Carousel | Rotten Tomatoes

Carousel

Released Feb 16, 1956

2h 8m

Musical

List

71%

7 Reviews

Tomatometer

61%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Based on the lauded Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musical, this film follows the romance of Billy Bigelow (Gordon MacRae), a charming carousel barker, and Julie Jordan (Shirley Jones), a pretty worker from a nearby mill. When the attractive young couple gets married, they also both find themselves unemployed, which puts a strain on their relationship. When Billy finds out that Julie is pregnant, he resorts to extreme measures to get money, a decision that leads to tragedy.

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Dylan E

I was brought up watching all the old Hollywood and Broadway classics, and Carousel is right up there with the best of them. It boasts one of the greatest musical scores ever written - R&H at their finest. Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones are perfect as the protagonists; the Maine sets, mimicking New England, are sumptuous; and the colour terrific. Despite sounding and looking beautiful, the gritty themes including domestic violence, have tainted the film's appeal. That's a shame but it's still one of my all-time favourite musicals and the highlight, MacRae's masterful delivery of Soliloquy, is eight minutes of pure movie magic.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/05/24

Full Review

Gary C

I forced myself to sit through the entire movie. I kept waiting for a good song, every song was terrible except "June is busting out all over"; however, they ran it into the ground, it just kept going and going until I started saying stop stop stop already. Seriously one decent song and they ruined it. I hated everything else about the story.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

07/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Great production quality but there are some very dated sexist views here and all the songs (other than "You'll Never Walk Alone") are terrible. There is not much to recommend to be honest.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

Liam D

A surprisingly darker Rogers and Hammerstein musical and one of they most underrated

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/08/22

Full Review

joel h

It feels like Rodgers and Hammerstein were still trying to figure out how to make a good musical with Carousel. The song and dance numbers go on a little too long, the characters aren't that relatable & don't really grow or change, and the story isn't very compelling. Don't get me wrong, I love a good clambake song as much as the next guy, but this movie is just missing the magic of other musicals.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

steve d

Unpleasant melodrama with forgettable music.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Henry King

Director

Gordon MacRae

Billy Bigelow

Shirley Jones

Julie Jordan

Cameron Mitchell

Jigger Craigin

Barbara Ruick

Carrie Pipperidge

Claramae Turner

Cousin Nettie

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Arlene Croce

Film Culture

Two performances ring true -- those of Claramae Turner and Robert Rounesville. But at best, it is an unimaginative Carousel that we have been given, resembling on the whole nothing so much as an open-air amateur production.

Mar 28, 2022

Full Review

Don Willmott

Filmcritic.com

The fact that Carousel is Rogers and Hammerstein's least accessible and darkest musical is what makes it so compelling

Rated: 4/5

Aug 30, 2008

Full Review

Walter Chaw

Film Freak Central

Carousel on screen is something less, alas.

Rated: 2/4

Feb 8, 2007

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Jun 26, 2005

Full Review

Daniel M. Kimmel

Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Rated: 4/5

Feb 8, 2004

Full Review

Carol Cling

Las Vegas Review-Journal

Rated: 3/5

Dec 5, 2003

Full Review

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Synopsis

Based on the lauded Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musical, this film follows the romance of Billy Bigelow (Gordon MacRae), a charming carousel barker, and Julie Jordan (Shirley Jones), a pretty worker from a nearby mill. When the attractive young couple gets married, they also both find themselves unemployed, which puts a strain on their relationship. When Billy finds out that Julie is pregnant, he resorts to extreme measures to get money, a decision that leads to tragedy.

Director: Henry King
Screenwriter: Phoebe Ephron, Henry Ephron
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: 20th Century Fox
Genre: Musical
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 16, 1956, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 15, 2013
Runtime: 2h 8m
Sound Mix: Stereo

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