Vibrant, memorable film version of musical classic

"Oklahoma!" was a classic AMerican musical, groundbreaking in its seamless integration of story, score, and dance, and a highly entertaining show in its own right with a thin but delightful story and classic score, the first of many classic scores to come from Rodgers and Hammerstein. THankfully, most of that vitality, freshness, and joy, not to mention the story and score, translate accurately and brilliantly, and very entertainingly, into the splashy 1955 film version, which is perfectly cast, sung and orchestrated, and competently directed by Fred Zinneman, (of "High Noon" and "From Here To Eternity" fame) whose only movie musical this was.

The gorgeous shots of the Midwestern landscape can probably best be appreciated in the widescreen Todd-AO version. (The film was famously filmed twice, in the new process and in standard Cinemescope to accomadate theatres who did not have the new technology installed) Gordon McRae is a marvelous Curley, full of energy, sarcasm, and romantacism, and he sings those songs to perfection. He and the original Curley, Alfred Drake, are the best I've heard. The radiant Shirley Jones is perfect in her film debut as Laurey. The supporting cast is all first-rate; other reviewers have mentioned Gloria Grahame's Ado Annie, which is indeed a hilarious and unforgettable performance, but there is also Gene Nelson's wonderful Will Parker, Charlotte Greenwood's loveable and delightful Aunt Eller, and Rod Steiger's adaquately menacing Jud Fry. (That last character loses some dimension through the deletion of his solo "Lonely Room," but Steiger probably wouldn't have sung it all that well, and the rest of the film is so perfect, that this is really a minor quibble) It should be noted that, even though this cast contains quite a few actors not noted for their singing pipes, no one is dubbed, and everybody sings very well. (Though again, Steiger might not have been up to the demands of "Lonely Room," though he does a fine job on "Poer Jud Is Daid") It could be argued that these classic songs have never been better-sung then they are here, and the augmented original Robert Russell Bennett orchestrations are great. Agnes de Mille recreates her original choreogrpahy to great effect; "Kansas City" still is amazing in how casually it comes out of the situation, "The Farmer and the Cowman" and "Many a New Day" are delightful, and the famous "Laurey Makes Up Her Mind" dream ballet is still stunning. Not the best R&H musical, ("Carousel" and "The King and I" outclass it in story and score, and "The King and I" is probably a better film) but certainly one of the best film versions of one of their musicals with the makings of a highly entertaining evening for the whole family. A fine tribute to a classic of musical theatre.

Grab the DVD for a color experience.

I had the pleasure and good fortune to see this on TCM recently and learned for the first time that the movie was actually filmed for its theatrical release TWICE!! I viewed the film on VHS years ago from a conventional 'fullscreen' Cinemascope print and thought nothing of it. Imagine my surprise when I saw Turner's broadcast of it in the 'Todd-AO' wide-screen version!! The color saturation is positively stunning (it has been mentioned that the T-AO film process actually shot more frames per second, which accounts for that sharpness and saturation) and makes certain sequences, like the opening number "Oh What A Beautiful Morning" and sections of the "Out Of My Dreams" ballet explode on screen. The Rodgers & Hammerstein songs are magnificent (notably "Poor Jud is Dead," "I Cain't Say No," and "People Will Say We're In Love"), the color cinematography is stunning (note the crisp, blue skies), a lasso dance by Gene Nelson in a railway depot is a standout, but some of the characters and subsequent performances (like Rod Steiger's manic-depressive farmhand Jud) are more than a bit over-the-top. Accept this premise and you'll be just fine. The Todd-AO version of the film is currently available on DVD. Grab it, and fast-forward to your favorite parts.

This movie Rocks!!

"Oklahoma!" is one GREAT movie. I don't think I ever smile so much during a movie as I do when I watch this one, it just makes me so darn happy! Ok, so the plot isn't amazing... but it doesn't matter, because the plot isn't really what drives this film. This movie is all about the characters, and the positive mood it creates, and the wonderful music that you will be humming for days after you watch the film. I actually bought the soundtrack a few weeks ago, (that's how much I liked it) and I haven't been able to stop playing it. I've seen a lot of musicals, both movie and stage, and I believe that "Oklahoma!" ties with "West Side Story" for having the best music of any musical, ever. The famous Rogers and Hammerstein score is just awesome. All of the songs are great, there isn't a bad one in the movie, but "People Will Say We're In Love" is my personal favorite. The scene were Curly and Laurie are singing this to each other in the peach orchard is so amazingly cute. I guess I'm just a silly hopeless romantic, but I can't help it. Shirley Jones as Laurie is wonderful, she has a BEAUTIFUL voice, and does a fine acting job too, especially considering she was only 20 years old and this was her film debut. The sparks just fly between her and Gordon MacRae (Curly), and this chemistry between the two leads is really what makes the movie work as well as it does. I was also stunned by the visual beauty of the film. It's beautiful color and exceptional picture clarity is uncommon for an older movie, so when I first watched "Oklahoma!" I had to double check to make sure it was really made in 1955. The special Todd-AO filming process other reviewers have gone into detail about really made a difference here. Anyways, I seem to have rambled on a bit, but I'll try to make my point here. This is a fun, romantic movie, that's a bit hokey at times ( but endearingly so, I believe) and has a few weak moments. But these few weak elements are far outweighed by the great ones. I judge a movie mainly on these two factors: 1) by the way I feel immediately after I've finished watching it, and 2) if it has a lasting impression on me. After this one, I just feel happy, and giddy, and like I want to dance around my living room and break out into song. And as far as lasting impressions go, I liked it so much I felt compelled to write this review and reccomend it to the world. So if this sounds like the kind of movie you'd enjoy, go for it, and have fun watching this classic.