It’s a beautiful morning in Oklahoma. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the corn is as high as an elephant’s eye. At least, that’s what Curly says through song as he’s riding through the fields during the opening credits of this Hammerstein classic.
Aunt Eller is a widow woman who lives on a small farm in Oklahoma. Her niece, Laurey, lives with her and helps her out, and they have a hired hand, Jud Fry. They are making due, but it’s hard running a farm with such a small crew.
Curly (Gordon MacRae) is a cowboy, and he’s sweet on Laurey (Shirley Jones.) He doesn’t waste any time showing her, but for whatever reason, she’s feeling a mite stubborn about the whole thing. Maybe she likes to play hard to get; I don’t know. But she snubs him at every opportunity.
Jud is also sweet on her, but that’s a scary proposition. It’s not that he’s a hired hand; his occupation doesn’t have anything to do with it. But he’s got a low moral character, and Laurey shouldn’t be with a man like that.
While Laurey’s trying to decide what to do, her friend Ado Annie is having a little bit too much fun. She likes to flirt with the boys and really likes it when they flirt back. Her boyfriend, Will, has gone to Kansas City to make his fortune so he can come back and marry her, but in the meantime, she’s not lonely. She’s been hanging around with Ali Hakim, the peddler man who likes to sweet-talk all the young women in the area.
Everything comes to a head the night of the big party. Curly asks Laurey to go with him, but she’s feeling stubborn and tells him no, and then she agrees to go with Jud. Not one to get depressed, Curly takes Aunt Eller as his date and they all have a wonderful time. But Jud gets it in his head that he has to get Curly out of the picture, permanently, and he can’t ignore that feeling. Meanwhile, Will has come back with enough money to marry Ado Annie, but there seems to be some confusion as to whether she will or will not marry him.
This movie is full of some of the best music Hammerstein ever composed. “People Will Say We’re in Love,” “Girl Who Can’t Say No,” and the theme song, “Oklahoma,” are just some of the songs you’ll find here. I would recommend it for a slightly older audience; there are some themes that might not be suitable for younger viewers, such as Jud’s jealousy and consequent actions. Overall, however, it’s a definite keeper.
As a side note: this was Shirley Jones’ first movie, although you’d never guess to watch her. She looks like a professional already. And if you pay close attention to the dream sequence, you’ll see that the dark actor who plays Curly is James Mitchell, who plays Palmer Cortland on “All My Children.”
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