Carmen (1915/I)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Cecil B. DeMille

Writers:

Prosper Mérimée (novel)
William C. de Mille (writer)

Release Date:

31 October 1915 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

In order to help her smuggler kinsmen, a sultry gypsy seduces and corrupts an officer of the Civil Guard turning him into a traitor and murderer.

Plot Keywords:

Gypsy | Bullring | Bullfighter | Seville | Toreador

Cast

Geraldine Farrar	...	Carmen
Wallace Reid	...	Don Jose
Pedro de Cordoba	...	Escamillo
Horace B. Carpenter	...	Pastia
William Elmer	...	Morales
Jeanie Macpherson	...	Gypsy girl
Anita King	...	Gypsy girl
Milton Brown	...	Garcia
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tex Driscoll

Runtime:

59 min | Canada:75 min (Ontario)

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario)

Company:

Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company

Quotes:

Carmen: I fear no man.

Movie Connections:

Version of Carmen (1913/II)

short but sweet

An hour to tell the tale of Carmen the gypsy tease may not seem much, but this is a nicely succinct version with some very appealing tinting - blue for the smugglers, reds and pinks for Carmen. Geraldine Farrar is a little too much on the overacting side at stages, but she makes a passionate and fiery little Carmen who scratches and bites her way through life. Wallace Reid is a charming Don Jose, driven mad with love to the tragic conclusion. The video version I saw has some Farrar arias tacked on with stills from the film, and the whole is extremely affecting. Joan the Woman is better but this is still a fascinating little piece.