Carmen Jones (B or 3/4 stars)
In the early 1940s, Oscar Hammerstein Jr. took Georges Bizet's amazing opera Carmen, rewrote the lyrics, changed the characters from 19th century Spaniards to WWII-era African-Americans, & the mostly-entertaining, somewhat uneven result was 'Carmen Jones' (directed by Otto Preminger). Dorothy Dandridge stars as Carmen, a flirty, tempestuous employee of a parachute factory. Harry Belafonte plays Joe, a young military officer engaged to the virtuous & virginal Cindy Lou (impressive Olga James). When Carmen gets into a brawl with another girl in the factory, she is arrested & put in Joe's charge. Lucky him.
Succumbing to her feminine wiles & looks, Joe accompanies Carmen to her old neighborhood, where, after killing a sergeant sent for him, he deserts the army altogether. Carmen tries to be faithful to Joe, but fortune-telling Frankie (Pearl Bailey) warns her that she & Joe ... are doomed. This is when boxer Husky Miller (Joe Adams, playing the bullfighter role from the opera) enters the fray & sweeps Carmen Jones off of her feet. Tragic consequences abound.
Interesting movie - this 'Carmen Jones'. I can't say I loved it. I can't say I disliked it, either … somewhere in the middle (hence my B/3 star rating). Heading into the film, I was intrigued by the concept & fascinated to see the opera set to different lyrics in a different era & with African-American actors doing their thing ... in a 1950s Hollywood film, no less! But I have to say that the results are not as revolutionary or unique as anticipated. The color cinematography is decent. The sets/costumes are colorful. I definitely enjoyed the lyric change-up to the familiar operatic melodies. The sound mix is solid. Funny enough, although Dandridge & Belafonte were stellar singers, their voices were actually dubbed by Marilyn Horne & LeVern Hutcherson. That just seems a bit puzzling. But I digress.
Then we get to the performances. This film is noted for Dorothy Dandridge having been the 1st African-American actress to be nominated for Best Actress (Hattie McDaniel was the 1st Supporting Actress). Dandridge is everything a Lead Actress should embody - looks, charisma, nuance, intensity, complexity. Her nomination was well-deserved. Harry Belafonte is extremely likeable as Joe; exactly what he needs to be. One other performance to mention is that of Pearl Bailey's. Loved her - simple as that. So yeah, decent film, overall. It's suitably tragic in the end. I just wish I was more wowed; and I kinda expected to be.
Succumbing to her feminine wiles & looks, Joe accompanies Carmen to her old neighborhood, where, after killing a sergeant sent for him, he deserts the army altogether. Carmen tries to be faithful to Joe, but fortune-telling Frankie (Pearl Bailey) warns her that she & Joe ... are doomed. This is when boxer Husky Miller (Joe Adams, playing the bullfighter role from the opera) enters the fray & sweeps Carmen Jones off of her feet. Tragic consequences abound.
Interesting movie - this 'Carmen Jones'. I can't say I loved it. I can't say I disliked it, either … somewhere in the middle (hence my B/3 star rating). Heading into the film, I was intrigued by the concept & fascinated to see the opera set to different lyrics in a different era & with African-American actors doing their thing ... in a 1950s Hollywood film, no less! But I have to say that the results are not as revolutionary or unique as anticipated. The color cinematography is decent. The sets/costumes are colorful. I definitely enjoyed the lyric change-up to the familiar operatic melodies. The sound mix is solid. Funny enough, although Dandridge & Belafonte were stellar singers, their voices were actually dubbed by Marilyn Horne & LeVern Hutcherson. That just seems a bit puzzling. But I digress.
Then we get to the performances. This film is noted for Dorothy Dandridge having been the 1st African-American actress to be nominated for Best Actress (Hattie McDaniel was the 1st Supporting Actress). Dandridge is everything a Lead Actress should embody - looks, charisma, nuance, intensity, complexity. Her nomination was well-deserved. Harry Belafonte is extremely likeable as Joe; exactly what he needs to be. One other performance to mention is that of Pearl Bailey's. Loved her - simple as that. So yeah, decent film, overall. It's suitably tragic in the end. I just wish I was more wowed; and I kinda expected to be.