by Judy Geater
Rodgers and Hammerstein were surely second to none when it came to creating musical scores full of great standards – and Oklahoma! is one of their finest. Its 145-minute running time is packed with unforgettable numbers like The Surrey with the Fringe on Top, People will Say We’re In Love, I Cain’t Say No, and, of course, the stunning opening song, Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’. The story of this Western musical romance at first seems very simple and impossibly sunny, not to mention a little old-fashioned, as two very different young girls in Oklahoma at the turn of the 20th century are each courted by two rival men. However, there are some darker themes amid all that sunshine and ripening corn, with occasional shadow-filled scenes showing the way forward to R&H’s Carousel , filmed the following year, which again starred Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae.
Laurey (Shirley Jones) is obviously made for boy next door Curly (Gordon Macrae), but is also being wooed, or stalked, by older, sinister farmhand Jud Fry (Rod Steiger). Meanwhile, fickle Ado Annie (Gloria Grahame, looking completely different from her roles in film noir!) just cain’t decide whether she should marry adoring cowboy Will Parker (Gene Nelson) or plump for flirtatious peddler Ali Hakim (Eddie Albert). What she doesn’t realise is that the peddler is even more fickle than she is.
On stage in 1943, the musical was a sensation, and, with its achingly nostalgic portrayal of a traditional and often idyllic way of life, it struck a particular chord with audiences in wartime. Sadly, though, as with so many great stage musicals, there was a long delay before the show finally made it to the silver screen, in the middle of the Cold War – and in the meantime others had copied some of its innovations. Oklahoma! is said to be the first show which featured a dream ballet sequence, and also the first one where the score was completely integrated into the narrative, with no unconnected songs thrown in. Yet by the time it was released in the cinema, 12 years on, many other films had featured dream ballets, most famously An American in Paris, and integrated scores had also become something taken for granted.
Although it might seem like an MGM musical, Oklahoma! was in fact made by the independent Magma Theatre Corporation, and produced by Rodgers and Hammerstein themselves, giving them greater control over the finished result. I’ve read that Rodgers held off from filming because he felt that some of his earlier shows had not been done justice on film, and he wanted to ensure this one kept its great score. (Only a couple of the original stage songs were cut for the screen.) Also the delay helped to ensure a successful tour of the stage production once its Broadway run had ended. The late release might have meant the film missed its ideal moment, but it did give musical films a shot in the arm just when they were starting to struggle, and helped to ensure that studios went on releasing more lavishly-produced titles in this vein over the next few years.
Oklahoma! itself had a massive $6.8million budget, meaning it could be largely filmed on location rather than amid cheap-looking backdrops. Arizona was actually used for filming, because it was hard to find unspoilt rural areas in Oklahoma in the 1950s – I’m told the mountain scenery isn’t very similar to Oklahoma, but it looks beautiful, anyway. Cinemascope and the rival Todd-AO widescreen format were used to create two different versions of the film, which celebrated the sweeping landscapes in gorgeous colour. The aim is to create a feeling of what the production was like on stage, and a lot of the time the cameras hold off to show the numbers from a distance, though they do move in to give greater intimacy in some numbers, like Curly and Laurey’s duet People Will Say We’re In Love. Choreographer Agnes de Mille’s dance numbers are sometimes said to be old-fashioned, but look great to me, especially the dream ballet. It’s odd to think that MacRae and Jones were replaced by professional dancers for this sequence, but Rod Steiger had to dance his own role because nobody else really looked like him, even from the back!
Director Fred Zinneman was a surprising choice to helm a musical, as his previous hits were dramas like From Here to Eternity and the great Western High Noon. I can’t see much similarity between those films and Oklahoma! for the most part, but at times the tension does pick up, particularly in the scenes involving farmhand Jud Fry, played with a simmering intensity by Rod Steiger. Steiger is a surprising choice to star in a musical (and it seems he does actually sing rather than being dubbed!) but he is great at portraying this weird loner. One of the best scenes in the film must be the one where Curly goes into the dark, shadowy barn where Jud lives, and goads him/appeals to his self-pity with thoughts of his death, in the song Pore Jud is Daid. All the way through, the song insults Jud and appeals to his vanity both at once.
Although Jones and MacRae definitely have the best voices in the film, the most memorable performances are possibly those given by Steiger and an amazingly unglamorous Gloria Grahame as Ado Annie. Grahame couldn’t really sing but her songs were pieced together from various takes, rather than being dubbed, and the results are hilarious. Gene Nelson is also great as her boyfriend Will, and Eddie Albert gives an amusing vaudeville-style performance as the peddler, though that style of ethnic humour has dated more badly than the rest of the movie.
I wasn’t lucky enough to see the London stage revival of Oklahoma!, directed by Trevor Nunn and starring Hugh Jackman as Curly, but have heard the film version of this is good, so hope to catch up with it and compare the two. I suspect the 1955 film is always going to be my favourite version, though, corn and all. And, by the way, that corn “as high as an elephant’s eye” had to be specially grown for the film, as it was made out of season. According to the imdb: “The job was given to the people of the University of Arizona Agricultural Department, who planted each stalk in individual containers and held their breath. With rain and good luck, the corn grew to a height of 16 feet, causing Oscar Hammerstein to quip: “The corn is now as high as the eye of an elephant on top of another elephant.”
How Oklahoma! made the ‘Elite 70’:
Judy Geater’s No. 12 choice
Greg Ferrara’s No. 20 choice
Marilyn Ferdinand’s No. 23 choice
Pat Perry’s No. 47 choice
Dennis Polifroni’s No. 60 choice
Click on names for archives
Writers/Founders
Wonders in the Dark 
All’s well that ends well, Judy, to quote one of your dearest Bard’s famed lines.
A last minute change, necessitated by an unavoidable situation threw this essay in your court after your saved the day with a late offer to take on this assignment. But since you placed the film higher than any other on the voting panel (at #12) your case should well have the most passionate underpinning.
I did not vote for the film on my own ballot, as I was leery to include a fifth R & H selection, but in retrospect I was foolish. I should have had this at least in the 50’s, as for all the issues that are held against it, ioncluding the charge that it was filmed as a Western epic, instead of with the light airy touch that was emplyed on stage. Zinnemann supposedly admitted years later that he did a poor job, having no previous musical experience. Yet, the sunny radiance of the score still comes through; my own favorite number is the cheerful and bouncy “The Fringe with the Surrey on Top” and any true Rodgers and Hammerstein booster will be able to resist it. The score is just so wonderful, that again, many will opt to ignore what they see as insignificant failings. I did think Rod Steiger was terribly miscast though.
You have come through big-time with a terrific review here Judy, empolying marvelous word economy to frame the film historically and musically, and of underlining the essay with your own sunny passions, so integral to this largely positive assessment.
Sam, I find I keep thinking I should have included movies I left out and vice versa, so you are not the only one having second thoughts! I’m interested in your comment about the criticism that it was filmed as a Western epic – I suppose it must have been tempting to make the most of the landscape since they were actually filming on location and in widescreen. For me that works but stage productions do get a greater intimacy. It’s also interesting that you think Steiger is miscast – I don’t think he is a great singer, but I certainly think he gets the moodiness and darkness of the character. Thanks very much for the kind comments!
I’m with you Judy. I think Steiger’s performance rightly adds to the film’s appeal. I don’t feel that he’s miscast as is one of the film’s memorable aspects.
Jon and Judy, I think I must come clean and clarify why I though Steiger was miscast, though many I greatly respect here do feel otherwise. I think Steiger is a towering actor who negotiates the proper shadings of the character, but he seems overqualified for the part, and Jud comes off as somewhat pathological.
But I completely understand why one would not see it as such.
Sam, for me the “look” of the film is one of its most memorable aspects, thus being related to the Western. However, I don’t feel that it delivers as a Western though. It happens to be a musical set out west, rather than a Western that happens to be a Musical, if you get what I mean. I don’t know. That’s how I feel about it.
Fair enough Jon. You make quite a bit of sense there.
Judy, I can’t thank you enough for stepping in and doing the kind of justice to this film it deserves and that I just couldn’t pull together. The information you give is fascinating and adds immeasurably to anyone’s appreciation of this filmed version of a THE groundbreaking American musical. Oh what a beautiful review!
Marilyn, thanks very much – I am a fan of R&H, as my placing shows, and had watched this recently so it wasn’t too difficult to write a piece! On the background info, I do find it amazing that they went to so much trouble to do things like growing corn for the film, when you think of the budgetary constraints on so many other musicals.
Nice piece, and on short notice too! Careful, Judy, now Sam may come to rely on you in any & all clutch situations. 😉 Like many of the other 50s+ stage-adaptation musicals in this countdown, this is one I haven’t seen. Yet I’ve known about it for about 25 of my 28 years, due to the Sesame Street parody where the cast can’t get the vowel right (“Aaaaaaaaaa-klohma, where the wind blows swifly through the trees, and” “Cut!” I always wondered what the rest of the lyrics were). Other parodies I treasured were the “Cereal Girl” music video, the Monsterpiece Theater (hosted by Alistair Cookie) rather literal adaptations of The Seventh Seal and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and especially the Miami Mice, who incompetently ran a lost & found in sunny Florida.
So anyway I can’t add much more to the discussion of the film than that, but enjoyed reading your coverage. Keep up the good work!
Thanks very much, Joel, I’m blushing at all the kind comments! I haven’t seen any of those Sesame Street parodies, but will have to check them out – I mainly saw a German version of the show (‘Die Sesamstrasse’!) while working there as an au pair back in the 1970s, before you were born!:) I love those 1950s stage-adaptation musicals although obviously they aren’t to everyone’s taste – R&H’s in particular have such great scores.
Judy, what a great review, especially considering that you stepped in to do it at the last minute. If I hadn’t been aware of the circumstances, I would never have known, because nothing about the writing seems hasty or less than carefully considered. You must have already been familiar with the film to be able to do this. I saw this on the big screen in re-release when I was in junior high (middle school). It was one of the first musicals I ever saw, the first R&H work I saw, and the first film I saw Rod Steiger or Gloria Grahame in. Of course, I know these two much better now. I do find the whole subplot with Jud to be rather jarring, although I understand the need for conflict to create dramatic tension. I found Sam’s comment that he found Steiger to be miscast interesting. He’s not an actor I’m terribly fond of, and I’ve read an interview with someone who worked on this film about how unpleasant he was. For me this is the best R&H score after “South Pacific” and one of the greatest collections of songs found in any Broadway musical. I did see on PBS the stage revival with Hugh Jackman (and Maureen Lippmann as Aunt Eller), and it was delightful.
You mention the two versions of the film. I’ve read about this and also that some people think they are quite different and that many prefer the Todd-AO version. I wonder if anyone has been able to compare the two versions and can comment on this. I know that “Oklahoma” is often referred to as the first stage musical to have a fully integrated score, but didn’t “Showboat” and “Porgy and Bess,” both of which preceded it, have scores that were as dramatically integral as that of “Oklahoma”? That’s my impression, anyway. (I wonder if Sam will have anything to say about this!)
R.D., you are so kind and encouraging – thank you. I would love to see this on the big screen and envy you that, and I do agree that it is one of R&H’s finest scores – I’m with you on ‘South Pacific’ being their finest. I quite like Steiger, although I haven’t seen all that many of his movies – but I will hopefully see more as I catch up with more films from the 1950s. I can see what you mean about the Jud plot jarring, but to me it is essential to have something darker in that film in order to stop all the sunshine from becoming too much. On the two versions, the DVD which I have is the Cinemascope one – I haven’t seen the Todd-AO, but would be very interested to hear from anyone who has about how obvious the differences are, in terms of the colour etc.I’ve read that this was the first fully integrated musical score on stage (I believe there were one or two unconnected songs included in the original production of ‘Showboat’ which were removed for the film) – but as you say I’m sure Sam will know more about this! Thanks again, R.D.
Judy, I’ve always felt the claim that “Oklahoma!” was the first show with a fully integrated score was a bit overstated. For example, I’ve never found that “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning,” as lovely a song as it is, has much to do with the plot except that the show starts in the morning. And I seem to recall reading that the song “Oklahoma” was added to the show after previews because R&H felt (or maybe were advised) that the show needed a rousing finale. After doing some research, I found that the 2005 DVD release of the film has both versions and a featurette comparing the two. I hope to watch it soon. It will be interesting to watch a movie I haven’t seen since I was thirteen years old!
Wonderful review for a film that usually gets slammed to the back burner when assessing R+H on film. While not my favorite score, its truly made up for by the best visual ever given one of their plays after the truly cinematic SOUND OF MUSIC. The dramatic arcs are perfectly woven in with the song score and it always blows me away to think that a property like this had the chops to catch the interests of a dramatic powerhouse like ROD STEIGER. It’s not perfect, but its close enough. JUDY must really love this one to have so effortlessly conveyed her knowledge and love in an essay that was shot-gunned in with so little prep notice. Great stuff!!!!
Thanks very much, Dennis, much appreciated! I must admit I haven’t read all that many reviews of R&H in the past, much as I love them, so I wasn’t totally aware of the respective critical opinions about the different films of their work, but I definitely agree that the visuals for ‘Oklahoma!’ are stunning, and also that the dramatic arc is perfectly woven in with the score. Also agreed on Steiger – strange to think that both he and Brando starred in musicals within a couple of years of ‘On the Waterfront’!
Judy, just wanted to say this is a great save here! Putting it together as quick as you did, and with so much polish, would have been close to impossible for me. The Rogers and Hammerstein songbook is extraordinary with so many songs that have become standards over the years. Even the uninitiated who do not know the names Rogers and Hammerstein are still familiar with their work.
I agree the songs turn up everywhere, John – if you look up Rodgers and Hammerstein at the imdb, you find their songs cropping up in everything from ‘Glee’ to ‘Dancing with the Stars’ to ‘Sex and the City!’ Thanks very much for the kind comments.
This is another case where the music wins the day, even in light of the problems that some have discussed. I didn’t have a problem with Steiger. I had read somewhere that this was the ‘widest’ ration ever used for a film. Great review Judy. I hung with every word!
I know this was a huge hit on the stage, and it began theatrical dominance for R & H.
That’s interesting about the widescreen – it is certainly pretty stunning to see, and I do wish I’d had a chance to see this one on the big screen. I love R&H just as much, or even more, on stage, though, and it must have been amazing to see the original Broadway production. Thanks a lot, Frank.
I recall watching this is music class in about the 4th grade being mixed about the songs (though a 9 year old—or whatever I was—isn’t really the most accurate barometer) but being tickled by the lively colors plus I didn’t understand how a story could evolve with songs. I must think then that it was probably the first musical I’d ever seen. As such I’ve always wanted to return to it, plus it has Gloria Grahame (who I just adore) so I’m more then interested in seeing how she, at the end of her career, was able to navigate the material.
Reading that this was a last minute, rushed affair to complete this essay it doesn’t show in the least. Nice job Judy.
Sounds as if film this made quite an impression on you, Jamie. I don’t remember what the first musical was that I saw – well, ‘The Jungle Book’ was the first movie with songs (on release, showing my age!) but I’m not sure what the first live action one was. I think it is really a must for you as a Gloria Grahame fan, since it is such a different role from her and she is really almost unrecognisable from how she looked in ‘In a Lonely Place’ just a few years earlier! Thanks very much.
Fascinating review! The storyline drags on just a little but I always liked “Oklahoma” for the quality of the songs anyway and so I wasn’t too bothered about that as the songs are brilliantly performed and for me still stand the test of time as all classics do. I never grow tired of listening to them especially my favourites “Surrey With the Fringe On Top” and “People Will Say We’re In Love.” With the advent of Blu-ray, I’m hoping the powers that be will somehow adapt the Todd-AO so that we get as much of the benefits as possible but adapted to plasma widescreens as frankly the letterbox format doesn’t do it for me and seems like a waste of much of the screen that is in black on the top and bottom. Also, they have to improve upon the sound quality, as they did with the blu-ray of Carousel. I’d say the score could be considered the pair’s finest, or close to it.
I haven’t succumbed to Blu-ray yet, but will probably do so soon, so am interested in your comments about the Blu-ray of Carousel having great sound – what’s the betting I’ll be tempted to buy at least a few movies that I own already! I would definitely be interested to see the Todd-AO print although to me the Cinemascope already looks fantastic – still, some say that the Todd-AO is even better. My favourite score by R&H is ‘South Pacific’, but this is definitely one of their greatest. Thanks, Peter!
Judy–
I suspect Peter erred there, as I know of no blu-ray releases of CAROUSEL. I would venture to think he meant SOUTH PACIFIC, which was restored and re-mastered for blu-ray release—it’s absolutely stunning and is a must-own! But I will check again to make sure I haven’t made a mistake.
Oh and great choice for the video clip on the sidebar!
Totally agree – great work again by Dee Dee, who is unturning wonderful video clips and posters for every day of this countdown!
Wonderful essay Judy, on a film that I consider my second favorite of the R&H adaptations. Of course, The Sound of Music is my favorite, but there is something special about Oklahoma!. You rightly highlight two performances, that of Rod Steiger and Gloria Grahame, that are quite amazing here and keep the interest level high. I think what I like best about the film, is the score, visual look and the widescreen aspect, and the fact that much of it is filmed outside. When I remember this film, I remember the look and the sound of it, but I of course don’t remember much about the story. That’s okay though. I love the dream ballet sequence too. It is an a truly memorable sequence for me.
Thanks very much, Jon – I think I probably like this film, South Pacific and Carousel even more than The Sound of Music, though that one is my husband’s absolute favourite, and I do like it too. I admire Steiger and Grahame just as much as, or even more than, the leads in Oklahoma! because it is so surprising to see them in a musical and in roles so different from what we might expect from them. Agreed on the great score and widescreen visuals – this would be a great film to see on the big screen. I also like the dream ballet sequence a lot.