RETURN ENGAGEMENT

OH, WHAT A

MOVIE

hen it comes to opening numbers in movie musicals nothing beats Oklahoma!’s “Oh, What A Beautiful Morning.” Cowboy Curly (Gordon MacRae) rides his horse across the plains, a huge blue sky behind him, singing Rodgers and Hammerstein’s rousing ode to nature and hope.

Filmed in breathtaking widescreen, 1955’s Oklahoma! was the first Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musical to be made into a movie, and the first musical to use song and dance to help explore the inner lives of its characters rather than as a mere diversion.

The story takes place in 1907 in the Oklahoma territory and finds cowboy Curly wooing the beautiful Laurey (played by a 20-year-old Shirley Jones in her film debut). Laurey, meanwhile, uses brutish farmhand Jud (Rod Steiger) to make Curly jealous.

And then there’s the flirtatious Ado Annie (Gloria Grahame) who drives her cowboy beau Will Parker (Gene Nelson) to distraction. The romantic storylines are set against footstomping dance numbers and a memorable ballet sequence that demand to be seen on the big screen. —INGRID RANDOJA

OKLAHOMA!

screens as part of Cineplex’s Classic Film Series on May 10th, 13th and 25th. Go to Cineplex.com/Events for times and locations.