Expanded film musical, plus scoring and songs.

Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1943 Broadway musical was considered revolutionary for a multitude of reasons, not least of which were the play's intricate integration of song and storyline, and the simplicity and austerity of its production design. The 1955 film version of Oklahoma! retains the songs (except for Lonely Room and It's a Scandal!, which are usually cut from most stage presentations anyway) and the story, but the simplicity is sacrificed to the spectacle of Technicolor, Todd-AO, and Stereophonic Sound. The story can be boiled down to a single sentence: a girl must decide between the two suitors who want to take her to a social. In her movie debut, 19-year-old Shirley Jones plays Laurie, an Oklahoma farm gal who is courted by boisterous cowboy Curley (Gordon MacRae) and by menacing, obsessive farm hand Jud Frye (Rod Steiger). Fearing that Jud will do something terrible to Curley, Laurie accepts Jud's invitation to the box social. But it's Curley who rescues Laurie from Jud's unwanted advances, and in so doing wins her hand. On the eve of their wedding, Laurie and Curley are menaced by the drunken Jud. During a fight with Curley, Jud falls on his own knife and is killed (this sudden-death motif was curiously commonplace in the Rodgers and Hammerstein ouevre). The local deputy insists that Curley be arrested and stand trial, but he is outvoted by Curley's friends, and the newlyweds are permitted to ride off on their honeymoon. Counterpointing the serious elements of the story is a comic subplot involving innocently promiscuous Ado Annie (Gloria Grahame), her erstwhile sweetheart Will Parker (Gene Nelson) and lascivious travelling salesman Ali Hakim (Eddie Albert). None of the Broadway cast of Oklahoma! was engaged for the film version, though Charlotte Greenwood is finally able to essay the role of Auntie Eller that had been written for her but she'd been unable to play back in 1943. The evergreen songs include Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin', Surrey with the Fringe on Top, People Will Say We're In Love, I Cain't Say No, and the rousing title song. Two versions of Oklahoma! currently exist: the Todd-AO version, filmed on 65-millimeter stock, and the simultaneously shot CinemaScope version, shipped out to the theaters not equipped for the wider-screen Todd-AO process. Both versions have been issued in "letterbox" form on laser disc, and the subtle differences in performance style and camera angles in each and every scene are quite fascinating. 1955

1. Overture (2:55)
Orchestra / previously unreleased

2. Main Title (2:54)
Orchestra / previously unreleased

3. Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin' (2:33)
Gordon MacRae

4. The Surrey With The Fringe On Top (4:54)
Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Charlotte Greenwood

5. Kansas City (2:31)
Gene Nelson, Charlotte Greenwood, Men's Chorus

6. Kansas City Ballet (2:26)
Orchestra / previously unreleased

7. I Cain't Say No (3:11)
Gloria Grahame

8. Many A New Day (3:07)
Shirley Jones, Girls' Chorus

9. Many A New Day Ballet (3:35)
Orchestra / previously unreleased

10. People Will Say We're In Love (4:21)
Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones

11. Pore Jud Is Daid (4:17)
Gordon MacRae, Rod Steiger

12. Out Of My Dreams (2:33)
Shirley Jones, Girls' Chorus

13. Out Of My Dreams Ballet (14:12)
Orchestra / previously unreleased

14. Entr'acte (1:28)
Orchestra / previously unreleased

15. The Farmer And The Cowman (3:52)
Gordon MacRae, Charlotte Greenwood, Gene Nelson, J.C. Flippen, James Whitmore, Gloria Grahame, Mixed Chorus

16. The Farmer And The Cowman Ballet (1:28)
Orchestra, Chorus / previously unreleased

17. All Er Nuthin' (2:54)
Gloria Grahame, Gene Nelson

18. All Er Nuthin' Ballet (1:52)
Orchestra / previously unreleased

19. People Will Say We're In Love (reprise) (1:42)
Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones / previously unreleased

20. Oklahoma (3:18)
Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Charlotte Greenwood, Entire Company

21. Finale: Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin' (1:37)
Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Entire Company / previously unreleased

22. Overture (LP version) (4:51)
Orchestra