Magna Theatre Corporation's award-winning 1955 film adaptation of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's groundbreaking 1943 musical Oklahoma! (which was itself based on Lynn Riggs's 1931 play Green Grow the Lilacs) is noteworthy in its close adherence to it the stage original, which was due in large part to Rodgers and Hammerstein's strict terms with Magna. Only 2 songs from the stage production were cut, the structure is almost identical , and even the extended ballet dream sequence is retained. It stars Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Rod Steiger, Charlotte Greenwood, Gloria Grahame, Gene Nelson, James Whitmore, and Eddie Albert.
Set in Oklahoma Territory shortly after the turn of the 20th century, it tells the story of farm girl Laurey Williams and her courtship by two rival suitors, cowboy Curly McLain and farmhand Jud Fry. A secondary romance concerns Laurey's friend, Ado Annie and cowboy Will Parker, 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 and was voted a "New York Times Critics Pick", won Academy Awards in the categories of musical scoring and sound recording, and, in 2007, was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
2 hrs 20 min
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