Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma!, the super smash hit of the 1942-43 season, took a dozen years to make it to the screen. The authors, in full control, went out of their way to protect their firstborn. R&H were no film novices; not only had several of their Broadway shows (written without each other) made it to the screen, they both had written influential screen musicals (including Rodgers' "Love Me Tonight" and Hammerstein's "High, Wide and Handsome"). They had also, following the opening of the stage Oklahoma!, collaborated on one screen musical, "State Fair" (see below).

But in the time between the stage Oklahoma! and the film Oklahoma! [Fox Home Entertainment], Dick and Oscar had become the most powerful producers in the musical theatre. Count the numerous companies of Oklahoma! and Carousel, both of which they ultimately controlled (although the shows were originally produced by the Theatre Guild); add in South Pacific and The King and I; and don't forget Annie Get Your Gun, which they produced but did not write. They also produced some major hit plays (including I Remember Mama) and a string of American hits in London (including Teahouse of the August Moon and Guys and Dolls).

Through all this activity, they kept their hit Broadway musicals off the screen. By 1954, when Oklahoma! went before the cameras, they were in a somewhat different position than just a few years earlier. Three of their first four collaborations were highly praised classics. The King and I, their 1951 offering, had enormous trouble out-of-town, resulting in a considerable rewrite. The show met with a less-than-smashing reception upon its Broadway opening; good, but not as good as Oklahoma!, Carousel or South Pacific was the verdict. (Ironically, The King and I has proven the strongest of the four in terms of afterlife.)

In retrospect, The King and I marked the end of R&H's eight-year reign as Broadway kings. Their 1953 effort, Me and Juliet, was uninspired and weak; their 1955 show, Pipe Dream, was inventive but irremediably troubled; and their 1958 try, Flower Drum Song, was little more than an ordinary musical comedy. By this point R&H were both ailing, mere shells of their former selves. One more show followed, another poorly received work that managed to overcome the gibes of the sophisticated theatrical crowd to become a major success. The Sound of Music, that is.

"Oklahoma!" was the first feature filmed in the technologically impressive Todd-AO format. Todd-AO used specially devised wide-angle lenses; the result was a film that, when projected on a curved screen, made viewers feel surrounded by the action. Relatively speaking, at least. Not coincidentally, regular-priced movie tickets at the time were 75 cents; "Oklahoma!," in Todd AO, premiered at the Rivoli on Broadway with a $3.50 ticket. "Oklahoma!" was simultaneously filmed in CinemaScope, as most cinemas of the day weren't equipped to project Todd-AO films. What Todd-AO gave you was epic scope; fine for scenes of wide-screen grandeur, but a wee mite overwhelming for a guy and a gal singin' a ballad on the front porch.

Mike Todd, the fabled showman who created Todd-AO, fittingly enough is the same fellow who issued the legendary pronouncement upon the occasion of the first performance of Oklahoma! — then entitled Away We Go! — in New Haven. "No legs, no jokes, no chance," said he, walking out during the first intermission.

The film "Oklahoma!" was fairly well received in its time, and did strong business, although a perusal of the autobiographical reactions of people involved with show and film suggests that the film was a major disappointment. Not having been around to see the original show in 1943, I would guess that Oklahoma! on stage was marked by an overwhelming excitement and spirited vibrance, while the film was just a scenic movie with impressive songs. The film also gives us a sense of the original choreography by Agnes de Mille, enlarged out of proportion to fit the sense-a-round screen but a reasonable re-creation of what had been seen onstage.

The new two-CD set includes both the Todd-AO and Cinemascope versions. The colors in the Todd-AO, oddly enough, are somewhat faded (noticeably so in comparison to the first DVD release of the film). Curiously enough, Bosley Crowther's original 1955 New York Times review makes the same complaint. This coincidence makes you wonder if the initial release version needed correction (as it was a brand-new format at the time), and if they mistakenly went back to the original-but-uncorrected version for this new release.

The two-DVD set is filled with numerous extras, including an illuminated and interesting commentary by Ted Chapin and Hugh Fordin accompanying the Cinemascope version. (Shirley Jones, who played Laurey, is on the Todd-AO version.) There is also some less-"Oklahoma!" related material on the Todd AO process, which I don't suppose will interest musical theatre or musical movie fans. And, it should be noted, that film shot in the Todd-AO process loses something when displayed on a mere television screen.

Back through the 1930s and early 1940s, book musicals were lucky to run a year on Broadway. Hit musicals like The Boys from Syracuse, Too Many Girls, Best Foot Forward and Louisiana Purchase usually came to the screen within two years of their Broadway opening. Continued...