Carousel

While not as historically popular as "The Sound of Music" or as revered among the theateratti as "Oklahoma!" or "The King and I", "Carousel" is still a wonderful musical, filled with timeless music and incredible production values. Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein, the preeminent hit makers of the 1940's on Broadway saw three of their stage smashes transferred to the big screen via 20th Century Fox in the same of two years, from 1955-1956. After a rousing success with "Oklahoma!" in 1955, Fox immediately commissioned versions of "The King and I" and "Carousel" for the following year. And while "The King and I" reaped most of the glory (critically and commercially), "Carousel", which retained the lovely starring couple of "Oklahoma!", Gordon MacRae as the brutish Billy Bigelow and Shirley Jones as the innocent Julie Jordan, and when viewed with the benefit of hindsight, is a wonderful film translation of a classic stage production. In the 1950's Fox spared no expense on its musicals, and the productions of these three films show that committment, especially "The King and I" and "Carousel". With much of the shooting done on location in Maine, coupled with dazzling forest sets (compare these to the ones Jack Cummings unfortunately had to use in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" and you can see just how impressive these sets were) and a solid cast directed by Fox veteran Henry King, "Carousel" has all of the earmarks of an A list film from the studio. And anyone who listens to that music and is not at least partially swayed has something in their ears, particuarly the melody, "Carousel Waltz", quite simply one of the most beautiful pieces of American music ever written. Word recently appeared that Hugh Jackman is going to produce and star in a remake of this film, so what better time to revisit it?

As the film begins, Billy Bigelow is in heaven (which looks more like the set of a 1950's game show!) telling his tragic story to an angel. The events flash back to the coastal Maine town where the towns folk derive their pleasure from a local carnival; the prize attraction of which is the carousel. Billy is the macho barker for the Carousel, and equally attracts and wards off women with his swagger and machismo. The antithesis of his character is Julie Jordan, an innocent beauty who has been told to stay away from men like Billy Bigelow her whole life, but is drawn to him nonetheless. When Billy loses his job at the carousel he steps up his pursuit of Julie and soon the two are married, but Billy quickly chafes at married life. As with "Oklahoma!", Rogers and Hammerstein are uncredited for taking the musical genre to places it had not explored much before, and "Carousel" is no exception, with its depiction of a troubled marriage thanks to the fairly unsympathetic romantic male lead a revolutionary concept considering what your typical MGM musical romance consisted of. Billy's pride begins to get the better of him when the couple, Julie also pregnant, has to move in with Julie's friend, and he vows that if he cannot be a good husband, he must be a good father. Portrayed in a dramatic seven minute number titled simply "Soliloquy", Billy expresses all of his pent up emotion, and we begin to see the desperate nature that ultimately dooms him.

Teaming up with his equally shady friend, Jigger Craigin, the two plan to rob a wealthy merchant, however the robbery is foiled when the man pulls a gun and Billy inadvertently falls on his knife, dying an untimely death. Moved by his story and unfulfilled committment to his unborn child, the Starkeeper (Billy's story telling companion in heaven) allows Billy one day on Earth to help his daughter, now a troubled teenager. Louise Bigelow has suffered an unfortunate upbringing, being raised fatherless, but also haunted by her father's bad reputation. She chides under her mother's caring rule and longs to be understood. Little does she know that it is her father who happens upon her one day, and even though he slaps her, cowardly turning invisible after doing so, but more out of shame, Louise forgives him, and somehow accepts her father. Staying invisible, Billy visits Julie at Louise's high school graduation and sings to her (a reprise of their anthem "If I Loved You"), and watches his daughter one last time, before returning to heaven, finally redeemed for his past transgressions. While the ending of the story is ultimately uplifting (and tear-jerking, thanks to the song "You'll Never Walk Alone"), the path Billy takes to ultimately get there is not one audiences were used to in 1956, and the film disappointed. Perhaps original star Frank Sinatra would have helped the box office, or second choice Gene Kelly? While I cannot rule out Sinatra's legendary voice, or Kelly's natural ability in the musical genre, Gordon MacRae was the natural choice after his success with "Oklahoma!" and his chemistry with Shirley Jones is perfect. "Carousel" is perhaps one musical that, thanks to Hugh Jackman, may deservedly be getting its second chance at glory.