Brown, who also has appeared on the scene, and Joe severely beats him. Dorothy Dandridge and Pearl Bailey in Carmen Jones (1954) Dorothy Dandridge and Pearl Bailey in Carmen Jones (1954) Horne later recalled, "Even though I was at that time a very light lyric soprano, I did everything I possibly could to imitate the voice of Dorothy Dandridge. "[21], Following three weeks of rehearsal, filming in CinemaScope began on June 30. Opera singer Marilyn Horne steps in for Dorothy Dandridge in the title role, while LeVern Hutcherson sings Joe instead of Harry Belafonte. Husky intervenes and he is threatened by a concealed knife Joe has brought with him. [7] Following the completion of his previous film, River of No Return, Preminger had paid 20th Century Fox $150,000 to cancel the remainder of his contract,[8][9] so he was surprised when Fox head Darryl F. Zanuck contacted him and offered to finance the film while allowing him to operate as a fully independent filmmaker. [10], On April 14, 1954, six weeks before principal photography was scheduled to begin, Preminger was contacted by Joseph Breen, who was in the final months of his leadership of the office of the Motion Picture Production Code. While en route, Joe wishes to deliver his prisoner as soon as possible to return to Cindy Lou and his leave. The tempos are alien to their spirits, the melodies are foreign to their moods, but they have at those classical numbers as though they were cutting rugs. Realizing he will be sentenced to a long prison term for hitting his superior, Joe flees to Chicago with Carmen. Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte: Carmen Jones Lobby Card Do you happen to have a favorite movie (literally, one of your all-time favorites) that hardly anyone you talk to has ever seen? Whew. A crime-busting lawyer and his initially reluctant attorney father take on the forces that run gambling and prostitution in their small Southern town. (She did not sing in Carmen Jones, however; the singing was dubbed by mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne.) When Carmen continues to rebuff him and says he needs to kill her or let her go, Joe strangles her to death. We are taken to a military base during the war. the essay -- "Carmen Jones: The Dark Is Light Enough," James Baldwin. Harry Belafonte is Joe, the man whose passion for the lovely Carmen will consume him and will not let him see straight. Eartha Kitt was offered the role of Carmen, but the studio wanted her singing voice to be dubbed, so that her character would have an operatic voice. Fox released a second DVD and a high-definition Blu-ray, both derived from a new 4K restoration, on December 3, 2013.[36]. This FAQ is empty. Betsy Schwarm See All Contributors Betsy Schwarm is a music historian based in Colorado. Set during World War II, the story focuses on Carmen Jones, a "shameless vixen" who works in a parachute factory in North Carolina. Harry Belafonte, a folk singer who recently had introduced Calypso music to a mainstream audience, had only one film to his credit, but he had just won the Tony Award and Theatre World Award for his performance in John Murray Anderson's Almanac, and Preminger cast him as Joe. View production, box office, & company info. Diahann Carroll, at 15 years of age.. Carroll at 19 years of age in Carmen Jones, a Black version of Bizet's opera Carmen in 1953. He gets fine performances from the cast toppers, notably Dorothy Dandridge, a sultry Carmen whose performance maintains the right hedonistic note throughout. A junkie must face his true self to kick his drug addiction. The relationship between an aspiring dancer and a popular songstress provides a retrospective of the great African American entertainers of the early 1900s. An angry Joe arrives having evaded capture and intent on getting Carmen back. Joe escapes the Military Police and attends Husky's big fight. [16] Her agent's office was in the same building where Preminger's brother Ingo worked, and he asked Ingo to intercede on his client's behalf. Music by Georges Bizet; Book by Oscar Hammerstein II; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II; Based on "Carmen" by Prosper Merimee; Adapted from Prosper Merimee's "Carmen… The incongruity is pointed when these people break into song to the wholly surprising and unnatural aria airs from Bizet's opera. It's also found on his compilations and reissues, such as "The Absolute Best," in 1993. 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. Otto Preminger must be praised for being a pioneer in this field and for daring to be a man ahead of his time. Angered, Carmen decides to leave with Sgt. She Was Determined To Get The Role of Carmen Jones In the Biography episode, it was mentioned that Otto Preminger didn’t even want to take an audition with Dandridge. Finally, every black actress[citation needed] from Eartha Kitt to Joyce Bryant was tested for the role of Carmen. Carmen suggests she and Joe stop for a meal and a little romance, and his refusal intensifies her determination to seduce him. "[11] Preminger agreed to make some minor adjustments to the script and even filmed two versions of scenes Breen found objectionable, although he included the more controversial ones in the final film. Offended that he is accusing her of cheating, the two argue and she leaves to Husky's hotel suite dressed in her new clothes to spend time with her friends. Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. Viewers are set to watch the emotional moment on tonight’… 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. At an all-black army camp, civilian parachute maker and "hot bundle" Carmen Jones is desired by many of the men. When she returns not only with a bag of groceries but a new dress and shoes, Joe questions how she paid for them. This song went to number one on the Christian music charts. "[32]--link needs renewal, James Baldwin, in his 1955 published essays Notes of a Native Son, devotes his critical attention to the movie with the essay "Carmen Jones: The Dark Is Light Enough".[33]. Naturally, she wants Joe, who's engaged to sweet Cindy Lou and about to go into pilot training for the Korean War. When he saw it, Otto Preminger dismissed it as a series of "skits loosely based on the opera" with a score "simplified and changed so that the performers who had no operatic training could sing it." Note: After the intro of the "Gypsy Song", there is a drum solo played by a drummer named Max and as the crowd hears it, they yell, "Go, Max!" Carmen Jones was a CinemaScope and DeLuxe Color motion picture that had begun shooting within the first 12 months of Twentieth Century Fox's venture in 1953 to the widescreen format as its main production mode. Since he can't leave the room at all lest he be arrested, Joe questions her.