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) |
Featured Cast:
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 |
BlogHub Articles:
Quotes from
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.
Ali Hakim: I wanted to marry her when I saw the moonlight shining on the barrel of her father's shotgun.
Aunt Eller Murphy: [with gun in hand] SING! SING! C'mon now! Sing!
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Facts about
The poignant scene in "Many a New Day", where the blonde "Goon Girl" Lizanne Truex rests her head on the shoulder of Shirley Jones, came on the 43rd take. Director Fred Zinnemann was unhappy with the way the girls gathered around Ms. Jones, and he came up with this idea.
When asked about her distinctive haircut in the film, Lizanne Truex said that because of the innocent tomboyish behavior of her "Goon Girl" character, the studio hair stylist changed her "Pixie Cut" to a "Bowl Cut" - "Like the little kids of the period were given." During the filming, she was primping before a mirror backstage, bemoaning the results, with Jane Fischer looking on. Director Fred Zinnemann included that charming vignette in the "Many a New Day" dance routine at the suggestion of Agnes de Mille, who happened to see the incident and liked what she saw.
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