Porgy and Bess (1959)
June 24, 1959Release Date
Porgy and Bess (1959)
June 24, 1959Release Date
Plot.
Where to Watch.
This Movie Is About.
Cast & Crew.
Sidney Poitier
Porgy
Dorothy Dandridge
Bess
Sammy Davis Jr.
Sportin' Life
Brock Peters
Crowne
Pearl Bailey
Maria
Diahann Carroll
Clara
Otto Preminger
Director
Rouben Mamoulian
Director
Leslie Scott
Jake
Dorothy Heyward
Writer
Ruth Attaway
Serena Robbins
DuBose Heyward
Writer
Claude Akins
Detective
N. Richard Nash
Writer
Clarence Muse
Peter
Samuel Goldwyn
Producer
Everdinne Wilson
Annie
Ivan Dixon
Jim
Scatman Crothers
Crabman
Maya Angelou
Dancer
Nichelle Nichols
Dancer
Daniel Mandell
Editor
Irene Sharaff
Costume Design
Joseph C. Wright
Art Direction
Media.
Details.
Wiki.
Porgy and Bess is a 1959 American musical drama film directed by Otto Preminger, and starring Sidney Poitier and Dorothy Dandridge in the titular roles. It is based on the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin, DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin, 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 film's screenplay, 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."The film is unavailable on home video, and it is unknown if a quality print still exists, prompting it to be considered one of the more prestigious and expensively produced "lost films."In 2011, the film was chosen for inclusion in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.