Movie Review # 471: Oklahoma (1955)

Ladies & gentlemen, today, we are going to be going back to the world of live-action movie musicals that seemed rather predominant in the 1950s through 1970s, or 1980s, sometime like that. Not only that, but apparently today’s movie musical seems to be one of the most well-known of this genre, as well as has considered by many as one of the best musicals, and films period. Starring Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Charlotte Greenwood, and Rod Steiger to name a few, the movie is, Oklahoma.

Plot: A cowboy named Curly (Gordon MacRae) attempts to ask the love of his life, Laurey Williams (Shirley Jones) to a dance event that is supposed to raise money for a new school house. After he’s waited for so long to do so, however, Laurey reluctantly decides to go with another man (Rod Steiger) that also has his eye on the beautiful dame. With this competition now erupting, can Curly win Laurey back, or will he have to let her go before, or even after that dance event is over?

Alright, so there were a couple reasons that I was very eager to see this particular musical film. One is that I’m hoping to see these live-action movie musicals hopefully sooner rather than later. Second was that I sang the opening song, “Oh What A Beautiful Morning” in one of my high school plays. Not to mention that there was me seeing the movie I Can Only Imagine over the past few years, and watching the scene in that movie where Bart Millard sings that very song. So now that I’ve seen this film, it is time to make my review for this film. Guys, like with many other of these musicals that I’ve seen thus far, I was very, very surprised with this film. First of all, the songs are all really good, from “Oh What A Beautiful Morning,” to “Oklahoma,” “People Will Say We’re In Love,” “Many A New Day,” and songs like those. Even though not all of these may be as memorable on first watch, they’re sure to grow on you once you were to rewatch this film multiple times afterwards. I mean even if one were to be in a school play, or even a show that involved mainly adults, not only would people love reliving the songs of this film, but also playing the parts of any of these memorable characters. That alone should say something, should it not? Oh, and one more thing to say in regards to the music! The music, both the songs, and score alike, do well with capturing the spirit of certain parts of the Old West. Next, the movie does teach some very good lessons. One most notable example is the lesson of how, as a wise person pointed out sometime ago, people are complicated. I mean when we see people make decisions, or maybe not talk to us all that much anymore, it’s natural for us to sit around, and judge them by their actions. This is not the best course of action since, well, none of us, but God, and those specific individuals, knows what exactly they’re going through. A movie like Oklahoma does an excellent job of showing certain situations throughout the film of where something like those could easily be the case. In addition to all of this, one can easily be awestruck by how scary, and suspenseful this film can be at times. I mean from seeing previews of this film, one might think that it’s going to be happy, and lighthearted all the way through. However, that is not always the case with Oklahoma. In fact, there were a few scenes that could maybe frighten younger kids. Oh, even the younger ones will enjoy this film, make no mistake. However, it wouldn’t be surprising if either kids, or even adults were to feel even a little bit nervous, and shocked by certain events, and moments that were to happen in this film. So definitely be prepared for that! Additionally, the characters are very likable, from when they’re singing, to just having dialogue with one another. Still, it’s really the musical numbers that help them get developed over the course of this film. The characters really grow on you as well. Some of them even have really good character arcs, and you really seem to have a very good understanding of where some of them are coming from. However, some of us could probably also agree that there are some good lessons that we could take away from each of their characters, and some of the choices that they make, good, or bad. Oh, and another thing to mention in regards to the characters is that I wouldn’t be surprised if family films like 1991’s Beauty & The Beast drew inspiration from certain characters that were in Oklahoma. Trust me, if you were to watch both films back to back, you would probably know what I mean. One other thing to mention is that the movie makers of this film truly help capture how people in a state like Oklahoma, or even people living in other southern states would talk more often than not. Additionally, how could you not love seeing the scenery of the beautiful farmland, or even the scenes with the school house, and scenes like those? The only potential criticism that one could have with this film is that there were points where some of the side characters made some decisions that weren’t all that great, and also seemed to let other people walk all over them. Not to mention that some of the decisions that they made didn’t seem to make sense all that much. I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong on that, but that was the one intriguing part of this film, for sure.

And that’s my review for 1955’s Oklahoma. Once again, we have a film musical that is really well done for the most part. The fact that this film is almost two, and a half hours long really pays in the end. Could this film have been shorter? Perhaps! Still, I don’t know if elements like the characters, story, or even the songs, for instance would have been as well developed if this film were around an hour, and a half to even around two hours. So yeah, I’d say that making this film around two and a half hours long was a smart move, especially for a film that came out around this time period. Truthfully, I hope that musicals, or maybe even movies period go back to the days when they make movies that around this long, and help their characters move, and breathe more than they have seemed to in recent years. The more you watch movies like this, The Sound Of Music, or even Fiddler On The Roof, the more one will like realize why they were really good in the first place. Oklahomans most definitely no exception. If you haven’t seen this film, definitely do so. You’d be surprised by how much better it is after you watch it. Definitely let me know if you agree, or disagree with me on that!

Final Grade: A