Carousel (1956)

Billy Bigelow has been dead for fifteen years, and now outside the pearly gates, he long waived his right to go back to Earth for a day. But he has heard that there is a problem with his ... See full summary »

Director:

Henry King

Writers:

Phoebe Ephron (screenplay), Henry Ephron (screenplay),

Stars:

Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Cameron Mitchell

3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited 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 (as William Le Massena)
John Dehner	...	Mr. Bascombe
Jacques d'Amboise	...	Louise's 'Starlight Carnival' Dancing Partner (as Jacques D'Amboise)

Storyline

Billy Bigelow has been dead for fifteen years, and now outside the pearly gates, he long waived his right to go back to Earth for a day. But he has heard that there is a problem with his family, namely his wife Julie Bigelow née Jordan and the child he never met, that problem with which he would now like to head back to Earth to assist in rectifying. Before he is allowed back to Earth, he has to get the OK from the gatekeeper, to who he tells his story... Immediately attracted to each other, he and Julie met when he worked as a carousel barker. Both stated to the other that they did not believe in love or marriage, but they did get married. Because the shrewish carousel owner, Mrs. Mullin, was attracted to Billy herself, and since she believed he was only of use as a barker if he was single to attract the young women to the carousel, she fired him. With no other job skills and unwilling to take just any job, Billy did not provide for Julie but rather lived off Julie's Aunt Nettie. But...

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Plot Keywords:

carousel | carnival | barker | death | fairground | 

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Taglines:

Curtain up...on a wonderful new world of entertainment!

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Genres:

Drama | Musical

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 February 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel

Filming Locations:

Boothbay Harbor, Maine, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (CinemaScope 55)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The musical "Carousel" was adapted from Ferenc Molnar's 1909 play "Liliom". Instead of the original Budapest setting of Molnar's play, Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (book and lyrics) transformed the story's location to a New England fishing village.

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Goofs

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.

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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'.

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Crazy Credits

A star hurtles downward and explodes in mid-air; out of this appears the credit "Twentieth-Century Fox presents Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'Carousel'". The other credits all appear in a straightforward fashion.

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Connections

Referenced in Heavenly Creatures (1994)

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Soundtracks

"When the Children Are Asleep"
(1945) (uncredited)
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Performed by Robert Rounseville and Barbara Ruick

User Reviews

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!