Love, passion, betrayal and tragedy. Carmen Jones is an adaptation of Bizet's legendary opera, Carmen. It tells the story of a young, free spirited woman called Carmen Jones whose great beauty is the object of many men's desires. However, Carmen sets her sights on young army officer Joe, who is engaged to his sweetheart, Cindy Lou. Joe quickly succumbs to Carmen's charms , forsaking his Cindy Lou, thus beginning the tragic love story.

Otto Preminger wanted to film on location in Chicago and South Carolina, but studio records show the movie was shot entirely on the Fox lot. One notable exception was the children's chorus scenes that were shot on location at a working dynamite factory. The parents, of course, were present, many of them sitting on boxes of explosives - idly smoking.

Joe:
Thanks, but I don't drink.


Carmen Jones:
Boy, if the army was made up of nothin' but soldiers like you, war wouldn't do nobody no good.

Crew or equipment visible: Reflected in a window as Carmen is walking through town.

Music by Georges Bizet
Lyrics Oscar Hammerstein II
Sung by chorus