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Porgy and Bess Overview:

Porgy and Bess (1959) was a Musical - Drama Film directed by Otto Preminger and Rouben Mamoulian (uncredited) and produced by Samuel Goldwyn.

Porgy and Bess was inducted into the National Film Registry in 2011.

Academy Awards 1959 --- Ceremony Number 32 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best CinematographyLeon ShamroyNominated
Best Costume DesignIrene SharaffNominated
Best Music - ScoringAndre Previn, Ken DarbyWon
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Porgy and Bess BlogHub Articles:

Musical Monday: Porgy and Bess (1959)

on Feb 25, 2019 From Comet Over Hollywood

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Porgy and Bess Quotes:

No Quote for this film.
Porgy and Bess Facts
Pearl Bailey agreed to take part in the film so long as costumer Irene Sharaff understood that she refused to wear a bandanna because it smacked of "Aunt Jemima". Later, when the women chorus singers lined up for the first costume review, Pearl Bailey created havoc by screaming "No one is going to wear a bandanna in any picture I'm in!" A compromise was reached whereby only a few of the women at a time would wear bandannas.
Two days before filming was slated to begin, a fire broke out and destroyed most of the costumes, props and sketches.
Sidney Poitier's singing voice was dubbed by opera singer Robert McFerrin (father of pop singer, classical conductor and composer Bobby McFerrin).
According to the 7 November 1957 issue of Jet magazine, the film's producers were interested in R&B singer Clyde McPhatter for the role of Sportin' Life
Although passed by the British Board of Film Censors on 10 February 1960, the London premiere did not take place until 2 October 1962. The reason for the delay was attributed to Samuel Goldwyn's insistence that it be presented in Todd-AO, fearing that optical reduction to 35mm might spoil the effect. The only London cinema with the right equipment was the Dominion who were running South Pacific for a record-breaking four years. When Porgy and Bess was finally allowed to take over it ran for 23 weeks at the Dominion, then transferred to the Columbia, Shaftesbury Avenue, for a further five weeks.
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