Oklahoma! (1955)

A cowboy (Gordon MacRae) has a mutual attraction with a farm girl (Shirley Jones) but an ominous farmhand (Rod Steiger) who works on the farm is determined to put his claim on the girl. This simple musical based on the groundbreaking Rodgers & Hammerstein stage musical of 1943 is at odds with the big screen treatment it receives here. Shot in the Todd-AO (a 70 millimeter format) process by Robert Surtees, it looks fantastic with a near remarkable depth for a non 3D film. But the large Oklahoma vistas (though it was actually shot in Arizona), elaborate ballet sequence (much more expansive than its stage versions) and sense of importance almost dwarfs the lovely musical at the heart of things. With the exception of Poor Jud Is Dead, the R&H score is chock full of memorable tunes that have almost all become standards. MacRae is adequate but Jones positively sparkles in her film debut. Directed by Fred Zinnemann and the memorable choreography by Agnes DeMille. With Gloria Grahame singing charmingly off key as Ado Annie, the graceful Gene Nelson who shines in the Kansas City number, Eddie Albert, James Whitmore, Charlotte Greenwood, Barbara Lawrence, James Mitchell and Jay C. Flippen.