Carousel (1956)

Of Rogers and Hammerstein's scores,Carousel blurs at time between Opera and Musical. The Soliloquy sequences in their virtuosity rivals many Operas. It is indeed said by the friends of Richard Rogers that he often thought of composing libretto settings to someday make it into their only full fledged Opera. Even without,it remains one of the Duo's time tested favorites-though not right away. In 1956 it was not the smash Oklahoma was. But with TV exposure to later generations,Carousel remains to many the most poignantly haunting of all Rogers and Hammerstein Musicals done by Hollywood.Frank Sinatra would have been a horrible miscast in this part, he would have had trouble sustaining the music the way it was already written. Gordon MacRae was perfect as Billy Bigelow, and Shirley Jones was the obvious choice for the role of Julie. The Dance sequences toward the end of the movie show the unmistakable stamp of Agnes De Mille. In a childhood full of Musicals,this is still one of my favorites.

This is the story of a man who did nothing while on earth. After he dies, he gets a chance to have some time back in the world. While there, he falls in love and begins to make a difference. He is beset by the reality of what he wasted. When the songs come, they show us the longing and the strength of faith. Of course, this is the source of the song "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "If I Loved You." Because it didn't have broad appeal, this movie was never given its due. As a young child, I hated musicals, but when i saw this I began to cry. The sadness of a life wasted is overwhelmed by the "fact" that there is something better if we wait. Recently, Orchestras have begun to have sing a longs in celebration of this work.

I gave it a 3 due to the music and the incredible voices. Honestly, it doesn't even deserve that. I understand that it's supposed to take place in the late 1800's, but this is horrid. Even at the time the movie came out women's lib had already begun and I can't believe that any woman would have had the insane mindset of "If he hits you, it means he loves you" as a norm. It wasn't true even then.Considering that this is Rogers and Hammerstein, I can't believe how bad it really is.I love musicals, and the old musicals tended to be rather sexist but this took it to a new level.

There are many people today (as well as many people back when this was first released) who don't care for the dark story in this, one of the least financially successful of the Rodgers and Hammerstein filmizations. However, the film is lovely and a grand filming of a classic. The "opening up" of the story with beautiful Maine locations makes it's beauty breathtaking at times, and no one can fault the handling of the grand musical score. Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones do more than justice to the beautiful songs, and the choreography of such great numbers as "June is Bustin' Out All Over" is superb. This is a film that, despite it's darker elements does leave you with an uplifted feeling. A masterful job by Twentieth Century-Fox.