Carrie (1952)

Director:

William Wyler

Writers:

Theodore Dreiser (novel)
Ruth Goetz ...
(more)

Release Date:

31 October 1952 (Finland)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Carrie boards the train to Chicago with big ambitions. She gets a job stitching shoes and her sister's...

Plot Keywords:

Train | Restaurant | Salesman | Love | Ambition

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Laurence Olivier	...	George Hurstwood
Jennifer Jones	...	Carrie Meeber
Miriam Hopkins	...	Julie Hurstwood
Eddie Albert	...	Charles Drouet
Basil Ruysdael	...	Mr. Fitzgerald
Ray Teal	...	Allen - Bondsman
Barry Kelley	...	Slawson
Sara Berner	...	Mrs. Oransky
William Reynolds	...	George Hurstwood, Jr. (as William Regnolds)
Mary Murphy	...	Jessica Hurstwood
Harry Hayden	...	O'Brien
Charles Halton	...	Factory Foreman
Walter Baldwin	...	Mr. Meeber - Carrie's Father
Dorothy Adams	...	Mrs. Meeber - Carrie's Mother
Jacqueline deWit	...	Carrie's Sister Minnie (as Jacqueline de Witt)
Harlan Briggs	...	Joe Brant
Melinda Plowman	...	Little Girl
Donald Kerr	...	Slawson's Bartender
Don Beddoe	...	Mr. Goodman
John Alvin	...	Stage Manager
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charles Smith	...	Job Seeker
Frank Wilcox	...	Maitre D' (scenes deleted)
Judith Adams	...	Bride (uncredited)
Eric Alden	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Ben Astar	...	Louis the Headwaiter (uncredited)
William Bailey	...	Man at Bar (uncredited)
Gail Bonney	...	Older Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Paul E. Burns	...	Coachman (uncredited)
Roy Butler	...	Train Conductor (uncredited)
Bruce Carruthers	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Douglas Carter	...	Businessman (uncredited)
Jack Chefe	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Cliff Clark	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Edward Clark	...	Tom - Ticket Agent (uncredited)
James Cornell	...	Brakeman (uncredited)
Oliver Cross	...	Host (uncredited)
Royal Dano	...	Captain (uncredited)
James Davies	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Dulcie Day	...	Bride's Mother (uncredited)
Jean De Briac	...	Wine Steward (uncredited)
Harry Denny	...	Elderly Man (uncredited)
Mike Donovan	...	Train Conductor (uncredited)
Martin Doric	...	Maitre D' (uncredited)
Jay Eaton	...	Bride's Father (uncredited)
Franklyn Farnum	...	Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
Al Ferguson	...	Patron at Slawson's (uncredited)
Margaret Field	...	Servant Girl (uncredited)
James Flavin	...	Mike - Bartender (uncredited)
Robert Foulk	...	Sven (uncredited)
Gerry Ganzer	...	Showgirl (uncredited)
Jack Gargan	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Slim Gaut	...	Vagrant (uncredited)
Harper Goff	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Kit Guard	...	Vagrant (uncredited)
Lois Hall	...	Lola (uncredited)
Sherry Hall	...	Theatre Cashier (uncredited)
Jim Hayward	...	Hirer (uncredited)
Len Hendry	...	Frank (uncredited)
Frank Pat Henry	...	Cabbie (uncredited)
Harry Hines	...	Old Floorman at Flophouse (uncredited)
Stuart Holmes	...	Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
Jerry James	...	Boy Friend (uncredited)
Richard Kipling	...	Farmer (uncredited)
Ethan Laidlaw	...	Waiter at Slawson's (uncredited)
Nolan Leary	...	Cabbie (uncredited)
Elmo Lincoln	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Ralph Littlefield	...	Vagrant (uncredited)
Jack Low	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
George Magrill	...	Customer at Slawson's (uncredited)
Mike Mahoney	...	Call Boy (uncredited)
Eddie Marr	...	Necktie Salesman (uncredited)
Thomas Martin	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Daria Massey	...	Carrie's Sister (uncredited)
Charles McAvoy	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Frank McClure	...	Restaurant Customer (uncredited)
Bill Meader	...	Stage Door Johnny (uncredited)
George Melford	...	Patron at Slawson's (uncredited)
Harold Miller	...	Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
Frank Mills	...	Beer-Drinking Stagehand (uncredited)
Howard M. Mitchell	...	Businessman (uncredited)
Ralph Moody	...	Vagrant (uncredited)
Frances Morris	...	Maid (uncredited)
Herman Nowlin	...	Hack Driver (uncredited)
G. Raymond Nye	...	Waiter (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Frank O'Connor	...	Hotel Waiter (uncredited)
Kenneth Patterson	...	Mr. Callan - Reporter (uncredited)
Jack Perry	...	Passerby on Sidewalk (uncredited)
Joe Ploski	...	Chef (uncredited)
'Snub' Pollard	...	Lunch Wagon Counterman (uncredited)
Allan Ray	...	Stage Door Johnny (uncredited)
Jack Roberts	...	Vagrant at Hofer's (uncredited)
Raymond Roe	...	Boy (uncredited)
Ralph Sanford	...	Older Waiter at Slawson's (uncredited)
Allen D. Sewall	...	Clerk (uncredited)
Lester Sharpe	...	Mr. Blum - Tailor (uncredited)
Bill Sheehan	...	Assistant Stage Manager (uncredited)
Anitra Sparrow	...	Factory Worker (uncredited)
Bert Stevens	...	Matire D' (uncredited)
Julius Tannen	...	John (uncredited)
Leon Tyler	...	John Connell (uncredited)
Jasper Weldon	...	Porter (uncredited)
Chalky Williams	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Irene Winston	...	Anna (uncredited)

Directed by
William Wyler

Writing credits
Theodore Dreiser		(novel "Sister Carrie")
Ruth Goetz		&
Augustus Goetz

Produced by
Lester Koenig	....	associate producer
William Wyler	....	producer

Original Music by
David Raksin

Cinematography by
Victor Milner

Film Editing by
Robert Swink

Art Direction by
Roland Anderson
Hal Pereira

Set Decoration by
Emile Kuri

Costume Design by
Edith Head

Makeup Department
Larry Germain	....	hair stylist: Miss Jones
Wally Westmore	....	makeup supervisor

Sound Department
Leon Becker	....	sound supervisor
John Cope	....	sound recordist
Hugo Grenzbach	....	sound recordist

Visual Effects by
Farciot Edouart	....	process photography

Music Department
Daniele Amfitheatrof	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Ruby Raksin	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Van Cleave	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
David O. Selznick	....	actor arrangement: Jennifer Jones

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1952) (USA) (theatrical)
• Paramount Home Video (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• APEA (1953) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Paramount (1953) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Paramount (1953) (France) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1970) (USA) (TV)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

118 min | Germany:117 min (DVD version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:16 (nf) | USA:Not Rated (extended version) | Australia:PG | Canada:G (Québec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:Btl | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) (2005)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Though based on Theodore Dreiser's novel "Sister Carrie," the movie was released simply as "Carrie" because the studio feared audiences would think "Sister Carrie" was the story of a nun.

Quotes:

George Hurstwood:I've gambled on your loving me. If you don't, Carrie, you must get off
[the train]
George Hurstwood:now.... But, if you do... If you do love me...

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Biography: Jennifer Jones: Portrait of a Lady" (2001)

The Hollywood studio system at its finest

At a time when many cineasts are beginning to respond to the beauties of Powell and Pressburger's "Gone to Earth", Wyler's "Carrie", that other most underrated masterpiece, continues to attract too little appreciative attention. It is not difficult to see why insofar that its depressing subject material is incompatible with audience expectations of its genre, Hollywood studio romanticism. It has a hero who slides into despair and degradation whilst the heroine succeeds in her chosen profession as an aspiring actress. Women who take their handkerchiefs to the cinema have always seemed indifferent to the film: indeed the only admirers I have personally found have been male, possibly identifying with the debonaire restaurateur, Hurstwood (magnificently played by Laurence Olivier), sowing the seeds of his downfall through human weakness which destroys everything except his innate dignity. Had the film been set in its own period (mid 20th century) and directed by, say, a De Sica or Kurosawa, we might still be talking about it. Instead it is set shortly after the beginning of the century, a transitional period when the romantic past was rapidly being overcome by the grainy realism of a new mechanised age. However, far from being weakened by the genre conventions of a highly romantic approach,the superbly crafted direction by William Wyler, photography perfectly composed by Victor Milner and a wonderfully lyrical score by David Raksin are elements that serve to enhance the material. They never sentimentalise it, somehow proving that when as here the Hollywood romantic cinema was given a really mature theme and text, it could, in the hands of some of its greatest craftsmen, be responsible for producing a work of the highest cinematic art.