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Carmen Jones

  • 1954
  • Approved
  • 1h 45m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
5.7K
YOUR RATING
Dorothy Dandridge in Carmen Jones (1954)
Home Video Trailer from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Play trailer2:46
3 Videos
43 Photos
DramaMusicalRomance

Contemporary version of the Bizet opera, with new lyrics and an African-American cast.Contemporary version of the Bizet opera, with new lyrics and an African-American cast.Contemporary version of the Bizet opera, with new lyrics and an African-American cast.

  • Director
    • Otto Preminger
  • Writers
    • Oscar Hammerstein II
    • Harry Kleiner
    • Prosper Mérimée
  • Stars
    • Harry Belafonte
    • Dorothy Dandridge
    • Pearl Bailey
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.8/10
    5.7K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Otto Preminger
    • Writers
      • Oscar Hammerstein II
      • Harry Kleiner
      • Prosper Mérimée
    • Stars
      • Harry Belafonte
      • Dorothy Dandridge
      • Pearl Bailey
    • 70User reviews
    • 44Critic reviews
    • 65Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 2 Oscars
      • 5 wins & 8 nominations total

    Videos3

    Carmen Jones
    Trailer 2:46
    Watch Carmen Jones
    Black Fashion in Film History
    Clip 1:50
    Watch Black Fashion in Film History
    Hollywood's Shared History with Broadway
    Clip 6:12
    Watch Hollywood's Shared History with Broadway

    Photos43

    Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge in Carmen Jones (1954)
    Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge in Carmen Jones (1954)
    Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge in Carmen Jones (1954)
    Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge in Carmen Jones (1954)
    Dorothy Dandridge in Carmen Jones (1954)
    "Carmen Jones" Pearl Bailey 1954 20th Century Fox
    Carmen Jones (1954)
    Carmen Jones (1954)
    Carmen Jones (1954)
    Carmen Jones (1954)
    Carmen Jones (1954)
    Dorothy Dandridge in Carmen Jones (1954)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Harry Belafonte
    Harry Belafonte
    • Joe
    Dorothy Dandridge
    Dorothy Dandridge
    • Carmen Jones
    Pearl Bailey
    Pearl Bailey
    • Frankie
    Olga James
    • Cindy Lou
    Joe Adams
    • Husky Miller
    Brock Peters
    Brock Peters
    • Sergeant Brown
    • (as Broc Peters)
    Roy Glenn
    Roy Glenn
    • Rum Daniels
    Nick Stewart
    • Dink Franklin
    Diahann Carroll
    Diahann Carroll
    • Myrt
    LeVern Hutcherson
    • Joe
    • (voice)
    • (as Le Vern Hutcherson)
    Marilyn Horne
    Marilyn Horne
    • Carmen Jones
    • (voice)
    • (as Marilynn Horne)
    Marvin Hayes
    • Husky Miller
    • (voice)
    Alvin Ailey
    Alvin Ailey
    • Dance Soloist
    • (uncredited)
    DeForest Covan
    DeForest Covan
    • Trainer
    • (uncredited)
    Joseph E. Crawford
    • Dink Franklin
    • (singing voice)
    • (uncredited)
    Carmen De Lavallade
    Carmen De Lavallade
    • Dance Soloist
    • (uncredited)
    Bernie Hamilton
    Bernie Hamilton
    • Reporter
    • (uncredited)
    Margaret Lancaster
    • Singing Voice
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Otto Preminger
    • Writers
      • Oscar Hammerstein II
      • Harry Kleiner
      • Prosper Mérimée(uncredited)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • 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
      The story takes place circa 1944, but all of the women's fashions and hairstyles are strictly 1954; when Carmen and Frankie are talking outside the Chicago Pawn Shop, 1950s-era automobiles passing by can clearly be seen reflected in the showcase window.
    • Quotes

      Carmen Jones: I always did want to see the big town.

      Frankie: You got your wish, honey. Somethin' tells me Chicago's gonna be real good for you.

      Myrt: Somethin' tells me you gonna be real *bad* for Chicago.

    • Crazy credits
      The opening credits and end title are set around a flaming rose.
    • Connections
      Featured in Small Steps, Big Strides: The Black Experience in Hollywood (1998)
    • Soundtracks
      Send Them Along
      (uncredited)

      Music by Georges Bizet

      Lyrics Oscar Hammerstein II

      Sung by chorus

    User reviews70

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    Dorothy Dandridge's best film
    It's incredible that it took an Austrian director, Otto Preminger, the courage to bring this wonderful screen adaptation of the Bizet's immortal opera Carmen to the American public. As a musical, "Carmen Jones" had been seen, successfully, on Broadway, because of the many talented black performers that weren't allowed to be seen in Hollywood movies. Preminger had a knack for tackling issues that other, better known directors, stayed away from.

    "Carmen Jones", as seen today, shows us a film that is somehow dated, but when it made its debut, it surprised a lot of people because it was a revolutionary work, something the American movie goers weren't used to seeing. The strength of the film lies in the performances Mr. Preminger got from his multi-talented cast.

    The adaptation of the opera sets the film in the South. We are taken to a military base during the war. The local people work in the factory, attached to the base, making parachutes and other war related equipment. Carmen Jones, is the sultry young woman who sticks out from the rest of her co-workers, not only by her beauty, which was obvious, but by the way she can reduce men to servitude, which is what happens to Joe, the man who is being promoted until fate intervenes and Carmen renders him useless.

    The gorgeous Dorothy Dandridge made a magnificent Carmen Jones. In fact, this was Ms. Dandridge's best screen work because she smolders the screen every time she is seen in the film. Harry Belafonte is Joe, the man whose passion for the lovely Carmen will consume him and will not let him see straight. Pearl Bailey is a delight in her take of Frankie. Olga James is seen as the sweet Cindy Lou, the girl in love with Joe. Joe Adams, Brock Peters and a young Diahann Carroll are also seen in minor roles.

    Some comments to the IMDb forum express their displeasure at the way the voices are heard. This seems to have been the only thing that Preminger should have worked with his collaborators Oscar Hammerstein II and Harry Kleiner into having the opera melodies sung naturally, the way one would expect Ms. Dandridge, who could sing, and of course, Harry Belafonte, a wonderful singer, to deliver them in a way that would have pleased those audiences not accustomed to hearing classical opera.

    Regardless of what we think today, this was one of the breakthroughs that proved to America they could enjoy black performers on their merits and talent. Otto Preminger must be praised for being a pioneer in this field and for daring to be a man ahead of his time.
    helpful•36
    9
    • jotix100
    • Jan 4, 2006

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 28, 1954 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Oscar Hammerstein's Carmen Jones
    • Filming locations
      • Southern Pacific railroad crossing at 8746 E Los Angeles Avenue, aka California Highway 118, Moorpark, California, USA(scene where Carmen attempts escape from the Jeep)
    • Production company
      • Otto Preminger Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $750,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 45 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.55 : 1

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