Carmen Jones (1954)
- Starring:
- Dorothy Dandridge, Harry Belafonte, (more)
- Director(s):
- Otto Preminger
- Category:
- Music & Performing Arts
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In 1943, Oscar Hammerstein Jr. took Georges Bizet's opera Carmen, rewrote the lyrics, changed the characters from 19th century Spaniards to World War II-era African-Americans, switched the locale to a Southern military base, and the result was Carmen Jones. Dorothy Dandridge stars as Carmen Jones, tempestuous employee of a parachute factory. Harry Belafonte plays Joe (originally José), a young military officer engaged to marry virginal Cindy Lou (Olga James). When Carmen gets into a fight with another girl, she is placed under arrest and put in Joe's charge. Succumbing to her attractiveness, Joe accompanies Carmen to her old neighborhood, where, after killing a sergeant sent to retrieve him, he deserts the army. Carmen tries to be faithful, but fortune-telling Frankie (Pearl Bailey) warns her that she and her soldier are doomed. Enter Joe Adams in the role of boxer Husky Miller (a play on Carmen's bullfighter Escamillo), who sweeps Carmen off her feet, ultimately with tragic consequences. Alhough both Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte were singers, their opera voices were dubbed in by LeVern Hutcherson and Marilyn Horne. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 105 mins
Complete Cast:
- Dorothy Dandridge - Carmen Jones
- Olga James - Cindy Lou
- Diahann Carroll - Myrt
- Joe Adams - Husky Miller
- Sandy Lewis - T-Bone
- DeForest Covan - Trainer
- Roy E. Glenn, Sr. - Rum Daniels
- Harry Belafonte - Joe
- Pearl Bailey - Frankie
- Nick Stewart [Nicodemus] - Dink Franks
- Brock Peters - Sgt. Brown
- Mauri Lynn - Sally
- Le Vern Hutcherson - Joe [singing]
- Marilyn Horne - Carmen [singing]
- Director(s):
- Otto Preminger
- Writer(s):
- Harry Kleiner
- Producer(s):
- Otto Preminger
- Categories:
- Music & Performing Arts
- Closed Captioning:
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- Subtitles:
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- 1955 - Carmen Jones - Berlin International Film Festival - Bronze Bear
- 1954 - Carmen Jones - Golden Globe - Best Picture - Musical or Comedy
- 1954 - Carmen Jones - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Picture - Musical or Comedy
- 1991 - Carmen Jones - Library of Congress - U.S. National Film Registry
