Carmen Jones (1954)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Otto Preminger

Writers:

Oscar Hammerstein II (book)
Harry Kleiner (screenplay)

Release Date:

28 October 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Musical

Plot:

Contemporary version of the Bizet opera, with new lyrics and an African-American cast.

Plot Keywords:

Opera | Love | African American | Desire | Parachute

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Harry Belafonte	...	Joe
Dorothy Dandridge	...	Carmen Jones
Pearl Bailey	...	Frankie
Olga James	...	Cindy Lou
Joe Adams	...	Husky Miller
Brock Peters	...	Sergeant Brown (as Broc Peters)
Roy Glenn	...	Rum Daniels
Nick Stewart	...	Dink Franklin
Diahann Carroll	...	Myrt
LeVern Hutcherson	...	Joe (voice) (as Le Vern Hutcherson)
Marilyn Horne	...	Carmen Jones (voice) (as Marilynn Horne)
Marvin Hayes	...	Husky Miller (voice)

Also Known As:

Oscar Hammerstein's Carmen Jones (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

105 min | Argentina:108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Recording) (magnetic prints) | Mono (optical prints)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (re-rating) | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #17140) | Sweden:15 | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

California Highway 118 between Moorpark & Somis, California, USA

Company:

Carlyle Productions

Trivia:

The singing voices of Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge were dubbed by LeVern Hutcherson and Marilyn Horne respectively, even though Belafonte and Dandridge were both accomplished singers. However, neither had the training nor the range to sing operatic roles. Catherine Hilgenberg, a soloist with the Roger Wagner Chorale (morphed later into the Los Angeles Master Chorale), was originally signed to sing the Carmen role, and a number of the arias were already recorded (with piano, on a separate track), when director Otto Preminger's bullying behavior became too much for her and she quit. Horne ("Jackie") was a 19-year-old music student at nearby USC. She auditioned for the part and was immediately hired - for $300. But it was a terrific break for her, and she grabbed it, and did an outstanding job, re-recording what Hilgenberg had already sung, plus the balance of the music. It's also fun to note that Horne was a singer for Tops Records, a company that made sound-alike recordings of hit records with identical arrangements (in those days arrangements could not be copyrighted) and "stand-ins" who could mimic the artists who made the hit record. Jackie Horne, later to become a major 20th-century opera star, was funding her college expenses, in part, by recording Kay Starr's hits. Starr was famous for belting out her songs with a certain razzmatazz style, and Horne's rendition was a dead-ringer. The Tops Records offices, it should be noted, were within walking distance from the USC campus.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Reflected in a window as Carmen is walking through town.

Quotes:

Frankie: Somethin' tells me Chicago's gonna be real good for you.
Myrt: Somethin' tells me you gonna be real bad for Chicago.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Jeopardy!: (#22.97)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

WHIZZIN' AWAY ALONG DE TRACK

Dorothy Dandridge's best film

It's incredible that it took an Austrian director, Otto Preminger, the courage to bring this wonderful screen adaptation of the Bizet's immortal opera Carmen to the American public. As a musical, "Carmen Jones" had been seen, successfully, on Broadway, because of the many talented black performers that weren't allowed to be seen in Hollywood movies. Preminger had a knack for tackling issues that other, better known directors, stayed away from.

"Carmen Jones", as seen today, shows us a film that is somehow dated, but when it made its debut, it surprised a lot of people because it was a revolutionary work, something the American movie goers weren't used to seeing. The strength of the film lies in the performances Mr. Preminger got from his multi-talented cast.

The adaptation of the opera sets the film in the South. We are taken to a military base during the war. The local people work in the factory, attached to the base, making parachutes and other war related equipment. Carmen Jones, is the sultry young woman who sticks out from the rest of her co-workers, not only by her beauty, which was obvious, but by the way she can reduce men to servitude, which is what happens to Joe, the man who is being promoted until fate intervenes and Carmen renders him useless.

The gorgeous Dorothy Dandridge made a magnificent Carmen Jones. In fact, this was Ms. Dandridge's best screen work because she smolders the screen every time she is seen in the film. Harry Belafonte is Joe, the man whose passion for the lovely Carmen will consume him and will not let him see straight. Pearl Bailey is a delight in her take of Frankie. Olga James is seen as the sweet Cindy Lou, the girl in love with Joe. Joe Adams, Brock Peters and a young Diahann Carroll are also seen in minor roles.

Some comments to the IMDb forum express their displeasure at the way the voices are heard. This seems to have been the only thing that Preminger should have worked with his collaborators Oscar Hammerstein II and Harry Kleiner into having the opera melodies sung naturally, the way one would expect Ms. Dandridge, who could sing, and of course, Harry Belafonte, a wonderful singer, to deliver them in a way that would have pleased those audiences not accustomed to hearing classical opera.

Regardless of what we think today, this was one of the breakthroughs that proved to America they could enjoy black performers on their merits and talent. Otto Preminger must be praised for being a pioneer in this field and for daring to be a man ahead of his time.