Oklahoma! (1955) | |
Director(s) | Fred Zinnemann |
Producer(s) | Arthur Hornblow Jr., Oscar Hammerstein II (executive uncredited), Richard Rodgers (executive uncredited) |
Top Genres | Musical, Romance, Western |
Top Topics | Based on Play, Ranchers, Romance (Musical) |
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Oklahoma! Overview:
Oklahoma! (1955) was a Musical - Romance Film directed by Fred Zinnemann and produced by Arthur Hornblow Jr., Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers.
The film was based on the play Green Grow the Lilacs written by Samuel A. Taylor performed at the Guild Theatre, NY from Jan 26, 1931 - Mar 21, 1931.
SYNOPSIS
In this beloved Rodgers and Hammerstein musical (their first brought to the screen), an adorable 19-year-old Jones, in her screen debut, must choose a suitor to accompany her to a social: the righteous cowboy (MacRae) or the brooding farm hand (Steiger). From this simple scenario develops humor, fighting, dancing (including a breakthrough dream sequence choreographed by Agnes De Mille), and singing. The entire production was filmed twice, with one take for the new Todd A-O format and one for the regular CinemaScope aspect ratio. There is now laserdisc version of the Todd A-O takes, which some consider vastly superior. Includes the enduring songs "People will say were in love," "Oh, what a beautiful mornin'," and "Oklahoma!"
(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).
.Oklahoma! was inducted into the National Film Registry in 2007.
Academy Awards 1955 --- Ceremony Number 28 (source: AMPAS)
Award | Recipient | Result |
Best Cinematography | Robert Surtees | Nominated |
Best Film Editing | Gene Ruggiero, George Boemler | Nominated |
Best Music - Scoring | Robert Russell Bennett, Jay Blackton, Adolph Deutsch | Won |
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Quotes from
[are]
Curly: anyhow? A-sittin' up here in this filthy hole
[referring to the smokehouse]
Curly: ? Why don't you do something healthy once in a while, instead of staying shut up here, a-crawlin' and a-festerin'?
Laurey: Curly! You're sittin' on the stove!
Curly: Yeouch!
[Jumps up, feels the stove]
Curly: Cold as a hunk of ice.
Laurey: Wish it would've burned a hole in your pants.
[first lines]
Curly: [singing] There's a bright golden haze on the meadow, There's a bright golden haze on the meadow. The corn is as high as a elephant's eye, And it looks like it's climbin' clear up to the sky. Oh, what a beautiful mornin', Oh, what a beautiful day! I got a beautiful feelin' Everything's goin' my way.
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Facts about
Although James Mitchell and Bambi Linn danced the parts of Curly and Laury in the Dream Ballet, Rod Steiger did his own dancing in that sequence because there was no one who looked enough like him from the back. Despite his initial uncertainties, and after considerable coaching from choreographer Agnes de Mille, Steiger actually did a credible job, later calling it one of the biggest challenges he ever had.
Michael Todd had seen Shirley Jones in a touring performance of Oklahoma and suggested she be cast as Laurey for the film version.
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