Search Results for: blog oklahoma 1955

Oklahoma! (1955)

It’s a beautiful morning in Oklahoma. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the corn is as high as an elephant’s eye. At least, that’s what Curly says through song as he’s riding through the fields during the opening credits of this Hammerstein classic. Aunt Eller is a widow woman who lives on a small farm in Oklahoma. Her niece, Laurey, lives with her and helps her out, and they have a hired hand, Jud Fry. They are making due, but it’s hard running a farm with such a small crew. Curly (Gordon MacRae) is a cowboy, and … Continue reading →

A Day All to Yourself?

Have you ever said, ‘I just want one day to myself?’ I thought that’s what I was going to have on Friday. Then Thursday night I found out our choir had a concert on Friday at one of the local nursing homes. ‘Oh no, I thought.’ After a crazy week including along with the usual housework and writing project, two other concerts, shopping, and a book launch I was organizing for GROW- UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS – an anthology edited by Anne Hamilton and Lyn Hurry and containing a number of Christian writers that included me, the last thing I … Continue reading →

Tristi’s Favorite Musicals

I grew up watching musicals. I love Doris Day, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire – in fact, there are very few movie stars from Hollywood’s golden era that I don’t like. There’s just nothing like a man and woman gazing into each other’s eyes and then breaking into song. Some of my all-time favorite musicals are, in no particular order: “Oklahoma!” Who could forget Shirley Jones in her first role as shy and idealistic Laurie, caught up in her feelings for that rascally cowboy, Curly? “Show Boat” took on a tough topic – that of race discrimination – and brought us … Continue reading →

Flower Drum Song (1961)

The movie “Flower Drum Song” is a Rodger and Hammerstein musical based on a novel by the same name. It began as a play, which was hugely successful, but when the play was turned into a movie, it didn’t do so well in the box office. Set in the early 1950s, our main character is Mei Li, a young woman who arrives in San Francisco with her father. They stowed away on a boat to arrive and have no legal documents, but they feel sure that when they reach their destination, everything will be just fine. Mei Li has entered … Continue reading →

The Music Man (1962)

Seventy-six trombones led the big parade, and I think that’s how many times I’ve seen this classic Meredith Wilson movie. Robert Preston stars as Professor Harold Hill, a traveling salesman who is also a traveling swindler. With a new gimmick every month and thousands of unsuspecting “customers” to approach, he keeps himself busy traveling from town to town, fleecing the populace. But he’s never been anywhere like River City, Iowa, a town where the people are prejudiced against anyone who’s not just like them. His job may be a little more tricky than usual. His line this time around is … Continue reading →

Carousel (1956)

Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae formed the perfect couple in the movie “Oklahoma!,” and the studio decided to pair them together again in “Carousel.” However, the two movies couldn’t be more dissimilar. In “Carousel,” MacRae plays Billy Bigelow, a barker at a carousel. He has lived a hard life and picked up some habits he shouldn’t have. Julie Jordan is a young girl in the town who has caught his eye, and she’s interested in him, too. It’s not long before they fall in love, and soon they are married, although her family isn’t so sure it’s a good idea. … Continue reading →