Los amores de Carmen

A movie that far outdoes its meager reputation. It reunites Gilda's stars, Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth, in a Spanish adventure based on the original novel Carmen, on which Bizet's opera is based. The story is extremely melodramatic, of course, but it's endlessly entertaining. Glenn Ford is pretty good as a nobleman who throws everything away for the love of his gypsy woman, Carmen. And Hayworth is as scorching as ever, even though her hair is brown. For those who love classic Hollywood opulence, this is definitely your movie. The film is in truly glorious Technicolor, some of the most beautiful cinematography of its era. The costumes, art direction, and music (none of it based on Bizet) are exceptional. The Loves of Carmen deserves better than it has gotten. 9/10.

This movie tried to capitalize on the (deserved ) success of "Gilda" (same director,same actors).The screenplay is faithful to Prosper Merimée's novel (Preminger's "Carmen Jones" rather found its inspiration in the opera libretto) with a slight difference in the finale .Rita Hayworth is ideally cast as Carmen and her suggestive flamenco is the peak of a rather undistinguished work.Glenn Ford ,notably ,seems ill at ease in his uniform and anyway he is not "latin" enough to portray a Spanish officer successfully.Directing lacks madness and instead of using the beautiful Spanish landscapes,all seems to have been filmed in studio.

Fresh on the heels of the mega hit Gilda and Rita going blonde in Then Lady from Shanghai producer Roy Cohn got his director (Charles Vidor) and stars (Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford) back in the studio with this high brow opera story minus the music from Carmen. Denied of its lifeblood it is a colorfully dull re-working of the hit with Rita as alluring as ever and Glenn, hair dyed and curled looking uncomfortable and foolish as a Spanish soldier.

Vidor's drab direction fails to create much spark as his leads fail to re-capture the chemistry of Gilda. Victor Jory as the sadistic bandit Garcia and Margaret Wycherly as Old Crone are notable but minus the music it remains a colorful balloon with no air in it.

The Loves of Carmen (1948) may not be my favorite take on this classic story nor is it among the cinematic greats, but it is nevertheless a fun romantic melodrama with tons of personality. The color photography is beautiful. The atmosphere is perfect. Glenn Ford is great as the obsessed Don Jose, a man torn between his integrity and his passions. The character could have easily been played stiff, but Ford gives him tragic dignity (plus he looks great in those tight pants).

But it seems everyone, love or hate this movie, agrees that Rita Hayworth as Carmen is the best asset on display. She is charismatic and sexy, sympathetic and infuriating. She brings the movie to a higher level and contributes much to its success.

It may be Composer-Screenwriter-Author Helen Deutsh was too captivated by studying the work of "Carmen" librettists Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy.

Back in 1873 this leading team penned a text for Georges Bizet's opera, "Carmen" that would support an ultimately legendary work. But times have changed.

Without Bizet's intoxicating score, this tale (from an 1845 novella by Prosper Merimee) now plays like something freshly removed from mothballs: stiled dialogue, cardboard characters and benign dramaturgy make for quite tepid viewing.

True, it's a great role for Rita, but she must utter quite cliched lines, while posturing with "Carmen mannerisms" with no real heart or soul. Mr. Ford also looks most uncomfortable as the naive novice soldier, and behaves as though he's stuck with some stagnant contractual obligation at Columbia Pictures.

Only when Ms. Hayworth is given an opportunity to dance does she truly come to life. Here she can really show off her vitality and the fruits of her long-term choreographic labours.

So, we have here Bizet's opera without Bizet's music.

The production design and costuming are most colorful as everyone struggles valiantly to breathe life into the proceedings.

Deutsch probably should have glanced at the libretto and novella, then gone on to write an original script--which should was capable of doing, based on her record of a half dozen successful musical and dramatic screenplays she penned over the years.

The recently released DVD on Columbia Classics should bring pleasure to film buffs in general and fans of Hayworth (and Ford) in particular.