Carmen Jones
1954, Musical, 1h 45m
23 Reviews 5,000+ RatingsYou might also like
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Movie Info
Screen version of the musical "Carmen Jones," which adapted Bizet's opera Carmen for an African-American cast. A soldier falls for Dandridge, a seductive factory worker. The lovers flee after the soldier kills his sergeant, but Carmen's taunting faithlessness drives her lover to a crime of passion.
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Genre: Musical
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Original Language: English
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Director: Otto Preminger
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Producer: Otto Preminger
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Writer: Oscar Hammerstein II, Harry Kleiner
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Release Date (Theaters): wide
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Runtime:
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Distributor: 20th Century Fox
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Audience Reviews for Carmen Jones
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In this adaptation of the opera, Dorothy Dandridge is a firecracker, and Harry Belafonte is not bad himself. He plays a straight-laced GI who is engaged to a sweet young woman (Olga James), but finds himself seduced by Dandridge when he's charged with taking her in to authorities for fighting on the base. There are some scenes with over-the-top symbolism, such as Dandridge between his legs cleaning his uniform while he munches a peach, and it's pretty steamy stuff for 1954. Gradually we see Belafonte degrade himself, as Dandridge tires of him and moves out to another (a boxer played by Joe Adams). It's hard to feel good about Dandridge's character, but then again it's hard not to be mesmerized by her, and it's great to see a strong woman portrayed. In one scene she's baring her beautiful legs, and in another she's telling Belafonte that she "don't account to no man", and that love "don't give you no right to own me - there's only one that does, and that's me, myself." Hallelujah. It's a strong cast as well, including Pearl Bailey, and I considered a slightly higher rating, but knocked it down because of the voiceovers, which made several of the musical numbers a little less enjoyable for me. While true to the opera and maybe necessary because the music is challenging in places, it often sounded unnatural, which is a shame given Dandridge and Belafonte's singing ability. Still - a very good, entertaining movie.
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Otto Preminger directed this all african-american cast in a "modernized" version of Georges Bizet's "Carmen", with lyrics written by Oscar Hammerstein II. Carmen Jones (Dorothy Dandridge) works in the parachute factory and seduces Joe the pilot (Harry Belafonte) away from his sweet little girlfriend. Joe's life soon takes a downward spiral as Carmen brings him nothing but bad luck. As he enters his lowest point, Carmen is spirited away by a big time boxer named Husky Miller. He gives her all the things money can buy and she soon gives Joe the brush off (something he doesn't take lightly). The storyline is well adapted from the classical opera, and the performances are all great, but I had difficulty following the Hammerstein lyrics, and those lyrics that I could follow didn't impress me. I'm sure there was some novelty to having an all african american cast, but fortunately, the film survives the era from which it came relatively unscathed. That is to say, there are no real racially cringe-worthy moments. It's enjoyable as Carmen, and reminds me a little of 1959's "Black Orpheus", in that there's a joyous lust for life (the latter film just edges it out however).
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Two seminal musicals of the fifties were Porgy and Bess and Carmen Jones. Both had black casts which was subversive for the time period, and both were operas. The main actress is the sultry Dorothy Dandridge, who would go on to become the first black woman to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for this film. She co-stars with Harry Belafonte, who was most famous at the time for bringing Calypso music to prominence in the United States. Though both were singers, and famous for their presence on screen and off, they were both dubbed. One reason for this was the fact that the music was operatic and the two singers who dubbed were opera singers, one of which was the soon to be famous Marilyn Horne. Most of the cast was apparently dubbed for this large scale musical, the lyrics for which were written by Oscar Hammerstein the 2nd. The original music was actually from George Bizet's Carmen, a French opera about a gypsy who seduces a soldier and then double crosses him. The film pretty much follows the main plot of the opera, except that the time period has been changed to World War Two, and they made it an all black cast. Many historians have prompted that the choice to make the entire cast black and excluding any white participants "feels like a relic from the gruesome social straitjacket that was segregation." (Andrew Pulver) I do agree with this, especially when the story transfers to large cities and there's no diversification in the shots which just feels strange. I did like that like George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess this gives African American performers, without an outlet, to be given their just dues in an industry that was very white at the time. The music can be obnoxious at times, because it's from the original Carmen opera yet the lyrics' subjects are about dancing, fighting, and cards which at times feel conflicting. The cast is brilliant, including the swishy hipped Dorothy Dandridge as Carmen Jones herself. The best performance was Harry Belafonte, who at first seems so likable and prideful, but unravels under Carmen's gaze and eventually cracks. This film has since been added to the National Film Registry and has made a sure impression on popular culture. Really an enjoyable gem of a film.
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Impressive updating of Bizet's Carmen benefits hugely from wonderfully expressive performances by the whole cast with Dorothy Dandridge being the standout. Preminger keeps the film moving and colorful avoiding his occasional tendency toward ponderousness. Pearlie Mae is fun as Frankie and lightens the heavy aspects of the film whenever she's on screen.
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