
*"Pore Jud Is Daid" – Curly and Jud
*"Out of My Dreams" – Laurey and Female Ensemble
*"Dream Ballet" – Ensemble
*"Entr'acte" – Orchestra
*"The Farmer and the Cowman" – Carnes, Aunt Eller, Ike Skidmore, Ensemble
* "All Er Nuthin'" – Will and Ado Annie
* "People Will Say We're in Love" (Reprise) – Curly and Laurey
* "Oklahoma" – Curly and Ensemble
*"Finale Ultimo" ("Oh What a Beautiful Mornin'") – Ensemble
*"Exit Music" ("Oklahoma" (Instrumental Reprise)) – Orchestra
*"Exit Music #2" ("People Will Say We're in Love" (Instrumental Reprise)) – Orchestra
== External links ==
*Oklahoma! essay by Phil Hall on the National Film Registry website
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*Oklahoma! essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 , pages 504-505
== References ==
Category:1955 films
Category:Musical films
Category:1950s American films
Category:1950s English-language films
Category:1950s Western (genre) musical films
Category:1955 musical films
Category:American musical films
Category:American Western (genre) musical films
Category:CinemaScope films
Category:English-language musical films
Category:Films based on adaptations
Category:Films based on musicals
Category:Films directed by Fred Zinnemann
Category:Films scored by Adolph Deutsch
Category:Films set in Oklahoma
Category:Films set in the 1900s
Category:Films shot in Arizona
Category:Films shot in Los Angeles County, California
Category:Films that won the Best Original Score Academy Award
Category:Films that won the Best Sound Mixing Academy Award
Category:Films with screenplays by William Ludwig
Category:Films with screenplays by Sonya Levien
Category:Oklahoma!
Category:RKO Pictures films
Category:United States National Film Registry films