Oklahoma!

Annotation for KRRR! 2026

Oklahoma! is a classic Hollywood musical, based on the Broadway musical of the same name, which premiered in 1943. The film takes place at the turn of the century in a Western­‑style countryside, where we follow the love story of a young farm girl named Laurey Williams and two men who are interested in her: the rival of the kind­‑hearted, hard­‑working, but socially awkward cowboy Curly McLain is the heartless farmer Jud Fry. However, it is not the only love triangle, because Laura's friend Ado Annie also decides between the two men.

In addition to the love plots, however, the film also benefits from the more general historical theme of the clash of simple rural life with city life, which brings chaos and an uncertain future to a predictable existence. These seemingly Western motifs resonated with American audiences at the time of its premiere, because after the war, such simplicity of life began to play a more important role. However, the film mainly offers impressive and extravagant musical numbers such as "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin", "Kansas City" or "Many a New Day", which still have great energy and beautifully capture the emotions of the main characters.

Negotiations for a film adaptation of the successful play began at the time of its premiere in 1943, with the rights to the film adaptation gradually moving across major studios such as 20th Century Fox, MGM or Columbia Pictures. In the end, however, it ended up with the Magna Theatre Corporation group – and became the basis for the first feature film shot in 70mm format... although a different version was shot in 35mm on CinemaScope at the same time. The film became a big hit, especially in the US and Canada, but perhaps due to its theme and setting, it did not generate much of a response overseas, and with a budget of $5.9 million, it only grossed $7.1 million at the box office.

Antonio Tawa