Page 17 - 2005-12

Big Screen, Big Sound
It was the advent of television that inspired the widescreen revolt in Hollywood. Not since the arrival of the sound film in 1928
was there a more creative and technological buzz in Hollywood. Former Projectionist and technical engineer Michael Hogan
remembers the arrival of Todd AO.
" I was a third year apprentice Projectionist at the Old Majestic Cinema (now a shopping complex), in
Dallas Texas. The year was 1955, Cinemascope and Vista Vision were all the rage. We were working up
to twelve hours a day installing and learning about the latest 70mm projectors required for the new process
known as Todd AO.
It was a revolutionary system created by showman, impresario and inventor Mike Todd, who dared to ask
what a film would look like if you ran it through the projector at 30 frames a second (the industry standard
was 24 F.P.S)?
The answer is that the film would look amazingly brighter, clearer, more brilliant and it would have an
additional illusion of depth and carry much more detail than standard 35mm film.
By running the film at six additional frames a second Todd discovered that he could increase the visual
richness and clarity of the projected image by 25 percent.
Another great advantage of 70mm Todd AO was the six track stereo soundtrack that the wider film could
accommodate - clearer and more brilliant than any other movie sound system. The memories of opening a
red and gold velvet curtain nearly 85 feet in length for the premier of Oklahoma! never fails to thrill me to
this day."
Dallas Times, May 1983

"I wonder if it was worth a year of our lives?" - Director Fred Zinnemann
It would be nearly twelve months before theatre curtains would
sweep open on the film of Oklahoma!. Fred Zinnemann would direct
under the close supervision of Rodgers and Hammerstein, to ensure
that Zinnemann would not throw the baby out with the bath water.
With a budget of six million dollars, work began on locations and
casting. Gene Nelson who played Will Parker in the movie is an
interesting personality. He had danced his way through two Doris
Day musicals, Tea For Two (1951) and Lullaby of Broadway
(1952). Nelson also directed two Elvis Presley movies Kissin'
Cousins (1964) and Harem Scarem (1965).
In a 1955 interview with "Variety" he discussed his
experiences with Oklahoma!:
"Virtually every musical performer in Hollywood tested
for the roles in Oklahoma.! There was tough competition
on all levels. Gordon Macrae beat Howard Keel for Curly,
Joanne Woodward lost the role of Laurey to newcomer Shirley Jones. Charlotte Greenwood plays Aunt
Eller, Gloria Grahame is Ado Annie, Eddie Albert, Ali Hakim and Rod Steiger is Jud Fry. Many people
who had starred in the Broadway show were not cast in the film, as this was the era of the Black List.
The company rehearsed on mock-up sets at the Metro Studios for seven weeks and all the musical numbers
were pre-recorded, we then moved to the San Rafael Valley - thirty six miles north east of Nogales,
Arizona - to film exteriors. Actual Oklahoma locales had been scouted, but were vetoed after it was
decided that there would be little opportunity to capture scenic beauty without running into oil wells and
commercial development.
The weather was hot, the work hard, under the personal supervision of Rodgers and Hammerstein, who
ensured that movie audiences experienced the same thrill that had gripped their theatre counterparts,
music, dances, comedy bits, were almost all intact, and just as exciting, colourful, and fun as when they
were first presented back in 1943. Agnes de Milles choreography received particular praise."
Oklahoma! was Gene Nelsons last musical, it also put lovely singing star Shirley Jones on the road to stardom.
The constant presence of Rodgers and Hammerstein and their prevailing influence on the filming of Oklahoma! proved
frustrating for screenplay writer William Ludwig and director Fred Zinnemann, who wanted to open the film up and take
advantage of the photographic possibilities offered by Mike Todd's' new process.
If you compare the camera movement in The Sound of Music to Oklahoma!, the latter film is very static by comparison.
William Ludwig explains the reason for the inactive motionless use of the camera in Oklahoma!.
" I didn’t think the movie was as good as it could have been we weren't allowed the opportunity to break it
out of the proscenium and take full advantage of the camera. Rodgers and Hammerstein had complete
control down to the last comma. You really couldn’t argue with their success or their control.
Every time Fred Zinnemann tried to open up a scene and use the camera, Hammerstein was there to pull
him back. For example Agnes de Mille choreographed The Farmer and the Cowman, exactly! the way
she had done it on the stage twelve years before.
When Fred argued that he wanted to utilise a large camera boom and play the number over the entire set,
which filled two sound stages at Metro, he was overruled. The only number he was allowed to expand was
Kansas City, which we staged on location at a railroad depot and on top of a train."
Jump Cut Vol 5 April 1980
4