Carmen Jones (1954)

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:

Although the original Broadway production had used a standard pit orchestra with Georges Bizet's orchestrations for the opera "Carmen" slightly altered by orchestrator Robert Russell Bennett, the film score was created by Herschel Burke Gilbert, the Music Director (a term he always insisted was the correct one, not "Musical Director), using a full symphony orchestra (ranging from about 90 to over 105 pieces), which enabled him to present the music with the sensibility of most of Bizet's original 1875 orchestrations as they were meant to be heard, although modified to fit the story line and transitions of the film. Because of Marilyn Horne's coming into the singing cast quite late in the production, and because of a number of unrelated delays, Gilbert had to leave the production shortly before it was completed, as he had a commitment for an original score of another film. Dimitri Tiomkin, a Fox Studio senior, as it were, stepped in to put together the last bits of recording and supervising the last music editing. Technically, especially given his seniority at Fox and his stature in the industry, he could have insisted his name be added to the credits. Graciously, he acknowledged Gilbert's responsibility for over 95% of the work and chose to not have himself officially credited. Given his much larger fame, his name in the credits would have overshadowed the younger, less known Gilbert's, and would have left the impression that Gilbert was more of an assistant, which was far from the case.

Goofs:

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

Quotes:

Frankie: We'll be livin' off the fatheads of the land.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

HE GOT HIS SELF ANOTHER WOMAN

Bizet gets drawllllllllllled!

Unusual but well-made retelling of the "Carmen" opera with an African-American cast. The exquisite Dorothy Dandridge is on the money in the title role - she may have been one of Hollywood's greatest (and most underused) beauties. She and Belafonte generate a lot of heat on the screen. A good supporting cast includes Pearl Bailey and a very young Diahann Carroll.

Black folks had to take what they could get in Hollywood at the time and to the credit of the cast and Preminger, they manage to rise above the stereotypes. Who cares if "Carmen" was originally a Spanish opera, what's the big deal?