Oklahoma! (1955)
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Oklahoma! Movie Review
Oklahoma! is a 1955 western musical film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones and Rod Steiger. It’s a very overrated movie.
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“I wanted to marry her when I saw the moonlight
shining on the barrel of her father’s shotgun“
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In Oklahoma, several farmers, cowboys and a traveling salesman compete for the romantic favors of various local ladies. Needless to say, this movie is as fluffy as they get, even for fifties cinema, this was too slight and irreverent. I did not care for its slim plot whatsoever as it’s even non-existent. The characters also could have been better.
It’s interesting that the movie incorporated lesser known actors instead of big stars, which certainly made it more unique, but again most of the actors did not make that big of an impression. Gordon MacRae is overly earnest and silly and others such as Jones and Steiger are all quite forgettable. All of them are charming, but overly one-note, and the various affairs and relationships did not engage me all that much.
Oklahoma! is certainly unique in its mixing of the two genre staples of the fifties – the western and the musical. I certainly admired its originality as I do not think that I have never seen such a mixture myself before. Although silly, it was also very appealing seeing the cowboys singing and the setting in this movie is beautifully realized. All of the locations are memorable, the cinematography is strong, the sets are excellent and the costumes are terrific.
The movie is an audio-visual feast, that’s for sure. However, I still expect more from movies than just spectacle. And this one did not add anything of substance to it. The pacing is very bad, the movie’s runtime is simply too excessive and the dialogue is also not great. The same goes for the direction. Zinnemann is usually great, but this is not one of his best works.
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The soundtrack is the best thing about this movie, though some songs are too similar to others, and thus quite forgettable. The highlights are certainly People Will Say We’re in Love, which is suitably quite endearing; I Can’t Say No, which is problematic in lyrics but sweet; and the standout Oh What a Beautiful Mornin’, a song that opens the movie in spectacular fashion, with catchy lyrics, a lot of exuberance and a high amount of charm.
