“Oh, lots of things happen to folks. Sickness or being poor and hungry, being old and afeared to die. That’s the way it is, cradle to grave, and you can stand it. There’s just one way: you gotta be hardy. You gotta be. You can’t deserve the sweet and tender in life unless’n you’re tough.”
From Oklahoma!, last act, spoken by the character Aunt Eller. I’d never watched the movie or seen the musical, but our local PBS station was running it Saturday night and I figured it might be worth 15 minutes or so. Of course I got drawn in. We’ve found that old “classic” movies tend to be a disappointment. (This is particularly true of any movie starring Katherine Hepburn. I agree wholeheartedly with the critic who said, “Miss Hepburn runs the gamut of emotions from A to B.”) I wasn’t expecting much but ended up thoroughly enjoying the show, with the notable exception of the dream ballet sequence, which is
supposed to be a highlight and which I found to be too long. There should be a rule: no dream sequences that last longer than 10 minutes, if that.
Aunt Eller is a spinster and the female lead’s aunt. While she labels herself as “scrawny and old,” she’s really nothing of the sort, quite capable of dressing elegantly, dancing enthusiastically, and firing off a gun if need be. Her words to Laurey quoted above come after the wedding between Laurey and Curly has been interrupted by Jud, the rival for Laurey’s hand and a very troubled and dangerous character. Curly has accidentally killed Jud in a fight, and now plans for the honeymoon look a little iffy. Laurey’s feeling sorry for herself: “I don’t see why this had to happen when everything was so fine.” Aunt Eller will have none of this nonsense; although she speaks kindly, she won’t let Laurey wallow in self-pity.
The character of Jud, by the way, is also an interesting one. He’s the farm’s hired hand, a lonely, bitter man who spends most of his time in the smokehouse and is therefore filthy. I was quite taken aback with the themes associated with him: pornography, obsession, and murder. If you think 1950’s musicals are all sweetness and light, think again. And society has no way to deal with him; the only solution is for him to die. Curly’s suggestion to him when the two men first meet is that Jud should hang himself; everyone will then be sorry: “Poor Jud is dead.” When Jud doesn’t take this sterling advice, the only option left is for him to be killed in some way. There is no redemption possible for him, apparently.
Well, perhaps that’s enough analysis for now. I hope Aunt Eller was on hand for future hard times to buck Laurey up!