PLOT
Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1943 Broadway musical was considered revolutionary for many reasons, not least of which were the play's intertwining of song and story, and the simple production design.

The story is truly only about a girl, who must decide between the two suitors who want to take her to a social.

In the 1955 film version, in her movie debut, 19-year-old Shirley Jones plays Laurie, an Oklahoma farm girl who is courted by boisterous cowboy Curley (Gordon MacRae) and by menacing, obsessive farm hand Jud Frye (Rod Steiger).
Fearing that Jud will do something terrible to Curley, Laurie accepts Jud's invitation to the box social. But it's Curley who rescues Laurie from Jud's unwanted advances, and in so doing wins her hand.

On the eve of their wedding, Laurie and Curley are menaced by the drunken Jud. During a fight with Curley, Jud falls on his own knife and is killed. The local deputy insists that Curley be arrested and stand trial, but he is outvoted by Curley's friends, and the newlyweds are permitted to ride off on their honeymoon.

Counterpointing the serious elements of the story is a comic subplot involving innocently promiscuous Ado Annie (Gloria Grahame), her erstwhile sweetheart Will Parker (Gene Nelson) and lascivious travelling salesman Ali Hakim (Eddie Albert).
The evergreen songs include Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin', Surrey with the Fringe on Top, People Will Say We're In Love, I Cain't Say No, and the rousing title song.
Two versions of Oklahoma! currently exist: the Todd-AO version, filmed on 65-millimetre stock, and the simultaneously shot CinemaScope version, shown in theatres not equipped for the wider-screen Todd-AO process.