Carousel (1956)

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:

At the time that this film was released, it was not successful at the box office, but the film's soundtrack album did become a national best seller.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Mockingbird calls are heard in a scene between Billy and Louise near the end. At the time the film is set (between the early 1870s and the late 1880s), the mockingbird range was entirely in the American South. There were no mockingbirds in Maine - not even in the year the film was made (by which time the mockingbird's range had extended to New York and New Jersey).

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 Deadly Mantis (#9.4)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Soliloquy

excellent Rodgers and Hammerstein musical

This is the musical which gave Gordon MacRae his greatest solo song, namely the 7 minutes long "Soliloquy", in which Billy the circus barker speculates about his unborn child, first with bluster and pride if it is a boy, and then with insecurity and despair if it is a girl he can't buy things for. Billy, as we have seen in the opening sequence of the film, is telling his story to one of the angels in heaven, where he has gone after a violent and premature death. So we see his tale unfold, as he meets pretty little Julie Jordan (Shirley Jones, excellent), marries her, and through fate and bad luck, gets separated from her.

The subject matter is darker than Oklahoma (the film version of which also starred MacRae and Jones) but the sheer exuberance of songs such as "June is Bustin' Out All Over"; "A Real Nice Clambake"; "When The Children Are Asleep" and "If I Loved You", plus of course the best-known song from the show, "You'll Never Walk Alone" takes the story to another level and makes this film enjoyable to watch. Robert Rounsville makes a fine bombastic Mr Snow and has a fabulous voice; MacRae and Jones have their memorable duet to the lovely melody of Rodgers' score. There is also an excellent dance sequence, not as extensive as on stage, but still effective, where the daughter of Billy and Julie imagines an escape from her lonely and ostracised life.