Review of Carousel (1956) by Gerasimos E — 06 Aug 2010

I'm sure back in the day this was tremendous entertainment, but there was something really dark and sinister about this film, and it really bothered me. First, it seemed like anytime it was mentioned that Billy beat his wife, it would be dismissed by Julie's naive behavior, or by some outlandishly cheerful song and dance number.

But the most disturbing part of all is the song, "What's the Use of Wonder'n?" sung by Julie to the other ladies. Just check out these lyrics, "Common sense may tell you that the ending will be sad, and now's the time to break and run away.

But what's the use of wond'ring if the ending will be sad? He's your feller and you love him, there's nothing more to say." Basically the song means it doesn't matter how bad your husband treats you.

You have committed your love to him so that is your committment to keep. These values are just incredibly screwed up looking at it today, and it greatly affected my liking of this film. With that said, the song "If I Loved You" is probably one of the greatest Broadway songs ever, and there were a few really neat dance numbers.

My favorite was probably when Billy and Julie's daughter dances with a group of boys on a beautifully scenic beach.