Oklahoma

UPC: 024543208433

Studio: 20th Century Fox

MPAA Rating: G   Contains:[Violence, Adult Situations]

Summary: 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 simplicity 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

Category: Musical

Awards: Best Color Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Musical Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Musical Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Musical Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Features: ccCinemaScope version of Oklahoma (2.55:1 aspect ratio)
Audio commentary by Ted Chapin (president of The Rogers and Hammerstein Organization) and Hugh Fordin (author and film historian)
Singalong karaoke subtitles (English)
Theatrical teaser
Todd-AO version of Oklahoma (2.20:1 aspect ratio)
Audio commentary by Shirley Jones and nick Redman (film and music historian)
"CinemaScope vs. Todd-AO" featurette
"The March of Todd-AO" featurette
"The Miracle of Todd-AO" featurette
Vintage stage excerpts from a 1954 television tribute to Rodgers and Hammerstein
Singalong karaoke subtitles (English)
Photo galleries - behind the scenes, lobby cards and posters
Theatrical teaser and trailer

Oklahoma

Format: DVD

Release Date: 11/15/2005

Aspect Ratio: 2.55:1 2.55:1

Audio: DD5.0 Dolby Digital 5.0, DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo

Runtime: 145 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 2

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Oklahoma
1. Main Titles
2. Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'
3. Aunt Eller and Laurey
4. The Surrey With the Fringe on Top
5. The Hired Hand
6. Jud's Attentions
7. Will's Return
8. Kansas City
9. Ado Annie and the Peddler Man
10. I Cain't Say No
11. Pretty Doodaddles
12. Marriage Talk
13. I Cain't Say No (Reprise)
14. Here Come the Neighbors
15. Many a New Day
16. The Peddler's Bride
17. People Will Say We're in Love
18. Pore Jud Is Daid
19. A Pair of Fools
20. No More Pictures
21. Out of My Dreams
22. Laurey's Dream Ballet
23. Jud and Laurey's Wild Ride
24. The Farmer and the Cowman
25. The Auction
26. Fifty Bucks
27. Auctioning Ado Annie
28. The Price for Laurey
29. All Er Nuthin'
30. Fired
31. Curly's Proposal
32. People Will Say We're in Love (Reprise)
33. Goodbye in Persian
34. No More Roundups
35. The Wedding
36. Oklahoma
37. Gertie's New Husband
38. Jud's Wedding Gift
39. A Fair Trial
40. Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin' (Reprise)/End Titles
Disc #2 -- Oklahoma
1. Overture
2. Main Titles
3. Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'
4. Aunt Eller and Laurey
5. The Surrey With the Fringe on Top
6. The Hired Hand
7. Jud's Attentions
8. Will's Return
9. Kansas City
10. Ado Annie and the Peddler Man
11. I Cain't Say No
12. Pretty Doodaddles
13. Marriage Talk
14. I Cain't Say No (Reprise)
15. Here Come the Neighbors
16. Many a New Day
17. The Peddler's Bride
18. People Will Say We're in Love
19. Pore Jud Is Daid
20. A Pair of Fools
21. No More Pictures
22. Out of My Dreams
23. Laurey's Dream Ballet
24. Intermission
25. Entr'Acte
26. Jud and Laurey's Wild Ride
27. The Farmer and the Cowman
28. The Auction
29. Fifty Bucks
30. Auctioning Ado Annie
31. The Price for Laurey
32. All Er Nuthin'
33. Fired
34. Curly's Proposal
35. People Will Say We're in Love (Reprise)
36. Goodbye in Persian
37. No More Roundups
38. The Wedding
39. Oklahoma
40. Gertie's New Husband
41. Jud's Wedding Gift
42. A Fair Trial
43. Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin' (Reprise)/End Titles
44. Exit Music

Michael Betzold

There may have been better musicals, but few left as lasting a cultural impact as Oklahoma!, whose optimistic, broadly American songs by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein became instant and permanent classics. The enduring and endearing music in this Western included the enchanting Oh What a Beautiful Morning! and the clever Surrey with the Fringe on Top as well as the title song. It was based on the smash Broadway play that had its run in the 1940s. Shirley Jones made her film debut as the country girl who falls in love with a cowboy (Gordon MacRae) but is pursued by a sinister farmhand (Rod Steiger, in one of his earliest roles). At 145 minutes, the film is a little too pleased with itself, but the fresh, sunny impact of the movie triumphed. Its corny sentiments perfectly fit the mood of expansive, contented mid-1950s America. The film actually was shot in Arizona! ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Virginia Bosier  Actor 
Ben Johnson  Actor 
Rory Mallinson  Actor 
Adolph Deutsch  Composer (Music Score) 
Arthur Hornblow, Jr.  Producer 
Sonya Levien  Screenwriter 
William Ludwig  Screenwriter 
Rodgers & Hammerstein  Composer (Music Score) 
Richard Rodgers  Composer (Music Score) 
Fred Zinnemann  Director 
Jay Blackton  Composer (Music Score) 
Robert Russell Bennett  Composer (Music Score) 
Gordon MacRae  Actor 
Shirley Jones  Actor 
Gene Nelson  Actor 
Charlotte Greenwood  Actor 
Gloria Grahame  Actor 
Eddie Albert  Actor 
Rod Steiger  Actor 
James Whitmore  Actor 
Barbara Lawrence  Actor 
Jay C. Flippen  Actor 
Roy Barcroft  Actor 
James Mitchell  Actor 
Bambi Linn  Actor 
Jennie Workman  Actor 
Kelly Brown  Actor 
Lizanne Truex  Actor 
Evelyn Taylor  Actor 
Jane Fischer  Actor 
Marc Platt  Actor 

Country: USA