In Oklahoma, several farmers, cowboys and a traveling salesman compete for the romantic favors of various local ladies.In Oklahoma, several farmers, cowboys and a traveling salesman compete for the romantic favors of various local ladies.In Oklahoma, several farmers, cowboys and a traveling salesman compete for the romantic favors of various local ladies.
- Won 2 Oscars
- 4 wins & 4 nominations total
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaTone-deaf Gloria Grahame sang without dubbing. Her songs had to be edited together from recordings made almost literally note by note.
- GoofsWhen the words "The End" appear a square section of the sky/clouds directly behind "The" suddenly moves upward. However, It is fixed in the Blu-ray release.
- Alternate versionsTheatrical versions -- The Todd-AO 70mm version and the CinemaScope 35mm version are completely different, with different opening credits, each scene being shot twice and with different sound mixes. In the Todd-AO version, the titles appear against a black background; then, the black background fades out to reveal two rows of giant cornstalks, through which the camera tracks, until it finds Gordon MacRae singing "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin". In the CinemaScope version, we first see the cornstalks, the camera tracks through them; then, as the words "Rodgers and Hammerstein present" appear on-screen, Gordon MacRae appears and rides up to the camera and then past it off left, as the title "Oklahoma!" appears. The rest of the opening credits in this version are shown against, first, a background of a barn, then, a meadow with a tree nearby. As the credits end, the camera cuts back to MacRae and he begins singing. At the end of the Todd-AO version, we see the words "A Magna Release". At the end of the CinemaScope version, we see the words "A Magna Production - Distributed by RKO Radio Pictures".
- ConnectionsFeatured in All You Need Is Love: Introduction (1977)
- SoundtracksOverture
(uncredited)
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Performed by the 20th Century-Fox Studio Orchestra
Conducted by Jay Blackton
[Played over opening title card]
Featured review
OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MOVIE...
After seeing OKLAHOMA! on the screen in Todd-AO for the first time 44 years ago, it immediately became my all-time favorite film. Today, it still holds that lofty ranking.
The beautiful Rodgers & Hammerstein score includes some of the greatest music ever written. The two collaborated on nine broadway musicals, many of which were adapted to the screen, notably CAROUSEL, SOUTH PACIFIC, THE KING AND I, and THE SOUND OF MUSIC, but OKLAHOMA! tops them all.
Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones are perfectly cast as the young couple experiencing the magic of first love, and their singing of some of the show's classic tunes, such as "Surry With the Fringe On Top" and "People Will Say We're In Love" is a pleasure to listen to.
Miss Jones, making her screen debut as Laurie Williams, instantly establishes her image of the "girl next door"--did I grow up in the wrong neighborhood? She is captivatingly charming as she tries to make Curly (MacRae) jealous by accepting a date to the box social with her Aunt Eller's hired farmhand, Jud Fry, played menacingly by Rod Steiger.
It is the supporting cast of characters that really bring this musical to life--particularly Aunt Eller, played by Charlotte Greenwood. Doesn't everyone have an Aunt Eller in their life? Then there's Ado Annie Carnes (Gloria Grahame) and her longsuffering boyfriend Will Parker (Gene Nelson), who lights up the screen with a great dance number. Throw in a travelling salesman, Ali Hakim (Eddie Albert); Gertie Cummings (Barbara Lawrence), who tries to steal Curly away from Laurie; and Mr. Carnes (James Whitmore), who insists on a shotgun wedding for his daughter, Ado Annie, rather than see her marry Will; and you have some unforgettable characters indeed.
The film's one dissenting note was the class distinction warfare between the handsome, clean-cut Curly, who everyone knows "Laurie has her cap set fer" and the rough and dirty, working-class Jud. Jud meets his untimely end, but, after all, he is the villain.
Not to fear, it's a happy ending for all. Curly gets Laurie, Will gets Ado Annie, and Ali Hakim gets....Gertie? When Ado Annie and Gertie get into a jealous fight which Will attempts to break up, explaining "I'm trying to keep Ado Annie from killing your wife", Ali Hakim responds, "Why don't you mind your own business?" In the end, the farmer and the cowman do learn to get along and become friends, the new schoolhouse gets built, and the Oklahoma territory is about to become a state.
OKLAHOMA! won two Oscars, for Best Sound Recording and Best Scoring of a Musical Picture. How could they go wrong with great orchestral direction by Robert Russell Bennett and the musical score by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II? The American theatre will never see their equal again.
The beautiful Rodgers & Hammerstein score includes some of the greatest music ever written. The two collaborated on nine broadway musicals, many of which were adapted to the screen, notably CAROUSEL, SOUTH PACIFIC, THE KING AND I, and THE SOUND OF MUSIC, but OKLAHOMA! tops them all.
Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones are perfectly cast as the young couple experiencing the magic of first love, and their singing of some of the show's classic tunes, such as "Surry With the Fringe On Top" and "People Will Say We're In Love" is a pleasure to listen to.
Miss Jones, making her screen debut as Laurie Williams, instantly establishes her image of the "girl next door"--did I grow up in the wrong neighborhood? She is captivatingly charming as she tries to make Curly (MacRae) jealous by accepting a date to the box social with her Aunt Eller's hired farmhand, Jud Fry, played menacingly by Rod Steiger.
It is the supporting cast of characters that really bring this musical to life--particularly Aunt Eller, played by Charlotte Greenwood. Doesn't everyone have an Aunt Eller in their life? Then there's Ado Annie Carnes (Gloria Grahame) and her longsuffering boyfriend Will Parker (Gene Nelson), who lights up the screen with a great dance number. Throw in a travelling salesman, Ali Hakim (Eddie Albert); Gertie Cummings (Barbara Lawrence), who tries to steal Curly away from Laurie; and Mr. Carnes (James Whitmore), who insists on a shotgun wedding for his daughter, Ado Annie, rather than see her marry Will; and you have some unforgettable characters indeed.
The film's one dissenting note was the class distinction warfare between the handsome, clean-cut Curly, who everyone knows "Laurie has her cap set fer" and the rough and dirty, working-class Jud. Jud meets his untimely end, but, after all, he is the villain.
Not to fear, it's a happy ending for all. Curly gets Laurie, Will gets Ado Annie, and Ali Hakim gets....Gertie? When Ado Annie and Gertie get into a jealous fight which Will attempts to break up, explaining "I'm trying to keep Ado Annie from killing your wife", Ali Hakim responds, "Why don't you mind your own business?" In the end, the farmer and the cowman do learn to get along and become friends, the new schoolhouse gets built, and the Oklahoma territory is about to become a state.
OKLAHOMA! won two Oscars, for Best Sound Recording and Best Scoring of a Musical Picture. How could they go wrong with great orchestral direction by Robert Russell Bennett and the musical score by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II? The American theatre will never see their equal again.
helpful•277
- wrdiggs
- Jan 27, 2001
- How long is Oklahoma!?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Oklahoma
- Filming locations
- Elgin, Arizona, USA(train station musical number scene)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $5,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $16,133
- Runtime2 hours 25 minutes
- Color
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