While not the best film version of a Broadway musical,Oklahoma is certainly not the worst.On the plus side are the breath taking location footage,some strong performances and what remains of a lush and beautiful score by Oscar Hammerstein and Richard Rodgers. Unfortunately,comparing the film to the play you can see the flaws. While Shirley Jones is quite fetching as Laurey Williams,she lacks the spunk and frontier toughness the character needs to become a 3 dimenional heroine. Rod Steiger's Jud Fry is deprived of his sexual undertones and his big song.."Lonely Room". This song elevates the role beyond that of a mere stock villian.Another loss is the showstopping comedy number "Its A Scandal" sung by Persian Peddler Ali Hakim. (Eddie Albert's portrayal of the role,however is one of the films highlights.) While the Hammerstein script comes through almost intact,the shows darker moments seem to be downplayed in the Hollywood version. Other highlights are Charlotte Greenwood's hearty performace of Aunt Eller and Gloria Grahame and Gene Nelson's Ado and and Will Parker. Gordon MacRae gives us a very likeable Curley but it becomes a courtship story between Laurey and Curley instead of a Relationship triangle between Laurey,Curley and Jud..all due to Director Fred Zinneman's decision to excise Jud's solo and tone down his confrontation scene with Laurey. Over all its an enjoyable film,but with the layers missing. Unfortunately the layers are what made the original play a masterpiece.
