Oklahoma! (1955 film)

Oklahoma!
Oklahoma!
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Fred Zinnemann
Screenplay by	Sonya Levien; William Ludwig
Based on	Oklahoma!; by Rodgers and Hammerstein; Green Grow The Lilacs; by Lynn Riggs
Produced by	Arthur Hornblow Jr.
Starring	Gordon MacRae; Gloria Grahame; Gene Nelson; Charlotte Greenwood; Eddie Albert; James Whitmore; Rod Steiger; Shirley Jones
Cinematography	Robert Surtees; Floyd Crosby
Edited by	George Boemler; Gene Ruggiero
Music by	Richard Rodgers
Color process	Eastman Color
Distributed by	Magna Theatre Corporation (70mm); RKO Radio Pictures (35mm)
Release date	October 11, 1955 (Rivoli Theatre);
Running time	145 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$6.8 million
Box office	$7.1 million (est. US/ Canada rentals)

Oklahoma! is a 1955 American musical film based on the 1943 musical of the same name by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, which in turn was based on the 1931 play Green Grow The Lilacs written by Lynn Riggs. It stars Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones (in her film debut), Rod Steiger, Charlotte Greenwood, Gloria Grahame, Gene Nelson, James Whitmore, and Eddie Albert. The production was the only musical directed by Fred Zinnemann.^[4] Oklahoma! was the first feature film photographed in the Todd-AO 70 mm widescreen process (and was simultaneously filmed in CinemaScope 35mm).

Set in Oklahoma Territory, it tells the story of farm girl Laurey Williams (Jones) and her courtship by two rival suitors, cowboy Curly McLain (MacRae) and the sinister and frightening farmhand Jud Fry (Steiger). A secondary romance concerns Laurey's friend, Ado Annie (Grahame), and cowboy Will Parker (Nelson), who also has an unwilling rival. A background theme is the territory's aspiration for statehood, and the local conflict between cattlemen and farmers.

The film received a rave review from The New York Times,^[5] and was voted a "New York Times Critics Pick".^[6] It won Academy Awards in the categories of musical scoring and sound recording. In 2007, Oklahoma! was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".^[7]^[8]

^ "Oklahoma 1955 film". Alamy. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
^ Oklahoma! at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
^ "All Time Domestic Champs", Variety, January 6, 1960 p 34
^ Cite error: The named reference Chapin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Crowther, Bosley (October 11, 1955). "Movie Review - The Screen: 'Oklahoma!' Is Okay; Musical Shown in New Process at Rivoli - NYTimes.com". The New York Times.
^ "Movies". The New York Times.
^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
^ "Librarian of Congress Announces National Film Registry Selections for 2007". Library of Congress. Retrieved May 6, 2020.

[1] "Oklahoma 1955 film". Alamy. Retrieved September 21, 2020.

[AFI-2] Oklahoma! at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films

[3] "All Time Domestic Champs", Variety, January 6, 1960 p 34

[Chapin-4] Cite error: The named reference Chapin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[5] Crowther, Bosley (October 11, 1955). "Movie Review - The Screen: 'Oklahoma!' Is Okay; Musical Shown in New Process at Rivoli - NYTimes.com". The New York Times.

[6] "Movies". The New York Times.

[7] "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved May 6, 2020.

[8] "Librarian of Congress Announces National Film Registry Selections for 2007". Library of Congress. Retrieved May 6, 2020.

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