Porgy and Bess (1959)

Director:

Otto Preminger
(more)

Writers:

DuBose Heyward (libretto)
DuBose Heyward (play)
(more)

Release Date:

24 June 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

Introducing a new era in motion pictures!

Plot:

In this legendary Gershwin opera set among the black residents of a fishing village in 1912 South Carolina...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | South Carolina | Drugs | Fishing Village | Disability

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Sidney Poitier	...	Porgy
Dorothy Dandridge	...	Bess
Sammy Davis Jr.	...	Sportin' Life
Pearl Bailey	...	Maria
Brock Peters	...	Crown
Leslie Scott	...	Jake
Diahann Carroll	...	Clara
Ruth Attaway	...	Serena Robbins
Claude Akins	...	Detective
Clarence Muse	...	Peter
Everdinne Wilson	...	Annie
Joel Fluellen	...	Robbins
Earl Jackson	...	Mingo
Moses LaMarr	...	Nelson
Margaret Hairston	...	Lily
Ivan Dixon	...	Jim
Antoine Durousseau	...	Scipio
Helen Thigpen	...	Strawberry woman
Vince Townsend	...	Elderly man
Bill Walker	...	Undertaker (as William Walker)
Roy Glenn	...	Frazier
Maurice Manson	...	Coroner
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Adele Addison	...	Bess (singing voice) (uncredited)
Maya Angelou	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Geoffrey Holder	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Inez Matthews	...	Serena (singing voice) (uncredited)
Robert McFerrin	...	Porgy (singing voice) (uncredited)
Nichelle Nichols	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Loulie Jean Norman	...	Clara (singing voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Otto Preminger
Rouben Mamoulian		(uncredited, fired, footage unused except for song "Good Morning, Sistuh", replaced by Otto Preminger)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Dorothy Heyward		play "Porgy"
DuBose Heyward		libretto
DuBose Heyward		play "Porgy"
N. Richard Nash		screenplay

Produced by
Samuel Goldwyn	....	producer

Cinematography by
Leon Shamroy

Film Editing by
Daniel Mandell

Production Design by
Oliver Smith

Art Direction by
Serge Krizman
Joseph C. Wright

Set Decoration by
Howard Bristol

Costume Design by
Irene Sharaff

Makeup Department
Layne Britton	....	makeup artist
Frank McCoy	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Paul Helmick	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Fred Lau	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Al St. Hilaire	....	still photographer
Bert Chaliacombe	....	electrical assistant (uncredited)
Gjon Mili	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Joe King	....	costumer (uncredited)

Music Department
Alexander Courage	....	orchestrator
Ken Darby	....	music associate
Robert Franklyn	....	orchestrator
André Previn	....	conductor
André Previn	....	music supervisor
Conrad Salinger	....	orchestrator
Albert Woodbury	....	orchestrator (as Al Woodbury)
André Previn	....	music adaptor (uncredited)

Other crew
Hermes Pan	....	choreographer

Production Companies

• Samuel Goldwyn Company, The

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1959) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia International Films (1960) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1967) (USA) (TV)

Other Companies

• Theatre Guild  producer: original stage production

Also Known As:

Runtime:

138 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Stereo

Certification:

West Germany:12 | Netherlands:14 (original rating) (1960) | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Samuel Goldwyn Studios - 7200 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, California, USA

Company:

Samuel Goldwyn Company, The

Trivia:

Two days before filming was slated to begin, a fire broke out and destroyed most of the costumes, props and sketches.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mary Tyler Moore: Bess, You Is My Daughter Now (#1.3)" (1970)

Soundtrack:

Here Come de Honey Man

A lost treasure

I have always been a fan of this largely unseen filming of the Gershwin opera, since I last saw it in 1959. As many of you know, it has been unavailable on video or DVD; in fact, the Gershwin family sought to destroy all existing prints.

Yet, for some reason--hopefully signaling an end to its opposition, the Gershwin family recently approved the showing of a collector's print at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens. .

Well, the wide-screen, Technicolor print was excellent! (Not perfect, but excellent.) The sound was outstanding, in road-show quality stereo. The folks who saw this in its original release wouldn't have seen a much better copy. (The program notes include the original Variety review, which cautions that people might balk at the steep limited-release ticket price of $3.50!)

And, as much as I loved it originally, PORGY AND BESS was better than I remembered it. It's just wonderful. Sidney Poitier as Porgy was at the point where his career was just beginning to catch fire, and his charisma shines through. Dorothy Dandridge as Bess is spectacularly beautiful. Brock Peters as Crown is aggressively masculine. Pearl Bailey as Maria provides a few comic moments, although her role is small. And Sammy Davis, Jr., as Sporting Life, steals every scene he's in; he's especially riveting in his two big numbers: "It Ain't Necessarily So" and "There's a Boat that's Leavin' Soon for New York." (That last one won applause in the screening I saw.)

PORGY AND BESS is set-bound, but it really doesn't matter when the set is as gorgeous as this one. The costumes are also outstanding.

Sidney and Dorothy's singing voices are dubbed in, but they are dubbed in extremely well. The exquisite "Summertime" is sung by Clara, played by a young Diahann Carroll; her singing also is dubbed. (Actually, only Pearl and Sammy do their own vocalizing.)

The music is sublime, of course, but what really struck me this time was how much emotion Preminger got out of the story. People were actually sniffling in the audience a number of times--once when Bess sings that beautiful "I Loves You Porgy." And I got a kick out of the audience actually laughing out loud at the lines in "It Ain't Necessarily So." Could it be they had never heard this song before-- or never really listened to it? I believe that much of the emotional impact of this film is due to Poiter and Dandridge's performances--you root for their love to win out.

A minor quibble with the 136 minute running time--one or two slow spot, and a stereotypical, Amos-n-Andy kind of scene about Bess seeing a shyster lawyer to get a divorce from Crown, even though she's not even married to him. (I would have cut that.) And the beginning is a little confusing--both title characters are introduced awkwardly--they're part of the movie before you realize who they are.

And I don't think Preminger used a single close-up in the entire movie. It all seems to be shot in 3/4, which I'm guessing was his way of working with the wide screen.

PORGY AND BESS has always been a cult film for those of us who saw it, for those of us who loved the soundtrack, and for some of us who have only heard about it. Let's hope they find a way to re-release this, and put it out on DVD. It deserves the widest audience possible.