2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Carmen: "Boy, if the army was made up of nothin' but soldiers like you, war wouldn't do nobody no good.", September 18, 2010
This review is from: Carmen Jones (DVD)
The most curious thing about Otto Preminger's CARMEN JONES (1954) is that all singing voices (except for Pearl Bailey's) are dubbed, even though Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge (specifically) were both capable vocalists.
In this modernized version of Georges Bizet's most famous work, his opera "Carmen," Belafonte is Joe, a soldier in an all-black camp, Dandridge portrays sultry Carmen, a parachute factory worker who actively pursues Joe while he's under orders to deliver her to the authorities for starting a fight at work.
At first Joe spurns Carmen's advances, remaining faithful to his fiancée (Olga James as Cindy Lou) but during a stopover at her grandma's home she turns up the heat, he weakens and gives in. Carmen escapes during the night, leaving Joe a "Sorry I'm runnin' but I really love you" note. Back at camp he's sent to the stockade for letting Carmen get away. Cindy Lou visits Joe just as a package from Carmen arrives. In it she sees a rose; Cindy Lou leaves without a word.
Carmen's in another state, dreaming of the day Joe is released and Joe keeps her rose, obsessing over her, too. Those familiar with the original opera know this story's outcome and newcomers will want to find out for themselves how things end up.
Bizet's many oh-so-familiar tunes have been spiffed up with new lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Highlights include Pearlie Mae's exciting "Beat Out Dat Rhythm on a Drum" and Marilyn Horne (as Carmen's voice) rendering a scornfully seductive "Dat's Love":
You go for me and I'm taboo
But if you're hard to get, I'll go for you
And if I do, then you are through
Best may be Marvin Hayes (vocally standing in for Joe Adams) as heavyweight boxer Husky Miller. His determined take on the Toreador Song is called "Stan' Up and Fight."
(chorus:)
Stan' up and fight until you hear the bell
Stan' toe to toe, trade blow for blow
Keep punchin' 'til you hear that final bell
Show them folks what you know!
Until you hear that bell, the final bell
Stan' up and fight like hell!
Carmen Jones is a rare work of art, a successful adaptation of classic opera and as such is most highly recommended.
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