Carmen Jones (1954)

Directed by Otto Preminger (Laura (1944)) with a screenplay by Harry Kleiner that was based on Oscar Hammerstein II’s book this Musical drama is famous for the fact that Dorothy Dandridge (in the title role) went on to become the first African American woman to earn an Academy Award Best Actress nomination for her performance; the film’s Score was also nominated. It was added to the National Film Registry in 1992.

The story is about how Carmen ruins the life of a soldier named Joe (Harry Belafonte) who had just been selected as the only officer candidate for flight school out of his entire unit. His jealous Sergeant Brown (Brock Peters in his screen debut) also contributes to Joe’s misfortune. Joe had been engaged to Cindy Lou (Olga James) who just arrived to see him at his remote base. Lonely Sgt. Brown decides that Corporal Joe is just the man to take sexy Carmen to prison some 50 miles away so that he could snuggle up to Cindy Lou. Carmen had gotten into a cat fight and ruined some parachutes at the facility where she worked. During the trip the initially reluctant Joe eventually falls for Carmen’s charms and body which gets him thrown in the brig. When he gets the chance to redeem himself and still become an officer Sgt. Brown is there again. The two men fight which causes Joe to flee to Chicago with Carmen who had caught the eye of boxing champ Husky Miller (Joe Adams). Carmen’s friends played by Pearl Bailey and Diahann Carroll (in her screen debut) had tried convincing her to take the party train to Chicago as guests of Husky and his manager(s) played by Nick Stewart and Roy Glenn. So now Joe is AWOL (absent without leave) after having struck a superior officer hiding out in Chicago with Carmen whose money is dwindling while she’s being tempted by her friends to become Husky’s girl.

LeVern Hutcherson dubs Joe’s singing voice Marvin Hayes dubs Husky Miller’s singing voice and Marilyn Horne dubbed Carmen Jones’s singing voice. Alvin Ailey appears uncredited as a dance soloist.

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