Carmen Jones (1954)

Director:

Otto Preminger

Writers:

Oscar Hammerstein II (book)
Harry Kleiner (screenplay)
(more)

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)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alvin Ailey	...	Dance Soloist (uncredited)
DeForest Covan	...	Trainer (uncredited)
Joseph E. Crawford	...	Dink Franklin (singing voice) (uncredited)
Carmen De Lavallade	...	Dance Soloist (uncredited)
Bernie Hamilton	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Margaret Lancaster	...	Singing Voice (uncredited)
Mauri Lynn	...	Sally (uncredited)
Sam McDaniel	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Bernice Peterson	...	Myrt (singing voice) (uncredited)
Max Roach	...	Max (uncredited)
Carmencita Romero	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Archie Savage	...	Dance Soloist (uncredited)
Madame Sul-Te-Wan	...	Hagar - Carmen's Grandmother (uncredited)
Rubin Wilson	...	Kid Pancho (uncredited)

Directed by
Otto Preminger

Writing credits
Oscar Hammerstein II		(book) (as Oscar Hammerstein 2nd)
Harry Kleiner		(screenplay)
Prosper Mérimée		novel (uncredited)

Produced by
Otto Preminger	....	producer

Cinematography by
Sam Leavitt

Film Editing by
Louis R. Loeffler

Art Direction by
Edward L. Ilou
John DeCuir		(co-art director) (uncredited)

Set Decoration by
Claude E. Carpenter

Costume Design by
Mary Ann Nyberg

Production Management
Herman E. Webber	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David Silver	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Roger Heman Sr.	....	sound (as Roger Heman)
Arthur von Kirbach	....	sound (as Arthur L. Kirbach)

Camera and Electrical Department
Albert Myers	....	camera operator
Robert Willoughby	....	special still photographer (uncredited)

Casting Department
Lina Abarbanell	....	casting consultant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sam Benson	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Music Department
Leon Birnbaum	....	music editor
Georges Bizet	....	composer: opera "Carmen"
George Brand	....	music editor
Ted Dale	....	associate musical director
Herschel Burke Gilbert	....	musical director
Billy Rose	....	producer: Broadway musical play "Carmen Jones"
Murray Spivack	....	music recordist
Vinton Vernon	....	music recordist
Jester Hairston	....	choral director (uncredited)
Jester Hairston	....	vocal coach (uncredited)
Dimitri Tiomkin	....	co-musical director (uncredited)

Other crew
Saul Bass	....	title designer
John Indrisano	....	fight stager
Otto Preminger	....	presenter
Max Slater	....	production assistant (as Maximilian Slater)
Herbert Ross	....	choreographer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Carlyle Productions

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1954) (USA) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century Fox Film Company (1954) (UK) (theatrical)
• Fox Video (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Fox Video (1994) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)
• Fox Video (1995) (UK) (VHS) (pan/scan)
• BFI Video (2003) (UK) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (DVD)
• British Film Institute (BFI) (2006) (UK) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)

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:

This film contains just 169 shots in 103 minutes of action. This equates to an average shot length of about 36 seconds, which is very high, given the 8 - 10 seconds standard of most Hollywood films made during the 1950s.

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 Ray (2004/I)

Soundtrack:

FINAL DUET

Dandridge and Bizet!

Some greatness here. Dandridge's performance is riveting, and Pearl Bailey is a wonderful addition. Bizet's music is as appealing as always. The singers are excellent. The dancers at Billy Pastor's are another high point.

Too many slips for me to rate it a 10. It's lip-synced -- like every other movie musical, and (despite what one other reviewer said), one of the best lip-sync jobs I've seen. Only My Fair Lady does better (of those I've seen). Dandridge, Belafonte, and Bailey are particularly good; Olga James much less so. But I always find lip-syncing painfully obvious and distracting and will probably never have a chance to top-rate a movie musical as a result. It's also quite distracting when Joe breaks into song, because LeVern Hutcherson's voice is so different from Harry Belafonte's. It's a real shame that experienced singers like Dandridge and Belafonte weren't allowed to sing. Marilyn Horne, wow -- but I like the voice to match the face.

The acting is uneven. Some is excellent, led by Dandridge, and others do well too. But some of the acting is stiff.

Then there's the re-setting. Oh, moving the place is fine. It's funny that a couple of reviewers have referred to "how the Spaniards do it" and "Spanish opera". Hey, Carmen is set in Seville and Bizet attempted to use some Spanish musical idioms, but Carmen is a French opera through and through. Bizet was French, Prosper Merimee was French, the libretto is in French. But Carmen Jones only uses the top arias from Carmen, and ends up adding a lot of dialog to fill in the time. The story is true to the original, but Bizet told more in music and Hammerstein tells more in words. Oscar should have trusted Georges more.

I notice that Alvin Ailey is uncredited as a dancer. I found a couple of photos of him on the web -- it's hard, because his dance company has been so much more famous than the man, but I found a couple. I *think* I figured out which one he is -- some slo-mo work there -- but most of the dancers' faces don't come into focus for long enough to know for sure. It would be mostly a curiosity to know, since the movie doesn't show enough of the dance to see any personal style.