Porgy and Bess (1959) on Netflix
In Charleston, South Carolina, the fishing community of Catfish Row is home to Porgy, a crippled beggar. He loves Bess, a drug addict who lives with the stevedore Crown.
- Netflix3.5/5
- IMDb6.9/102,130 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes71%
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Plot summary
Bess lives with Crown, a stevedore and the local bully, and she is addicted to the cocaine that Sportin' Life supplies. Porgy, a crippled beggar who gets around Catfish Row in a goat-drawn cart, loves her. When Bess needs a place to stay, she asks her neighbors in the Charleston fishing community and every one of them refuses; Porgy is the only one who takes her in, and the two settle into a home together. Ahead of a picnic on Kittiwah Island, Sportin' Life approaches Bess again and Porgy warns him off; Bess would rather stay behind with Porgy, who cannot attend, but he urges her to go.
Cast
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Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Porgy and Bess (1959)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- A full-cast dress rehearsal was scheduled for July 3, 1958, but slightly after 4:00 am a fire destroyed all the sets and costumes, at a loss of $2 million. Rumors that Black arsonists had started the blaze to shut down production circulated; Goldwyn publicly denounced the rumor, though studio insiders were certain it had been set deliberately.
- During a six-week hiatus after the fire, director Mamoulian repeatedly clashed with producer Goldwyn and was fired; Goldwyn replaced him with Otto Preminger, who set aside preparing Anatomy of a Murder and Exodus for the job. Mamoulian was incensed at being dismissed after eight months of pre-production and at being replaced by the man who had taken over Laura.
- Goldwyn offered Sidney Poitier $75,000 to portray Porgy, but the actor initially turned it down, and Goldwyn threatened to sue him for breaching an oral contract. When Poitier realized his refusal might jeopardize his appearance in the Stanley Kramer film The Defiant Ones, he reconsidered and grudgingly accepted.
- Sammy Davis Jr., the only entertainer who expressed interest, arranged to audition during a party at Judy Garland's home, but Ira Gershwin's wife Lee was horrified by his vulgarity and made Goldwyn promise never to use him. Goldwyn offered Sportin' Life to Cab Calloway, and after Calloway declined, Frank Sinatra and his associates pressured Goldwyn into giving Davis the part.
- Harry Belafonte thought the role of Porgy was demeaning and declined, and so many performers refused to participate that Goldwyn considered Jackie Robinson, Sugar Ray Robinson and singer Clyde McPhatter for major roles despite their total lack of acting experience.
- Because Poitier could not sing and the score was beyond Dandridge's range, their vocals were dubbed, and Goldwyn insisted only black singers be hired for the job. Leontyne Price, who had portrayed Bess in the acclaimed 1953 Broadway revival, declined with "No body, no voice"; Adele Addison and Robert McFerrin were hired but received no screen credit.
- Shortly after opening in Atlanta in early August, the film's run was canceled after angering Black viewers, and despite the Atlanta Journal accusing Goldwyn of censoring his own film, he pulled it from several other areas nationwide as well.
- It was the first English-language musical shown in Germany in its original version with subtitles rather than dubbed, and although American musicals generally did not do well in Europe, it was a hit in Germany and Switzerland.
