Also Sunday, The Loft Cinema is offering a fully remastered widescreen presentation of “Oklahoma!” The $15 admission includes a bonus featurette before the film, featuring Tony and Emmy Award-winner (and Oklahoma native) Kristin Chenoweth (“Wicked”) performing three of her favorite songs from the show, interspersed with backstory about the history of the film and musical.
From the Star archives
• The opening scene to "Oklahoma" was filmed in the cornfields of Agua Linda Farm, which is in Amado about 35 miles south of Tucson.
• Empire Ranch, 10 miles north of Sonoita and now part of Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, was a location for dozens of movies. The original "3:10 to Yuma," "Duel in the Sun," and "Oklahoma" were all filmed on or near the ranch.
• Neighborhood activist and political strategist Wanda Shattuck worked as a stand-in for actress Shirley Jones in the movie "Oklahoma," filmed on a ranch in Southern Arizona's San Rafael Valley in the 1950s. Shattuck died in 2012 at age 78.
• Landscaper Lou Gerlach spent a year creating a square-mile portable cornfield in Tubac. The crew moved the field, as well as two dozen peach trees, to wherever they were needed, and had to individually dig up the corn stalks, plant them in square wooden boxes and feed the corn ammonium nitrate and water. The $6 million film spent $65,000 per day locally.
• Future Tucson Mayor Lew Murphy popped up onscreen as an extra for four seconds.
• Locomotive No. 1673 was put into operation by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1900 and logged 1 million miles hauling freight in Southern Arizona.
In 1954, toward the end of its working life, it was used in the movie "Oklahoma!," which was filmed in Southern Arizona.
It steamed into town for the last time in 1955 and much of its retirement on display at Himmel Park before being spiffed up and moved to the Southern Arizona Transportation Museum at the restored, historic depot at 414 N. Toole Ave. downtown.
If you go
The Loft Cinema hosts "Oklahoma!" 60th anniversary screening
• What: A fully remastered widescreen presentation of the 1955 Oscar-winning musical extravaganza on the "only screen big enough to capture all the fun, music and romance of Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s timeless classic!"
• When: Noon Sunday, Nov. 1.
• Where: Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway.
• Cost: $15.
Free community concert
• What: Pima County’s Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation is hosting a free community concert marking the 60th anniversary of the film, which includes key scenes shot at the ranch. The Green Valley Concert Band will play a number of selections from the musical.
• When: 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1. Doors open at 5 p.m.
• Where: Raúl M. Grijalva Canoa Ranch Conservation Park, 5375 S. Interstate 19 Frontage Road, Green Valley.
Free guided tours of Historic Canoa Ranch
• When: 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 31; 10 a.m. and noon Tuesday, Nov. 3. Reservations required at 724-5520 or at canoaranch@pima.gov
"Oklahoma" screenings
• What: Pima County’s Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation teams with Desert Sky Cinemas to offer movie screenings.
• When: 2 and 7 p.m., Sunday and Tuesday, Nov. 3.
• Where: Desert Sky Cinemas, 70 W. Duval Mine Road, Sahuarita.
• Cost: Regular admission cost.
Proclamation
• What: District 4 Supervisor Ray Carroll will present a proclamation at the Pima County Board of Supervisors meeting in honor of "'Oklahoma!' in Arizona Days.”
• When: 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10.
• Where: Board of Supervisors meeting, 130 W. Congress St.