Carousel (1956)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Henry King

Writers:

Phoebe Ephron (screenplay)
Henry Ephron (screenplay)

Release Date:

16 February 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Musical | Romance

Tagline:

20th-Century Fox proudly presents [Rodgers and Hammerstein's CAROUSEL]

Plot:

Billy Bigelow asks for permission to be sent down "from above" for one day to try and make amends for mistakes he made in life...

Plot Keywords:

Carousel | Barker | Carnival | Impatience | Afterlife

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Gordon MacRae	...	Billy Bigelow
Shirley Jones	...	Julie Jordan
Cameron Mitchell	...	Jigger Craigin
Barbara Ruick	...	Carrie Pipperidge
Claramae Turner	...	Cousin Nettie
Robert Rounseville	...	Mr. Enoch Snow
Gene Lockhart	...	Starkeeper / Dr. Selden
Audrey Christie	...	Mrs. Mullin
Susan Luckey	...	Louise Bigelow
William LeMassena	...	Heavenly Friend
John Dehner	...	Mr. Bascombe
Jacques d'Amboise	...	Louise's 'Starlight Carnival' Dancing Partner

Also Known As:

Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

128 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) | 6-Track Stereo (premiere only) | 4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) | USA:Approved (PCA #17724) | Australia:G (original rating) | Australia:PG (cable rating) | Canada:G | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:15 | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Augusta, Maine, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Shirley Jones has said that of all of her musicals, "Carousel" is her favorite Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II score.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: At one point in the film the sun is shown to set over the ocean, although the film is set in Maine and the sun sets in the west, not the east.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Heavenly Friend: Bigelow...
Billy Bigelow: [impatiently] Well, what'd I do now?
Heavenly Friend: Nothing. I just thought you'd wanna know - there's trouble.
Billy Bigelow: Huh! Thought you said I didn't do nothin'.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Beatniks (#5.15)" (1992)

Soundtrack:

Soliloquy

The very finest of Rodgers and Hammerstein!

The film of this classic musical is a joy to watch and listen to.

The music is undoubtedly the finest Rodgers and Hammerstein

score.

Of the many fine moments in the film two astounding highlights

must be Billy's Soliloquy and the Shirley Jones' and Gordon

MacRae's lover's duet "If I loved you".

To this is added two great ballet sequences "June is Bustin' out all

Over" and Louise's ballet.

The film is Rogers and Hammerstein at their most dark and

introspective, which may account for the film's relatively lacklustre

reception at the time of its initial release but the at the same time

explains the ongoing appeal of this truly timeless classic film.

It is a fine memorial to both composer and lyricist and to the

artistry of Gordon MacRae whose performance of the soliloquy is

the benchmark against which all performances are judged.

The film was produced in Cinemascope 55 a large film fomat

which overcame many of the problems that were inherent in early

Cinemascope films (even though the film was actually released

only in standard 35mm form ..a bit like a 35mm print of a 70mm

film this still results in a far better image) and gives the film its

immaculate look.

The Fox DVD is crisp and the sound, though very clearly a 1950s

recording is clean and well balanced.

I just wish I could see this film in a cinema on the biggest of

screens... it would be an even more special experience!