Carmen
About Carmen
Men at a campfire start the story of Don José Navarro. On leave he is a dragoon sergeant with a fiancée, Dolores. In Seville he kills an officer for Carmen, leaves the army, and smuggles with her. She drops him for the bullfighter Escamillo. After the bullfight in Seville she tells José she no longer loves him, and he stabs her.
Cast & crew
More about Carmen
Ernst Lubitsch directed and Paul Davidson produced, with Pola Negri as Carmen and Harry Liedtke as Don José. Alfred Hansen photographed it, and UFA released it on 17 December 1918 at about 80 minutes. First National issued English titles in 1921 as Gypsy Blood.
Themes
Look
Alfred Hansen photographed the Seville streets, the jail vision, and the bullfight arrival.
Preservation
A print is on Wikimedia Commons. The American release title is Gypsy Blood.
Notes
- Leopold von Ledebur plays Garcia.
- Grete Diercks, Norbert Falk, and Hanns Kräly are among the writers. Myron M. Stearns did the English titles.
- A double exposure shows Dolores appearing to José in jail.
- It was Negri's second film with Lubitsch in Germany. American import of German films was still barred in 1918, which is why Gypsy Blood waited until 1921.
Scenes
- José rides home to Dolores before he meets Carmen.
- Carmen enters Seville in Escamillo's carriage.
- He stabs her when she says the love is over.
Influenced by
- Prosper Mérimée's novella Carmen
- Georges Bizet's opera Carmen
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (Carmen (1918) .webm)
