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Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Gloria Graham, Gene Nelson, Charlotte Greenwood ... see more see more... , Gloria Grahame , Rod Steiger , Eddie Albert , James Whitmore , Barbara Lawrence , Jay C. Flippen , Roy Barcroft , James Mitchell , Bambi Linn , Jennie Workman , Kelly Brown , Lizanne Truex , Evelyn Taylor , Jane Fischer , Marc Platt , Virginia Bosier , Ben Johnson , Rory Mallinson

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 simplic... read more read more...ity 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, Rovi

Flixster Users

72% liked it

29,904 ratings

Critics

95% liked it

22 critics

G, 2 hr. 25 min.

Directed by: Fred Zinnemann

Release Date: October 11, 1955

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DVD Release Date: April 27, 1999

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Stats: 1,088 reviews

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Gloria Grahame and Shirley Jones Gordon MacRae
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Flixster Reviews (1,088)

  • jjnxn
    February 13, 2012
    jjnxn
    Superior filming of great R&H musical with Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae ideally cast in the leads. They share a great chemistry but even better their voices blend beautifully together on the top notch score. Gloria Grahame was considered miscast at the time as Ado Annie due to... read more her supremacy as a film noir fixture but she is charmingly coquettish and addlepated. However she was apparently a terror to work with on the picture engendering the animosity of cast and crew and damaging her reputation and career which never fully recovered. Eddie Albert and Charlotte Greenwood provide nice bits of humor as Ali Hakim and Aunt Eller with Rod Steiger is a terrifically dark and menacing Jud Fry. Highly stylized this has gorgeous production and costume design all filmed in widescreen Todd-AO and Technicolor, a fantastic entertainment of the type that Hollywood has forgotten how to make.
  • ajv2688
    November 10, 2010
    ajv2688
    The classic western musical. First of all I don't like westerns and second I'm not a big fan of musicals (I only like certain ones). So, I didn't enjoy this movie. It's not a bad movie, I think it's good that they mixed the genres (it's also a romantic comedy), I just didn't c... read moreare for it.
  • rubystevens
    July 5, 2010
    rubystevens
    yes i admit i love this movie. shot on location... in arizona!
  • flixsterman
    June 19, 2010
    flixsterman
    Pure escapism. My favorite Rodgers & Hammerstein musical.
  • erika250
    May 30, 2010
    erika250
    One of the best films of its time. It shows how love should be.
  • sanjurosamurai
    November 17, 2009
    sanjurosamurai
    overlong and uneventful for the first 90 minutes, oklahoma was actually quite good for the final 50 minutes but it was too little too late to save it. obviously considered one of the "great" musicals, shirley jones was the sole bright spot and even she was unbearable through lar... read morege portions of the film.
  • dreamfaeries
    November 7, 2006
    dreamfaeries
    Good movie.
  • fb20312798
    January 21, 2009
    fb20312798
    Not as bad as you'd think. Fred Zinnemann has a great sense of size and scope and his decision to film the majority of the movie outdoors captures the natural beauty of the landscape. The fantasy dream ballet sequence is extremely well done and at moments is very beautiful. But a... read moret the end of the day its an adaptation of Oklahoma, a musical that has not transcended its time. The horrific sexism is bad even by 1950s standards.
  • adfill7
    February 25, 2007
    adfill7
    Long and kind of boring, but the songs save it.
  • threefolddado
    October 21, 2007
    threefolddado
    Just never my cup of tea.

View All Oklahoma! Reviews

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff
November 1, 2007
Variety Staff, Variety

The wide screen used for the Todd-AO process adds production scope and visual grandeur, capturing a vista of blue sky and green prairie that can be breathtaking. Full Review

Dave Kehr
November 1, 2007
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

The film heaves and sputters from one indifferently rendered number to the next. Full Review

Douglas Pratt
December 13, 2005
Douglas Pratt, Hollywood Reporter

The film is so richly layered that multiple viewings become compulsive -- you think it's all there in front of you, but every time you revisit it, you notice something more, and finish with a desire t...

Bosley Crowther
May 20, 2003
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

A full-bodied Oklahoma! has been brought forth in this film to match in vitality, eloquence and melody any musical this reviewer has ever seen. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
April 11, 2011
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

The wrong director, Fred Zinnemann, who doesn't have any sense for the genre, was assigned to this musical, but the tunes are glorious. Full Review

Philip French
November 1, 2007
Philip French, Observer [UK]

Folksy and sentimental. Full Review

November 1, 2007
TV Guide's Movie Guide

It's a watchable, if hardly terrific, rendering of an innovative Broadway landmark. Full Review

David Mattin
November 1, 2007
David Mattin, BBC

50 years on there's still an infectious charm about Oklahoma! Full Review

Walter Chaw
January 15, 2007
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central

Pretty fun in spite of itself. Full Review

Peter Bradshaw
August 26, 2006
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]

A solid Hollywood landmark. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Oklahoma! Trivia

  • What movie is this quote from? "The only thing between Oklahoma and Mexico is Texas."  Answer »
  • What state is becoming a state instead of Indian territory in the musical Oklahoma?  Answer »
  • The soundtrack to Oklahoma was the first album to sell one million copies on August 18, 1958.  Answer »
  • Which of the following movies was based on a book set in Oklahoma and also filmed there?  Answer »
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