Producer Samuel Goldwyn, one of the men who shaped Hollywood, bowed out at the age of 75 with this film version of the George and Ira Gershwin-Dubose Heyward folk opera about crippled Porgy (Sidney Poitier), his girl Bess (Dorothy Dandridge) and the inhabitants of Catfish Row.
The familiar music, given Oscar-winning treatment by André Previn and Ken Darby, is gloriously intact. However, despite a starry cast of principals (Poitier, Dandridge, Sammy Davis Jr, Brock Peters, Diahann Carroll, Pearl Bailey), the result disappoints.
Otto Preminger’s direction is heavy-handed, the singing not as good as it should be, and the whole production too lavish to convince as a poignant tale of slum life.
Porgy
Sidney Poitier Bess
Dorothy Dandridge Sportin’ Life
Sammy Davis Jr Maria
Pearl Bailey Crown
Brock Peters Jake
Leslie Scott Clara
Diahann Carroll Serena
Ruth Attaway
Director
Otto Preminger
Related Posts
Projectionist, The (1970) This independent, low-budget pearl from writer/director Harry Hurwitz deserved a better fate on its initial release. Burly Chuck McCann is…
Pork Chop Hill (1959) 1953. Negotiators are at work in Panmunjom trying to bring the Korean War to a negotiated end. 70 miles away,…
Pirate Movie, The (1982) Two of America's hottest young stars joined a veteran English director in 1982 to make a musical movie about pirates…
Pirates of Blood River, The (1962) This lavish technicolour production from Hammer Films tells the story of a young Huguenot who, although himself a victim of…
Camp on Blood Island, The (1958) This Hammer production presented a story of Japanese cruelty to Allied prisoners of war during World War II. While it…
6.5 Special (1958) This film was made to capitalise on the tremendous success of the BBC pop music TV show, Six-Five Special. It…
Defiant Ones, The (1958) A self-avowed "message" picture, Stanley Kramer's The Defiant Ones deploys a potent symbol of American race relations: two convicts, one white and…
Pawnbroker, The (1965) Concentration camp survivor Sol Nazerman (Rod Steiger) tries to make a fresh start in New York but is plagued by…
The familiar music, given Oscar-winning treatment by André Previn and Ken Darby, is gloriously intact. However, despite a starry cast of principals (Poitier, Dandridge, Sammy Davis Jr, Brock Peters, Diahann Carroll, Pearl Bailey), the result disappoints.
Porgy
