Oklahoma! [4 Discs] [Includes Digital Copy] [Blu-ray/DVD]

Director: Fred Zinnemann

Overview

Rodgers & Hammerstein's 1943 Broadway musical Oklahoma! was considered revolutionary for a multitude of reasons. The 1955 film version retains the songs and the story, but the simplicity is sacrificed. In the story, a girl must decide between the two suitors who want to take her to a social.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/07/2014
UPC:	0024543950004
Original Release:	1955
Rating:	G
Language:	English
Sales rank:	10,728

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Gordon MacRae	Curly
Shirley Jones	Laurey
Gloria Grahame	Ado Annie
Gene Nelson	Will PArker
Charlotte Greenwood	Aunt Eller
Eddie Albert	Ali Hakim
James Whitmore	Carnes
Rod Steiger	Jud Fry
Barbara Lawrence	Gertie
Jay C. Flippen	Skidmore
Roy Barcroft	Marshal
James Mitchell	Dream Curly
Bambi Linn	Dream Laurey
Jennie Workman	Dancer
Kelly Brown	Dancer
Marc Platt	Dancer
Lizanne Truex	Dancer
Virginia Bosier	Dancer
Evelyn Taylor	Dancer
Jane Fischer	Dancer
Ben Johnson	Cowboy at Train Depot
Rory Mallinson	Young cowboy at box lunch auction
Rodgers & Hammerstein	Composer
Adolph Deutsch	Composer
Robert Bennett	Composer
Jay Blackton	Composer
Richard Rodgers	Composer

Technical Credits

Sonya Levien

William Ludwig

Oscar Hammerstein II	Executive Producer
Arthur Hornblow Jr.	Producer
Richard Rodgers	Executive Producer
Fred Hynes	Sound/Sound Designer
Sonya Levien	Screenwriter
William Ludwig	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

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.