Gli amori di 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.

Ah, too bad they don't make like these anymore! Beautiful, much-missed (by me!) old Technicolor helps to create both romantic, pristine 19th century Spain which never was and romantic, enchanting beauty of Carmen. She is gorgeous, entertaining and artificial with red hair (shouldn't it be dark?), red flowers and black mantilla. There is also sometimes delicious 1940's dialogue (by Helen Deutsch who also wrote great 1955 Cinderella movie Glass slipper). Carmen is a gypsy version of Scarlett O'Hara, rotten apple with no compassion to anyone - and she really likes to spit! - although it is easy to sympathize her desire not to give her heart to any of the supposedly innocent but actually brain-between-legs admirers around her. They offer shallow, "pure" love while being sex-obsessed, abusive boors: general hits his servant, Carmen's charms make every man to follow her like dog in heat, Carmen tells that wife-beating is rampant in village... Don't get me me wrong, Carmen needed good tongue-lashing, but good and evil are really blurring in this extremely well-made (thanks to virtues of old studio system!) melodrama.

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.

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.

...And at the zenith of her 'love goddess' period. This films is a literal (and completely non-musical) version of the Carmen story. When Rita dances in the film (and she does dance!)-- she is always hidden from the camera/audience--as a way of saying: love goddess at work--no frills necessary. Even so, she makes Carmen truly naughty--so much so that you wonder that she lives as long as she does. Carmen is a woman with more than the necessary number of tragic flaws. Rita makes her beautiful and vibrant--but tragic nevertheless.