Cheap Oklahoma! (DVD) (Gordon MacRae, Gloria Grahame) (Fred Zinnemann) Price

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Customer Reviews of Oklahoma!

While declaring the timeless joy of this film, I can't help but feel disappointed that producers couldn't find locations in Oklahoma to shoot the exterior scenes, opting for the empty spaces of Arizona. That aside, what a grand adaptation of what many consider the first modern musical.

While Gordon MacRae a very good Curly, Shirley Jones is truly marvelous as Laurie the central character in a story that has been characterized as, "who will take Laurie to the dance."

As is so often the case, the filmmakers key casting decisions determine the quality of motion pictures. Eddie Albert is an excellent Peddler, Ali Hakim. Gloria Grahame's performance as Ado Annie Carnes sparkles.

Agnes De Mille dances have made this musical one of the best ever. I'm was particularly impressed with "Kansas City," "Out of My Dreams," (dream ballet) and the "The Farmer and the Cowman."

The one disappointment, as I reflect on the last few scenes, is why the producers/directors didn't utilize the Oklahoma vistas for the title production number, "Oklahoma!" The Rodgers and Hammerstein classic deserved more elaborate staging/spectacle.

This is yet another musical that should become part of the literature/fine arts curriculum. It's study would enrich senior high school social studies, literature and fine arts classes.

This movie Rocks!!
"Oklahoma!" is one GREAT movie. I don't think I ever smile so much during a movie as I do when I watch this one, it just makes me so darn happy! Ok, so the plot isn't amazing... but it doesn't matter, because the plot isn't really what drives this film. This movie is all about the characters, and the positive mood it creates, and the wonderful music that you will be humming for days after you watch the film. I actually bought the soundtrack a few weeks ago, (that's how much I liked it) and I haven't been able to stop playing it. I've seen a lot of musicals, both movie and stage, and I believe that "Oklahoma!" ties with "West Side Story" for having the best music of any musical, ever. The famous Rogers and Hammerstein score is just awesome. All of the songs are great, there isn't a bad one in the movie, but "People Will Say We're In Love" is my personal favorite. The scene were Curly and Laurie are singing this to each other in the peach orchard is so amazingly cute. I guess I'm just a silly hopeless romantic, but I can't help it. Shirley Jones as Laurie is wonderful, she has a BEAUTIFUL voice, and does a fine acting job too, especially considering she was only 20 years old and this was her film debut. The sparks just fly between her and Gordon MacRae (Curly), and this chemistry between the two leads is really what makes the movie work as well as it does. I was also stunned by the visual beauty of the film. It's beautiful color and exceptional picture clarity is uncommon for an older movie, so when I first watched "Oklahoma!" I had to double check to make sure it was really made in 1955. The special Todd-AO filming process other reviewers have gone into detail about really made a difference here. Anyways, I seem to have rambled on a bit, but I'll try to make my point here. This is a fun, romantic movie, that's a bit hokey at times ( but endearingly so, I believe) and has a few weak moments. But these few weak elements are far outweighed by the great ones. I judge a movie mainly on these two factors: 1) by the way I feel immediately after I've finished watching it, and 2) if it has a lasting impression on me. After this one, I just feel happy, and giddy, and like I want to dance around my living room and break out into song. And as far as lasting impressions go, I liked it so much I felt compelled to write this review and reccomend it to the world. So if this sounds like the kind of movie you'd enjoy, go for it, and have fun watching this classic.

Oklahoma
Well I'm surprised to find that I seem to be in the minority but I think Oklahoma is the Greatest Screen Musical of All Time.
I'll go in to why I think that but first I want you to know that I'm a great fan of musicals and have seen most of the great ones many, many times on the tube and on the big screen. Films like Top Hat, Gay Divorcee, Gold Diggers of 33 and 35, 42nd Street, Footlight Parade, Swingtime, Follow the Fleet, Holiday Inn, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Pennies from Heaven('81) and of course My Fair Lady are as good as it gets and hold a cherished place in my heart.
They all have teriffic stars, good humor and above all wonderful music and wonderful songs. Oklahoma has more of that than any other movie. Every song
is a winner, a gem, a pearl. They eliminated the few "clinker" songs from the stage production (it ran for 26 years) leaving only the absolute winners for the movie. Shirley Jones was eighteen and wonderfully radiant. Her singing was even better than the original stage recording. Her singing was marvelous.
Howard Keel was originally slated to play Curly but opted out because he refused to shoot two movies, as they duplicated every scene for two different film processes. (The A-O Todd version is the one seen on the DVD and has much higher resolution than the
Cinemascope one seen for years on TV) What a stroke of luck, Howard Keel (much too old and stiff to play opposite Miss Jones) is out and Gordon MacRae (the perfect fit) is in. His voice, while not as dynamic as Alfred Drake's, is perfect for the screen
but best of all he brings a sensiblity and earthy quality to the role missing from all the others I've seen. Some bizarre casting
in the minor roles like Gloria Grahame as Ado Annie and Eddie Albert as Ali Hakim and Rod Stieger as the "bully colored" Judd Frey add a strange flavor to the mix. But it's not the only strange thing going on. The story itself is not particularly a pleasant one and one might find the treatment of Judd or Judd himself unpleasant. It themes aren't necessarily family fare. There's even a dream sequence featuring some dark moments in a bordello. These elements add to the complexity and depth of this best-of-all musicals. And now the real muscle, Oh What a Beautiful Morning, Surrey with the Fringe on Top, I'm Just a Girl Who Can't Say No, Everything's Up to Date in Kansas City,
Never Will Come a Day, People Will Say We're in Love, Poor Judd is Dead, The Farmer and the Cowhand Should Be Friends, With Me It's All or Nothin' and Of course Oklahoma. No musical, not The King and I, not Singin' in the Rain, not Carousel, not any other save My Fair Lady can boost so many landmark songs. Throw in three or four marvelous dance sequences and big dash of Americana and you have the best screen musical ever. Thanks for your tolerance and thank you Amazon for letting me get that off my chest. There is one other musical I gotta mention, because it puts so many others to shame but I'm afraid I'll lose any crediblity, if any, I've got. Well, here it goes, South Park, Bigger, Longer, Uncut is better than all of Andrew Llyod Webber's musicals wound-up into one. In fact I don't think he's got a single song that can outdo ANY song in S P, B, L, U.
There I've said it and now I'm done. Thank you.