oklahoma

the year: 1955

the genre: musical


the cast: Gordon MacRae (Curly); Shirley Jones (Laurey); Gloria Grahame (Ado Annie); Charlotte Greenwood (Aunt Eller); Eddie Albert (Ali Hakim); Rod Steiger (Jud Fry); Gene Nelson (Will Parker)


the plot: A couple of young cowboys win the hearts of their sweethearts in the Oklahoma territory at the turn of the century, despite the interference of an evil ranch hand and a roaming peddler.


don't miss: the disappearing and reappearing cornfields in the early scenes at Aunt Eller's.


did you know: the film was shot on location in and around Nogales, Arizona, because the real Oklahoma in 1955 was so heavily farmed and developed that few suitable areas could be found that resembled the highly-rural and undeveloped Oklahoma of the turn of the century when the musical is set.


listen for: "I wanted to marry her when I saw the moonlight shining on the barrel of her father's shotgun."


watch for: the "corn as high as an elephant's eye". Since filming was to take place out of season, no tall cornfields were to be found anywhere. The job was given to the folks in the UofA Agricultural Department, who planted each stalk in individual containers and held their breath. With rain and good luck, the corn grew to a height of 16 feet, causing Oscar Hammerstein to quip: "The corn is now as high as the eye of an elephant on top of another elephant."