The Loves of Carmen (1948)

A beautiful but amoral gypsy girl entices a young dragoon to betray his honor and get cashiered from the service, and for her sake he soon turns to a life of crime.

Director:

Charles Vidor

Writers:

Helen Deutsch (screenplay), Prosper Mérimée (based upon the story of "Carmen" by)

Stars:

Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, Ron Randell

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Rita Hayworth	...	Carmen
Glenn Ford	...	Don José Lizarabengoa
Ron Randell	...	Andrés
Victor Jory	...	García
Luther Adler	...	Dancaire
Arnold Moss	...	Colonel
Joseph Buloff	...	Remendado
Margaret Wycherly	...	Old Crone
Bernard Nedell	...	Pablo
John Baragrey	...	Lucas

Storyline

Following the plot of the opera, "Carmen," this story follows the wild gypsy's adventures as a siren and bandit. Carmen lures an innocent soldier to his ruin, getting him expelled from the army. He then turns to banditry, killing Carmen's husband and others. All this makes for an unhappy ending with the innocent repenting his sins and dying for them.

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Plot Keywords:

gypsy | dragoon | bandit | redheaded woman | black cat | 

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Taglines:

A story of beauty and savagery...love and hate...splendor and shame...

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Music | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 August 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Liebesnächte in Sevilla

Filming Locations:

Columbia Pictures - 1020 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Beckworth Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The American Film Catalog of Feature Films 1941-1950 identifies Don José as Don José Mizarabengoa, but several "Wanted" posters in the film itself all clearly identify him as Don José Lizarabengoa, as posted on IMDb.

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Goofs

Carmen and many other lower class women wear high heeled shoes, a type of footwear that in the Spain of the 1820s was worn only by upper and middle class women. A gypsy such as Carmen was more likely to wear abarcas and other types of slippers, or else go barefoot.

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Quotes

Don José Lizarabengoa: [noticing that Don Jose is looking at his stubbly face in a mirror with disgust] Yes, you've changed.
Don José Lizarabengoa: [with self loathing] We become what we do...
[with irony]
Don José Lizarabengoa: Don Jose!
[he throws away the mirror]

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Connections

Referenced in Stars of the Silver Screen: Rita Hayworth (2011)

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Soundtracks

The Love of a Gypsy (Amor di Gitano)
(uncredited)
Written by Morris Stoloff and Fred Karger
Performed by Rita Hayworth (dubbed by Anita Ellis

User Reviews

Rita makes tempestuous but artificial beauty as Carmen...

There are times when RITA HAYWORTH, with her flashing eyes, heady mane of tresses and way with castanets and Spanish dances, amply fills the role of Carmen in THE LOVES OF CARMEN. She captures the flirtatious moods and stormy temperament without any trouble at all, and yet somehow every ravishing close-up reminds us that she has just been all glammed up by the make-up artist, every brush on her lips and hair and brows just given the royal Hollywood glamor treatment. Her glamor is so distracting that it renders her Carmen unrealistic, even though she certainly has the temperament to go with the part.

GLENN FORD is somber, stalwart and rugged enough as Don Jose but it doesn't seem like ideal casting. He looks uncomfortable in much of the early footage and only comes to life when he has killed a man and must spend the rest of the film on flight as a bandit and desperado in the rugged mountains. His performance strengthens and his love/hate relationship with Carmen is, for the most part, quite believable.

But some pseudo-Spanish music in the background score with a hint of Bizet would have been a wise approach to scoring the film. And giving Rita more than a couple of fiery dances would have been a smarter idea. As it is, her dancing moments are when she most completely captures the spirit of Carmen.

It's entertaining, in a lumbering sort of way--not exactly the most well paced version of the story. Hayworth is gorgeous to look at with a peaches and cream complexion that fairly glows in Technicolor, but all of her close-ups remind us that she is The Love Goddess being given the high gloss glamor treatment by the studio that made her a star.

But, reservations aside, for fans of Hayworth and Ford, this is a must see.