Bizet's tragic and passionate opera is updated and still maintains the opera's passion, thanks to the wonderful music and a sexy Dorothy Dandridge

Memorable Melodrama With A Standout Performance By Dorothy Dandridge

A powerful display of Dandrige's appeal...

scene where Carmen attempts escape from the Jeep

Southern Pacific railroad crossing at 8746 E Los Angeles Avenue, aka California Highway 118, Moorpark, California, USA

Sidney Poitier, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dorothy Dandridge in Porgy and Bess (1959)

Toshirô Mifune in Mifune: The Last Samurai (2015)

Frank Sinatra, Kim Novak, and Eleanor Parker in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)

Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge in Bright Road (1953)

Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, and Joan Crawford in Daisy Kenyon (1947)

Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse in The Band Wagon (1953)

Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons in Angel Face (1952)

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

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

Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge in Carmen Jones (1954)

"Carmen Jones" Pearl Bailey 1954 20th Century Fox

Olga James at an event for Carmen Jones (1954)

Harry Belafonte

Dorothy Dandridge

Pearl Bailey

Oscar Hammerstein II

Harry Kleiner

Prosper Mérimée

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

Otto Preminger

Carmen Jones

Dorothy Dandridge&apos;s best film

It&apos;s incredible that it took an Austrian director, Otto Preminger, the courage to bring this wonderful screen adaptation of the Bizet&apos;s immortal opera Carmen to the American public. As a musical, &quot;Carmen Jones&quot; had been seen, successfully, on Broadway, because of the many talented black performers that weren&apos;t allowed to be seen in Hollywood movies. Preminger had a knack for tackling issues that other, better known directors, stayed away from.

&quot;Carmen Jones&quot;, 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&apos;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&apos;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.

Home Video Trailer from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTA1YjBmY2EtNDNmNi00ZmNmLThlMTEtZmZkOTE0NzZjYmEyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNzU1NzE3NTg@._V1_.jpg

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.

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