Carousel

Shirley Jones is very believable as Julie Jordan, the lovely and ever patient mill worker who falls for a carousel barker, Billy Bigelow. With such heart felt ballads as "If I Loved You" and "You'll Never Walk Alone" it definitely ranks as one of the essential Hollywood musicals. Carousel is just about the only musical made during this period that deals with darker themes (i.e. date rape, domestic abuse). One could say that it even argues in favor of birth control. Carousel will never look dated because its themes are timeless and apply to the human spirit no matter what year it is. Everybody can identify with Billy to a degree and everybody can not help but feel a deep respect for Julie by the end of her personal journey. Fans of musical drama will treasure Carousel for years to come.

I can't remember how old I was when I first saw this on TV, but it was a long time ago (we had a B&W TV!)...but even though I saw it in B&W, it had an impact that has lasted. This musical has the most gorgeous score by the great Richard Rodgers. Also believe this music got me hooked onto opera later in my youth and that opened an entirely other world of music to me.

But back to Carousel, the story is beautiful and moving, sad and romantic. The stuff of great musicals. And the music is wonderfully scored by the Fox maestro of the time, Alfred Newman and the superb Fox orchestra!! I think that if Fox had made this film earlier (like in the 40's, the orchestrations might have been sparser. In 1956, with bigger production spending (to get audiences away from their TVs and back into theatres), the musicals are also beefed up orchestrally (with improved stereo recording techniques) to make the most of the score. (The soundtrack is also an enjoyable one to experience on its own.)

I loved the scenery of the Maine coast...I have even travelled to Maine and made a special stop in Boothbay Harbor--much changed since 1956 I am sure, but it felt wonderful to visit there. I only wish that the town would make more of an effort to promote the fact that Carousel's location filmwork was done there.

The cinematography is splendid and lush. I love the way the camera is used in the Carousel Waltz sequence, with the music dominating any dialogue. Modern directors wouldn't dare try that today!

I can live with the juxtapositional mixes of location photography vs. the in-studio filming. Not all the dancing could be done on a real beach. And I was very pleased that the entire Soliloquy scene was shot outdoors, very beautiful camera-work following Mr. MacRae's movements. And he sings that song like it was written for him. I agree with most other reviewers here, that Mr. Sinatra was not right for this part.

Shirley Jones is just gorgeous to look at and so believable in this role. Too bad, she only really has two songs, one being the duet with MacRae. Claramae Turner's rendition of the classic You'll Never Walk Alone always brings tears to me, even now after all these years.

Even at the end, I am teary-eyed. That tells me this movie is timeless.

I hope anyone who has never seen it, and reads the reviews here, that you will be able to find as much joy and love from this great music and story that we all have.

The dark, brooding Rodgers & Hammerstein stage musical gets the big-budget screen treatment in this 1956 release, and the results are only moderately successful. The actors have great voices -- and certainly the score to "Carousel" is the lushest and densest R&H produced -- but they're simply not good enough actors to explore the depths of the musical's book. Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones were fine as perky country folk in "Oklahoma!" from a year earlier, but MacRae is not a dangerous enough presence to pull off the rough character of Billy Bigelow.

Still, as mentioned, the score sounds wonderful and remains mostly intact for the film. And Agnes DeMille provides some characteristically stunning screen choreography, especially in the trademark R&H ballet sequence.

Grade: B

"Carousel" is the musical version of the old film "Liliom"--a story that was filmed many times since 1919. While I've not seen either silent version, I have seen the Frank Borzage version (1930) and the French language version by Fritz Lang (1934). I wasn't impressed by either of these films--mostly because the leading character was pretty despicable. He's a very selfish character who horribly mistreats his poor wife--and I wonder how they can make this a romance with such a horrible guy, as it severely undermines the story. So, "Carousel" begins with a major handicap, as hating the leading character makes it hard to fall in love with the film.

The film begins in New England. A very impressionable young lady (Shirley Jones) sees a handsome rogue (Gordon MacRae) at the carnival and the two inexplicably fall in love and decide to marry. I say inexplicably because he is a real womanizer and NOT the type to ever settle down. As for the marriage, it is a disaster--mostly because he is a ne'er-do'-well who is afraid to work or commit himself to his lovely wife. At times, such as when he learns he's about to become a father, he commits to changing but invariably he ends up returning to his old ways. Now I was a bit uncomfortable about this, as he apparently slapped his bride around--but they made LOTS of excuses for it, such as saying 'he's under a lot of pressure' or 'I only hit her once'! So much for a film that will empower the women in the audience! I just couldn't get past the fact he was a jerk who died while trying to rob someone!

This story is apparently all part of some flashback. You see, MacRae's character is dead and he's telling this to the head honcho up in Heaven because he wants permission to return for one and only one brief period. Now considering most of the flashback consists of him acting like a clod, you wonder how this is all going to convince the powers that be to grant his request!

As for the music, it's decent but the film clearly lacks the crowd-pleasing tunes of many of Rogers and Hammerstein's other works. "South Pacific", "Oklahoma" and the rest had more memorable songs--and didn't have to work so hard to compensate for an unlikable lead. Here, it's an uphill battle. Pretty, well made...but still a film that I had a hard time liking. Overall, it looks good but fails. Watchable but among the least in the Rogers and Hammerstein canon.

This is the musical which gave Gordon MacRae his greatest solo song, namely the 7 minutes long "Soliloquy", in which Billy the circus barker speculates about his unborn child, first with bluster and pride if it is a boy, and then with insecurity and despair if it is a girl he can't buy things for. Billy, as we have seen in the opening sequence of the film, is telling his story to one of the angels in heaven, where he has gone after a violent and premature death. So we see his tale unfold, as he meets pretty little Julie Jordan (Shirley Jones, excellent), marries her, and through fate and bad luck, gets separated from her.

The subject matter is darker than Oklahoma (the film version of which also starred MacRae and Jones) but the sheer exuberance of songs such as "June is Bustin' Out All Over"; "A Real Nice Clambake"; "When The Children Are Asleep" and "If I Loved You", plus of course the best-known song from the show, "You'll Never Walk Alone" takes the story to another level and makes this film enjoyable to watch. Robert Rounsville makes a fine bombastic Mr Snow and has a fabulous voice; MacRae and Jones have their memorable duet to the lovely melody of Rodgers' score. There is also an excellent dance sequence, not as extensive as on stage, but still effective, where the daughter of Billy and Julie imagines an escape from her lonely and ostracised life.