Porgy and Bess (1959) | |
| Director(s) | Otto Preminger, Rouben Mamoulian (uncredited) |
| Producer(s) | Samuel Goldwyn |
| Top Genres | Drama, Film Adaptation, Musical, Romance |
| Top Topics | Book-Based |
Featured Cast:
Porgy and Bess Overview:
Porgy and Bess (1959) was a Musical - Drama Film directed by Rouben Mamoulian and Otto Preminger and produced by Samuel Goldwyn.
Porgy and Bess was inducted into the National Film Registry in 2011.
Academy Awards 1959 --- Ceremony Number 32 (source: AMPAS)
| Award | Recipient | Result |
| Best Cinematography | Leon Shamroy | Nominated |
| Best Costume Design | Irene Sharaff | Nominated |
| Best Music - Scoring | Andre Previn, Ken Darby | Won |
BlogHub Articles:
Musical Monday: Porgy and Bess (1959)
on Feb 25, 2019 From Comet Over HollywoodIt?s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals. In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals. This week?s musical: Porgy and Bess (1959) ? Musi... Read full article
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Quotes from
No Quote for this film.
Facts about
One of only two widescreen films produced by Samuel Goldwyn; the other one was Guys and Dolls.
The Gershwin family strongly disapproved of this version; they felt that producer Samuel Goldwyn had glamorized and "Hollywoodized" it too much, and that he had made a mistake in firing the film's original director, Rouben Mamoulian (director of the original stage version in 1935). The film was withdrawn from release in 1974. The only place it can be seen now is in film archives.
The Gershwin family was dissatisfied with the film, largely because it was not staged as a true opera with all the recitative performed musically, and also because the two leads had their singing voices dubbed. The film's original director, Rouben Mamoulian, wanted to film on location, but producer Samuel Goldwyn refused and insisted on using sound stages. When a mysterious fire broke out and destroyed the sets, Mamoulian again requested that the film be made on location. Enraged, Goldwyn felt that Mamoulian was taking advantage of a misfortune, promptly fired him, and hired Otto Preminger, who made the film on sound stages in Hollywood. The film is currently (Nov. 2002) withheld from release because of actions by both the Gershwin and Goldwyn estates, as neither Samuel Goldwyn nor the Gershwin family were satisfied with the film.
read more facts about Porgy and Bess...
The Gershwin family strongly disapproved of this version; they felt that producer Samuel Goldwyn had glamorized and "Hollywoodized" it too much, and that he had made a mistake in firing the film's original director, Rouben Mamoulian (director of the original stage version in 1935). The film was withdrawn from release in 1974. The only place it can be seen now is in film archives.
The Gershwin family was dissatisfied with the film, largely because it was not staged as a true opera with all the recitative performed musically, and also because the two leads had their singing voices dubbed. The film's original director, Rouben Mamoulian, wanted to film on location, but producer Samuel Goldwyn refused and insisted on using sound stages. When a mysterious fire broke out and destroyed the sets, Mamoulian again requested that the film be made on location. Enraged, Goldwyn felt that Mamoulian was taking advantage of a misfortune, promptly fired him, and hired Otto Preminger, who made the film on sound stages in Hollywood. The film is currently (Nov. 2002) withheld from release because of actions by both the Gershwin and Goldwyn estates, as neither Samuel Goldwyn nor the Gershwin family were satisfied with the film.
read more facts about Porgy and Bess...
