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Porgy and Bess is a 1959 American musical film directed by Otto Preminger. It is based on the 1935 opera of the same name by George Gershwin, DuBose Heyward, and Ira Gershwin, which is in turn based on Heyward's 1925 novel Porgy, as well as Heyward's subsequent 1927 non-musical stage adaptation, co-written with his wife Dorothy. The screenplay for the film, which turned the operatic recitatives into spoken dialogue, was very closely based on the opera and was written by N. Richard Nash. The project was the last for Samuel Goldwyn. Due to its controversial subject matter, the film was shown only briefly following its initial reserved seat engagements in major cities, where it drew mixed reviews from critics. Two months after its release, Goldwyn grudgingly conceded, "No one is waiting breathlessly for my next picture." In 2011, the film was chosen for inclusion in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.
Original Release
06/24/1959
US Release
06/24/1959
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Sidney Poitier | Porgy |
Dorothy Dandridge | Bess |
Sammy Davis Jr. | Sportin' Life |
Pearl Bailey | Maria |
Brock Peters | Crown / Crowne |
Leslie Scott | Jake |
Diahann Carroll | Clara |
Ruth Attaway | Serena Robbins |
Claude Akins | Detective |
Clarence Muse | Peter |
Directors
Otto Preminger, Rouben Mamoulian
Writers
Dorothy Heyward, DuBose Heyward, N. Richard Nash
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Sidney Poitier | Porgy |
Dorothy Dandridge | Bess |
Sammy Davis Jr. | Sportin' Life |
Pearl Bailey | Maria |
Brock Peters | Crown / Crowne |
Leslie Scott | Jake |
Diahann Carroll | Clara |
Ruth Attaway | Serena Robbins |
Claude Akins | Detective |
Clarence Muse | Peter |
Everdinne Wilson | Annie |
Joel Fluellen | Robbins |
Earl Jackson | Mingo |
Moses LaMarr | Nelson |
Margaret Hairston | Lily |
Ivan Dixon | Jim |
Antoine Durousseau | Scipio |
Helen Thigpen | Strawberry woman |
Vince Townsend Jr. | Elderly man |
Bill Walker | Undertaker |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
Samuel Goldwyn | Producer |
Editors
Year | Type | Category | Won |
---|
1960 | Oscar | Best Cinematography, Color | Nominated |
1960 | Oscar | Best Costume Design, Color | Nominated |
1960 | Oscar | Best Sound | Nominated |
1960 | Oscar | Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture | Won |
1960 | Golden Globe | Best Motion Picture - Musical | Won |
1960 | Golden Globe | Best Actress - Comedy or Musical | Nominated |
1960 | Golden Globe | Best Actor - Comedy or Musical | Nominated |