Carmen Jones

In the early 1950's while vixens such as Ava Gardner and Marilyn Monroe were smoldering on screen, one actress who possessed the same burning charisma and gorgeous features saw her career fizzle for the most part. Dorothy Dandridge was a beautiful woman, an accomplished singer, dancer, and actress, who dated some of the Hollywood's most eligible bachelors and was up for some of its biggest roles. Yet for the most part she toiled in obscurity, the public, both at the time and today, only getting fleeting glances at what a talent Dorothy Dandridge was. The reason, of course, is that Dorothy Dandridge was black. Despite having all of the necessary attributes to be a star, Dandridge was only able to truly shine in a few films, due to the hateful prejudices of the time, and studios being unwilling, for the most part, to do something bold. Otto Preminger is one of the few individuals who put his career on the line for Dorothy Dandridge, directing her in the two biggest films of her career, 1954's "Carmen Jones" and 1959's "Porgy and Bess". The enigmatic director not only had a love affair with the star, he played Svengali throughout her career, advising her on roles and protecting her from studio exploitation. When the duo commenced work on "Carmen Jones", it was to be a landmark production: a big budget musical from a major studio with an all black cast. Oscar Hammerstein II, the lyrical genius behind the Broadway smashes "Show Boat", "Oklahoma!" and "Carousel" adapted Georges Bizet's romantic opera "Carmen" for the 20th century, retaining Bizet's incomparable music and story, but added English lyrics to the songs, allowing it to the film to feel familiar, but at the same time creating something completely fresh and new. Joining Dorothy Dandrige in the titular role, was Harry Belafonte, a promising black actor who would go on to greater acclaim as her tormented lover Joe. Together these two stars would burn up the screen much as Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford did six years prior in "The Loves of Carmen", thanks to the confident direction of Preminger, whose love for his leading lady is evident, and the incredible job done by Hammerstein, whose work here is not nearly as celebrated as it should be. The real story though, is the leading lady. In "Carmen Jones", Dandridge delivers an absolute tour de force performance as one of history's most infamous teases.

As the film opens, Joe, a lovestruck young private, is eagerly awaiting the arrival of his hometown sweetheart Cindy Lou. While the two have lunch at the army base's cafeteria, Carmen Jones struts in. Something of a local legend, she works in the parachute factory adjoining the base and is lusted after by virtually every man in uniform. Every man except Joe. Carmen sings her first song here, (despite being an accomplished singer, Dorothy Dandridge did not do her own singing; neither did Harry Belafonte or Joe Adams, who plays the cocky boxer Husky Miller) a provocative number in which she paints herself as every bit the harlot she is known to be, and reminds every man in the room that they cannot resist her. The entire room is transfixed with the exception of Joe, who calmly eats his food, his eyes never straying from Cindy Lou's gaze and his coffee cup. Shortly after her number Carmen gets into a fight with another woman in the cafeteria, and is sent to the MP jail some miles away from the base. Sergeant Brown (played by a young Brock Peters) orders Joe to accompany Carmen, deliberately foiling Joe's plans with Cindy Lou, since he had begun his furlough that morning. Swearing he will return as soon as he can, Joe and Carmen are no more than a few moments from the base before Carmen turns on her charms and wiles. Initially Joe rebuffs her, keeping his focus on his assignment and returning to Cindy Lou. But after their car gets straded in a creek, Joe is forced to escort Carmen home, a "short cut" she claims will aid their endeavor. Of course Carmen has no intentions on going to jail, and she pours on the charm, quickly ensnaring Joe as she has many men before him. After Carmen cooks Joe dinner and sleeps with him, the two agree to meet at a local bar where they plan on running away together.

Later that night Carmen convinces Joe to give up his life in the army and run away with him. At this moment you begin to think maybe Carmen really does love Joe. She rebuffs the advances of Husky Miller, a big boxing star and heavyweight champion, who rolls into town with his entourage, immediately setting his sights on Carmen. Two members of his "management" convince two of Carmen's friends to join them in Chicago, where Husky is going for his next bout. Joe meanwhile kills Sergeant Brown, who threatens to throw Joe in jail for his role in helping Carmen escape, and tries to force himself upon her. Now a murderer, and in desperate need of money, the two confused lovers reluctantly latch on with Husky's entourage, seeking to disappear in Chicago. After a few weeks of laying low, however, Joe and Carmen grow increasingly at odds with one another. Joe cannot leave their small apartment for fear of being caught by the police, and Carmen, as is her nature, quickly grows bored with one man in her life, in this case an increasingly paranoid and jealous Joe. Carmen decides to leave Joe and join up with Husky as his girl, which enrages Joe. He follows Carmen to Husky's hotel and challenges the heavyweight to a fight, which Husky easily wins, knocking Joe senseless with one punch. It is only the interceding of Carmen that keeps Husky from killing Joe and Cindy Lou, who has followed Joe to Chicago, begging him on behalf of her and his mother, to return home. Joe brushes off Cindy Lou's warmth, completely infatuated with Carmen at this point and follows the group to the stadium where Husky's fight is. Amidst the patrolling police, Joe grabs Carmen and strangles her to death, before being overwhelmed by the police, their tempestuous love affair finally over. This film would prove to be a highpoint in Dorothy Dandridge's career, earning her a Best Actress nomination, extremely rare at the time for an African American. A few years later Dandridge would appear in another Preminger opera, George Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess", but after that she would fall into obscurity, and in 1965, at the age of 43, she succumbed to her crippling depression, killing herself with an overdose of prescription drugs. A sad, tragic end for a true talent who never glowed as brightly as she could have.