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THE KING AND I – Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Alfred Newman
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
In 1950 composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II adapted the play “Anna and The King of Siam” (1944) by Margaret London into a Broadway Musical titled “The King And I”. It had a very successful run of 1,246 performances and in 1951 they secured backing from Darryl F. Zanuck of 20th Century Fox Studios to do a film adaptation. Charles Brackett was assigned production with a $4.55 million budget, Ernest Lehman was hired to write the screenplay, Jerome Robbins was tasked with creating the choreography, and Walter Lang given the reins to direct. Casting was problematic as Rodgers rejected Maureen O’Hara who had a trained soprano voice, which led to Deborah Kerr landing the role of Anna Leonowens, although her singing voice required dubbing by Marni Nixon. Joining her would be Yul Brynner as King Mongkut of Siam, Rita Moreno as Tuptim, Terry Sanders as Lady Thiang, Martin Benson as Kralahome, and Rex Thompson as Louis Lenowens. Read more…
CAROUSEL – Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Alfred Newman
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
In 1945 composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II adapted the 1909 play “Liliom” by Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnár into a Broadway Musical titled “Carousel”. It had a very successful run and in 1955 they secured backing from 20th Century Fox Studios to do a film adaptation. Studio executive Darryl F. Zanuck and Henry Ephron would manage production with a $3.3 million budget. Ephron would also write the screenplay, and Henry King was given the reins to direct. A fine cast was brought in, including Gordon MacRae (replacing Frank Sinatra) as Billy Bigelow, Shirley Jones as Julie Jordan, Cameron Mitchell as Jigger Craigin, Barbara Ruick as Carrie Pepperidge, and Gene Lockhart as the Starkeeper. Ruick, of course, would go on to become John Williams’s first wife when they married later in 1956. Read more…
OKLAHOMA! – Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Adolph Deutsch, Robert Russell Bennett, and Jay Blackton
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
In 1943 Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II’s “Oklahoma!” opened on Broadway and ran for an unprecedented 2,212 performances. Studios began a bidding war to acquire the film rights in hope of capitalizing on the play’s phenomenal success. Eventually Magna Theatre Corporation prevailed, purchasing the rights for an astounding $1 million. It would take eleven years to get the project off the ground as the company insisted on using a new widescreen filming process called “Todd-AO”. Arthur Hornblow Jr. was assigned production with a $6.8 million budget, Sonya Levien and William Ludwig were hired to write the screenplay, Agnes de Mille would stage the choreography, and Fred Zinneman would direct his first, and only musical of his career. A fine cast was assembled, which included Gordon MacRae as Curly McLain, Shirley Jones as Laurey Williams, Gloria Grahame as Ado Annie Carnes, Charlotte Greenwood as Aunt Eller, Rod Steiger as Jud Fry, Gene Nelson as Will Parker, and Eddie Albert as Ali Hakim. Read more…
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