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 |
Oklahoma!: BlogHub Articles:
Quotes from Oklahoma!:
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.
Laurey: Oh, I thought you were somebody.
Ali Hakim: It's a wonderful thing to be married. I got a brother in Persia got six wives.
Ado Annie Carnes: Six wives all at once?
Will Parker: Why, sure. That's the way they do in them countries.
Ali Hakim: Not always; I got a brother in Persia only got one wife. He's a bachelor.
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Facts about Oklahoma!:
In her autobiography 'Playing the Field', Mamie Van Doren recalls her campaign to play Ado Annie. Van Doren claims one of the reasons she lost the part was that her acting coach, who happened to be Gloria Grahame's mother, mentioned Van Doren's interest in the part to her daughter; Grahame suddenly became interested in playing the part herself, launching a campaign of her own to win the part--which she did.
The ending scene in the "Kansas City" routine proved to be rewarding for the "Goon Girls" (Lizanne Truex and Jane Fischer). Jumping off a moving train into the arms of the waiting cowboys entailed perfect timing. Just before the first take, a union representative called for an "adjustment", which turned out to be an additional $250 for each jump because of the hazard. Seven takes later, director Fred Zinnemann was satisfied, leading Lizanne Truex to remark that they must remember to call "Adjustment!" more often as she had a 1951 Ford to pay off.
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