The Loves of Carmen (1948) - film review

In the early 1800s, Don José Mizarabengoa, an ambitious young dragoon guard, takes up a post in a garrison in the Spanish town of Seville.  Ignoring the advice of his corporal, Don José takes an interest in a notoriously flirtatious gypsy named Carmen.  When he accidentally kills his colonel in a fight over Carmen, Don José has no choice but to flee with the object of his desire and join her band of outlaws.  Having killed Carmen’s husband in a duel, Don José insists on marrying her.  But he will not keep her for long...

After their hugely successful pairing in Gilda (1946), Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford are brought together for another sordid tale of passion and intrigue.  The setting for this eagerly awaited rematch is not a film noir thriller but a Technicolor adaptation of Prosper Mérimée’s novel Carmen, which provided the basis for Georges Bizet’s popular opera of the same title.

Having directed Gilda with such style, Charles Vidor appears to have been completely thrown by Mérimée’s tale of a free-spirited gypsy girl and her jealous lover.  His take on Carmen is a bloodless, half-hearted affair, lacking in both charm and inspiration, and is saved only by Hayworth’s overtly sensual screen presence.  In every other department, particularly the writing, set design and camera work, the film is a major let down.  Glenn Ford is a fine actor but here he appears woefully miscast as the vengeful Don José, and it is a wonder that the film has any dramatic impact at all.

© filmsdefrance.com 2009

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