Liliom
Encyclopedia
Liliom is a 1909 play by the Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnár
. It was very famous in its own right during the early to mid-20th century, but is best known today as the basis for the Rodgers and Hammerstein
musical Carousel
.
, Hungary
, and partly in Heaven
. The story concerns Liliom, a tough, cocky carousel barker
who falls in love with Julie, a young woman who works as a maid. When both lose their jobs, Liliom begins mistreating Julie out of bitterness, although he loves her (he even slaps her once). When she discovers that she is pregnant, he is deliriously happy, but unbeknownst to Julie, he agrees to participate with his friend Ficsúr, a criminal, in a holdup to obtain money to provide for the child. Liliom is unwilling to leave Julie and return to his jealous former employer, the carousel owner Mrs. Muskat, and feels that the robbery is his only way left to obtain financial security. The holdup is a disaster, but Ficsúr escapes, and Liliom kills himself to avoid capture. He is sent to a fiery place, presumably Purgatory
. Sixteen years later, he is allowed to return to earth for one day to do a good deed for his now teenage daughter, whom he has never met. If he succeeds, he will be allowed to enter Heaven. He fails in the attempt, and is presumably sent to Hell. The ending, though, focuses on Julie, who obviously remembers Liliom fondly.
A contrasting subplot involves Julie's best friend, Marie, and Wolf Beifeld, a rather pompous hotel porter who marries Marie and eventually becomes the wealthy owner of the hotel at which he once worked. The two eventually have seven children, but the children never appear onstage in Molnár's play, although they are a very unpleasant bunch in Carousel, in which the number of children is increased to nine rather than seven. There is also a Carpenter in Liliom who is in unrequited love with Julie, and who, in contrast to Liliom, has a stable job.
in 1921. The production starred Joseph Schildkraut
(his role originally offered to John Barrymore
), and Eva Le Gallienne
, with supporting roles played by such actors as Dudley Digges
and Helen Westley
.Ivor Novello
starred as Liliom in 1926 in London, with Charles Laughton
, in one of his first stage roles, as Ficsúr. Schildkraut and Ms. Le Gallienne also starred in the first American revival of the play, in 1932.
In 1939, Orson Welles
directed and played the title role in a one-hour radio adaptation for his CBS Campbell Playhouse program ; the production co-starred Helen Hayes
as Julie and Agnes Moorehead
as Mrs. Muskat, the carousel owner who is infatuated with Billy. It was broadcast live on October 10, 1939.
In 1940, a second American stage revival, starring Burgess Meredith
and Ingrid Bergman
, with Elia Kazan
as Ficsúr and Joan Tetzel
as Liliom and Julie's daughter Louise, played New York.
In 1945, at the suggestion of the Theatre Guild
(which had produced the 1921 and 1932 productions of Liliom as well as the original Oklahoma!), Richard Rodgers
and Oscar Hammerstein II
wrote Carousel, an American musical adaptation of the play. This was also produced by the Theatre Guild and became one of the great classics of musical theatre. Even though the musical adaptation took liberties with Molnár's play, changing the ending so that the ex-barker is successful in trying to help his daughter upon his return to Earth, Molnár applauded Carousel. The character of Liliom's daughter, Louise, is made more poignant in the musical, in which she is snobbishly taunted and rejected because her father was a thief. It is the Liliom character who finally gives her the confidence she needs to face life. In Carousel, the characters of Marie and Wolf Beifeld in Liliom become Carrie Pipperidge and Mr. Snow, and Snow, who becomes a fisherman in the musical, is made even more pompous than in the original play. Carrie and Mr. Snow's children are the ones who so viciously taunt Louise, although, in order to keep Carrie a sympathetic character, Hammerstein keeps her totally unaware of this; in contrast to Mr. Snow, she is even supportive of a potential budding romantic relationship between their eldest son and Louise. (The relationship is quickly cut short, however, when Snow's son insults Louise by stating outright that marrying her would be "beneath his station"). Both Carrie and Mr. Snow are made into rather comical figures (especially the feather-brained Carrie) in the musical, in contrast to the completely serious Marie and Wolf Beifeld in Liliom.
Carousel also Americanizes the story, setting it in Maine
during the last part of the nineteenth century, and including a New England clambake
as the setting for some of the more cheerful songs in the show. The names of most of the other characters were changed as well. Liliom became Billy Bigelow, the criminal Fiscúr became Jigger Craigin, and Mother Hollunder, the boarding house keeper, became Julie's cousin Nettie. There is no Carpenter in Carousel.
There is an added layer of social commentary in Liliom which is deliberately omitted from Carousel. The intended holdup victim in Molnar's play, a payroll clerk named Linzman, is Jewish, as is Wolf Beifeld. In Carousel, Linzman becomes Mr. Bascombe, the wealthy owner of the cotton mill
at which Julie once worked.
In Liliom, Liliom encounters Linzman only once: during the robbery. In Carousel, Billy Bigelow has met Bascombe much earlier during the play. Bascombe finds him and Julie together and kindly offers not to fire Julie, who has stayed out past the mill workers' curfew, if she allows him (Bascombe) to take her back to the mill. She gently refuses.
However, many elements of Liliom are retained faithfully in Carousel, an unusual step in the 1940s for a musical play based on such a serious drama. Molnár's basic plotline for Liliom and Julie is largely adhered to, as is much of his dialogue (although Hammerstein makes it more colloquial and gives it a New England flavor). Billy Bigelow is a womanizer and an abusive husband, as is Liliom in the non-musical play, however, both the Molnar play and the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicalization are careful to stress that he has hit Julie only once, and that other characters erroneously believe that he is a habitual wife-beater.
Carousel also retains the attempted robbery scene and Liliom/Billy Bigelow's suicide early in the second act.
In 2012, a ballet adaptation of Liliom, with music by Oscar-winning composer Michel Legrand
, will be premiered by the Hamburg Ballet
, and will star Alina Cojocaru
as Julie.
These first two talking film versions of Molnar's original play also alter the ending to make it more hopeful, though not as drastically as Carousel does. (A Trip to Paradise also featured a happy ending.) In the 1934 French film, Liliom finally does gain entry into Heaven, not because he has successfully done something good for his daughter, but because of Julie's forgiveness and love for him. Likewise, in the 1930 American film version, Liliom feels that he has failed, but the Heavenly Magistrate (H.B. Warner) reassures him that he has not, because Julie clearly still loves him. But it is never revealed in this version whether or not Liliom actually enters Heaven.
By contrast, in the original stage play, Liliom is ominously and sternly led offstage after he fails in his heavenly mission and is never seen or heard from again, although Julie still remembers him fondly.
Ferenc Molnár
LanguageFerenc Molnár was a Hungarian dramatist and novelist. His Americanized name was Franz Molnar...
. It was very famous in its own right during the early to mid-20th century, but is best known today as the basis for the Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
musical Carousel
Carousel (musical)
Carousel is the second stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II . The work premiered in 1945 and was adapted from Ferenc Molnár's 1909 play Liliom, transplanting its Budapest setting to the Maine coastline...
.
Plot
The play takes place partly in BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, and partly in Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
. The story concerns Liliom, a tough, cocky carousel barker
Barker (occupation)
A barker is a person who attempts to attract patrons to entertainment events, such as a circus or funfair, by exhorting passing public, describing attractions of show and emphasizing variety, novelty, beauty, or some other feature believed to incite listeners to attend entertainment...
who falls in love with Julie, a young woman who works as a maid. When both lose their jobs, Liliom begins mistreating Julie out of bitterness, although he loves her (he even slaps her once). When she discovers that she is pregnant, he is deliriously happy, but unbeknownst to Julie, he agrees to participate with his friend Ficsúr, a criminal, in a holdup to obtain money to provide for the child. Liliom is unwilling to leave Julie and return to his jealous former employer, the carousel owner Mrs. Muskat, and feels that the robbery is his only way left to obtain financial security. The holdup is a disaster, but Ficsúr escapes, and Liliom kills himself to avoid capture. He is sent to a fiery place, presumably Purgatory
Purgatory
Purgatory is the condition or process of purification or temporary punishment in which, it is believed, the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for Heaven...
. Sixteen years later, he is allowed to return to earth for one day to do a good deed for his now teenage daughter, whom he has never met. If he succeeds, he will be allowed to enter Heaven. He fails in the attempt, and is presumably sent to Hell. The ending, though, focuses on Julie, who obviously remembers Liliom fondly.
A contrasting subplot involves Julie's best friend, Marie, and Wolf Beifeld, a rather pompous hotel porter who marries Marie and eventually becomes the wealthy owner of the hotel at which he once worked. The two eventually have seven children, but the children never appear onstage in Molnár's play, although they are a very unpleasant bunch in Carousel, in which the number of children is increased to nine rather than seven. There is also a Carpenter in Liliom who is in unrequited love with Julie, and who, in contrast to Liliom, has a stable job.
Reception, stage and radio adaptations
Liliom was a failure in Hungary when it was staged there in 1909, but not when it was staged on Broadway in an English translation by Benjamin GlazerBenjamin Glazer
Benjamin Glazer was a screenwriter, producer, foley artist, and director of American films from the 1920s through the 1950s. He made the first translation of Ferenc Molnár's play Liliom into English in 1921...
in 1921. The production starred Joseph Schildkraut
Joseph Schildkraut
Joseph Schildkraut was an Austrian stage and film actor.-Early life:Born in Vienna, Austria, Schildkraut was the son of stage actor Rudolph Schildkraut. The younger Schildkraut moved to the United States in the early 1900s. He appeared in many Broadway productions...
(his role originally offered to John Barrymore
John Barrymore
John Sidney Blyth , better known as John Barrymore, was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III...
), and Eva Le Gallienne
Eva Le Gallienne
Eva Le Gallienne was a well-known actress, producer, and director, during the first half of the 20th century.-Early life and early career:...
, with supporting roles played by such actors as Dudley Digges
Dudley Digges (actor)
Dudley Digges was an Irish stage and film actor.Digges was born in Dublin. He went to America with a group of Irish players in 1904, and became successful both as an actor and producer. For a time, he was stage manager to Charles Frohman and George Arliss...
and Helen Westley
Helen Westley
Helen Westley was an American character actress.-Career:Born as Henrietta Remsen Meserole Manney, Helen Westley was a member of the original board of the Theatre Guild, and appeared in many of their productions, among them Peer Gynt, and some of their productions of plays by George Bernard...
.Ivor Novello
Ivor Novello
David Ivor Davies , better known as Ivor Novello, was a Welsh composer, singer and actor who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. Born into a musical family, his first successes were as a songwriter...
starred as Liliom in 1926 in London, with Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton was an English-American stage and film actor, screenwriter, producer and director.-Early life and career:...
, in one of his first stage roles, as Ficsúr. Schildkraut and Ms. Le Gallienne also starred in the first American revival of the play, in 1932.
In 1939, Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
directed and played the title role in a one-hour radio adaptation for his CBS Campbell Playhouse program ; the production co-starred Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes Brown was an American actress whose career spanned almost 70 years. She eventually garnered the nickname "First Lady of the American Theatre" and was one of twelve people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award...
as Julie and Agnes Moorehead
Agnes Moorehead
Agnes Robertson Moorehead was an American actress. Although she began with the Mercury Theatre, appeared in more than seventy films beginning with Citizen Kane and on dozens of television shows during a career that spanned more than thirty years, Moorehead is most widely known to modern audiences...
as Mrs. Muskat, the carousel owner who is infatuated with Billy. It was broadcast live on October 10, 1939.
In 1940, a second American stage revival, starring Burgess Meredith
Burgess Meredith
Oliver Burgess Meredith , known professionally as Burgess Meredith, was an American actor in theatre, film, and television, who also worked as a director...
and Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films. She won three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, and the Tony Award for Best Actress. She is ranked as the fourth greatest female star of American cinema of all time by the American Film Institute...
, with Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
as Ficsúr and Joan Tetzel
Joan Tetzel
Joan Margaret Tetzel was an American actress.-Film career:Joan Tetzel is famous for her outstanding performance in Alfred Hitchcock's The Paradine Case, where she played "Judy Flaquer", the daughter of the solicitor played by Charles Coburn in the film...
as Liliom and Julie's daughter Louise, played New York.
In 1945, at the suggestion of the Theatre Guild
Theatre Guild
The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of the Washington Square Players.Its original purpose was to...
(which had produced the 1921 and 1932 productions of Liliom as well as the original Oklahoma!), Richard Rodgers
Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
and Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
wrote Carousel, an American musical adaptation of the play. This was also produced by the Theatre Guild and became one of the great classics of musical theatre. Even though the musical adaptation took liberties with Molnár's play, changing the ending so that the ex-barker is successful in trying to help his daughter upon his return to Earth, Molnár applauded Carousel. The character of Liliom's daughter, Louise, is made more poignant in the musical, in which she is snobbishly taunted and rejected because her father was a thief. It is the Liliom character who finally gives her the confidence she needs to face life. In Carousel, the characters of Marie and Wolf Beifeld in Liliom become Carrie Pipperidge and Mr. Snow, and Snow, who becomes a fisherman in the musical, is made even more pompous than in the original play. Carrie and Mr. Snow's children are the ones who so viciously taunt Louise, although, in order to keep Carrie a sympathetic character, Hammerstein keeps her totally unaware of this; in contrast to Mr. Snow, she is even supportive of a potential budding romantic relationship between their eldest son and Louise. (The relationship is quickly cut short, however, when Snow's son insults Louise by stating outright that marrying her would be "beneath his station"). Both Carrie and Mr. Snow are made into rather comical figures (especially the feather-brained Carrie) in the musical, in contrast to the completely serious Marie and Wolf Beifeld in Liliom.
Carousel also Americanizes the story, setting it in Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
during the last part of the nineteenth century, and including a New England clambake
New England clam bake
The New England clam bake is a traditional method of cooking foods, especially seafood such as lobster, mussels, crabs, steamers, and quahogs. The seafood is often supplemented by sausages, potatoes, onions, carrots, corn on the cob, etc...
as the setting for some of the more cheerful songs in the show. The names of most of the other characters were changed as well. Liliom became Billy Bigelow, the criminal Fiscúr became Jigger Craigin, and Mother Hollunder, the boarding house keeper, became Julie's cousin Nettie. There is no Carpenter in Carousel.
There is an added layer of social commentary in Liliom which is deliberately omitted from Carousel. The intended holdup victim in Molnar's play, a payroll clerk named Linzman, is Jewish, as is Wolf Beifeld. In Carousel, Linzman becomes Mr. Bascombe, the wealthy owner of the cotton mill
Cotton mill
A cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....
at which Julie once worked.
In Liliom, Liliom encounters Linzman only once: during the robbery. In Carousel, Billy Bigelow has met Bascombe much earlier during the play. Bascombe finds him and Julie together and kindly offers not to fire Julie, who has stayed out past the mill workers' curfew, if she allows him (Bascombe) to take her back to the mill. She gently refuses.
However, many elements of Liliom are retained faithfully in Carousel, an unusual step in the 1940s for a musical play based on such a serious drama. Molnár's basic plotline for Liliom and Julie is largely adhered to, as is much of his dialogue (although Hammerstein makes it more colloquial and gives it a New England flavor). Billy Bigelow is a womanizer and an abusive husband, as is Liliom in the non-musical play, however, both the Molnar play and the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicalization are careful to stress that he has hit Julie only once, and that other characters erroneously believe that he is a habitual wife-beater.
Carousel also retains the attempted robbery scene and Liliom/Billy Bigelow's suicide early in the second act.
In 2012, a ballet adaptation of Liliom, with music by Oscar-winning composer Michel Legrand
Michel Legrand
Michel Jean Legrand is a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and pianist...
, will be premiered by the Hamburg Ballet
Hamburg Ballet
Hamburg Ballet, also known as the Hamburg State Opera Ballet, is an internationally acclaimed ballet company located in Hamburg, Germany. Since 1973 it is directed by the American dancer and choreographer John Neumeier....
, and will star Alina Cojocaru
Alina Cojocaru
Alina Cojocaru is a female principal dancer with The Royal Ballet of London.-Early years:Alina Cojocaru was born and raised in Bucharest, Romania. She has one sister. From a young age she studied gymnastics...
as Julie.
Film adaptations
Liliom has been filmed several times, beginning in the silent era:- The first film versionLiliom (1919 film)Liliom is a 1919 Hungarian film directed by Michael Curtiz. The film was aborted in mid-production because of Curtiz's flight from Hungary, and never finished.-Cast:* Gyula Csortos* Ica von Lenkeffy* Nusi Somogyi* Lajos Réthey* Jeno Viragh...
, directed by Michael CurtizMichael CurtizMichael Curtiz was an Academy award winning Hungarian-American film director. He had early creditsas Mihály Kertész and Michael Kertész...
in 1919, was aborted in mid-production because of Curtiz's flight from Hungary, and never finished.
- The second, a somewhat disguised and heavily altered version reset in Coney IslandConey IslandConey Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
, was made in 1921 and was titled A Trip to Paradise. It starred Bert LytellBert LytellBert Lytell , Born Bertram Lytell, he was a popular screen star of the silent film era who starred in romantic, melodrama and adventure films....
.
- In 1930 came the first talkie version, a mostly faithful adaptation made in English by Fox Film written by S.N. Behrman and Sonya Levien, although Ficsúr (played by Lee TracyLee TracyWilliam Lee Tracy was an American actor.- Early life :Tracy was born in Atlanta, Georgia.After graduating from Western Military Academy in 1918 he studied electrical engineering at Union College, and then served as a 2nd lieutenant in World War I. In the early 1920s he decided to work as an actor...
) was called "The Buzzard" in this version. The character Hollinger, who is alluded to in the stage version but never actually appears, was one of the supporting characters in this film, and Mother Hollunder, the boarding house keeper, was re-christened Aunt Hulda. Directed by Frank BorzageFrank BorzageFrank Borzage was an American film director and actor.-Biography:Frank Borzage's father, Luigi Borzaga, was born in Ronzone, in 1859. As a stonemason, he sometimes worked in Switzerland; he met his future wife, Maria Ruegg , where she worked in a silk factory...
, the film starred Charles FarrellCharles FarrellCharles Farrell was an American film actor of the 1920s silent era and into the 1930s, and later a television actor...
and Rose HobartRose HobartRose Hobart was an American actress.-Career:Born in New York City, her father was a cellist in the New York Symphony...
, and was not a success. It is rarely shown today, but has recently been issued on DVD in an enormous multi-disc set entitled Murnau, Borzage, and Fox. The package contains many of the best known silent and early talkie films that F.W. Murnau and Frank Borzage made for Fox Film. The 1930 Liliom is, as yet, not available as a single disc.
- In 1934 came what is considered to be the most notable film version of Molnar's original play - the French film version directed by Fritz LangFritz LangFriedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang was an Austrian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute...
, starring Charles BoyerCharles BoyerCharles Boyer was a French actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found success in movies during the 1930s. His memorable performances were among the era's most highly praised romantic dramas,...
and Madeleine OzerayMadeleine OzerayMadeleine Ozeray , was a French stage and film actress. She appeared in many films between 1932 and 1980...
. This version, released by Fox EuropaFox EuropaFox Europa is a foreign-language branch of 20th Century Fox film studios. They have released many notable foreign films over the years, including the 1934 French version of Ferenc Molnár's Liliom, starring Charles Boyer in the title role and the Dutch animated film,Sverbt ken buint Dirsok in 1974....
, was also extremely rarely seen, until it was made available on DVD in 2004. On the whole, it was a very faithful adaptation. Lang, however, omitted the characters of Wolf Beifeld and the Carpenter. Mother Hollunder was renamed Mrs. Menoux. In Lang's version, Hollinger again appears onscreen. He is a jealous barker who tries to undermine Liliom at the amusement park. It is Mrs. Menoux's assistant, a meek young man, who serves as substitute for the Carpenter and is infatuated with Julie. The criminal Ficsúr, who leads Liliom into committing a holdup, was renamed Alfred. In this version, Liliom slaps Julie onscreen; in the original stage versions of both Liliom and Carousel he is never shown doing this.
These first two talking film versions of Molnar's original play also alter the ending to make it more hopeful, though not as drastically as Carousel does. (A Trip to Paradise also featured a happy ending.) In the 1934 French film, Liliom finally does gain entry into Heaven, not because he has successfully done something good for his daughter, but because of Julie's forgiveness and love for him. Likewise, in the 1930 American film version, Liliom feels that he has failed, but the Heavenly Magistrate (H.B. Warner) reassures him that he has not, because Julie clearly still loves him. But it is never revealed in this version whether or not Liliom actually enters Heaven.
By contrast, in the original stage play, Liliom is ominously and sternly led offstage after he fails in his heavenly mission and is never seen or heard from again, although Julie still remembers him fondly.
- The play has also been adapted for both AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n and German television, respectively.
- Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical adaptation, Carousel, was made into a Cinemascope 55CinemaScope 55CinemaScope 55 was a large-format version of CinemaScope introduced by Twentieth Century Fox in 1955, which used a film width of 55.625 mm ....
color filmCarousel (film)Carousel is a 1956 film adaptation of the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical of the same name which, in turn, was based on Ferenc Molnár's non-musical play Liliom. The 1956 Carousel film stars Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones, and was directed by Henry King...
by 20th-Century Fox in 1956, starring Gordon MacRaeGordon MacRaeGordon MacRae was an American actor and singer, best known for his appearances in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Oklahoma! and Carousel and films with Doris Day like Starlift.-Early life:Born Albert Gordon MacRae in East Orange, New Jersey, MacRae graduated from...
and Shirley JonesShirley JonesShirley Mae Jones is an American singer and actress of stage, film and television. In her six decades of television, she starred as wholesome characters in a number of well-known musical films, such as Oklahoma! , Carousel , and The Music Man...
. The movie version of the hit musical failed to attract wide public attention at the time, although its soundtrack album was a best-seller and remains so to this day, but the motion picture has since taken its place as one of the Rodgers and Hammerstein film classics. In 2006, this film and the 1934 film of Liliom were packaged together on a 2-Disc DVD. (See the article on the film, CarouselCarousel (film)Carousel is a 1956 film adaptation of the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical of the same name which, in turn, was based on Ferenc Molnár's non-musical play Liliom. The 1956 Carousel film stars Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones, and was directed by Henry King...
.)
- A television adaptation of Carousel, starring Robert GouletRobert GouletRobert Gerard Goulet was a Canadian American entertainer as a singer and actor. He played the role of Lancelot in the Broadway musical Camelot of 1960.-Early life:...
and an unknown singer-actress named Mary Grover, aired in 1967 on the ABCAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
network.
Major characters in 'Liliom'
- Liliom, a carousel barker
- Julie, a housemaid who falls in love with Liliom
- Mrs. Muskat, owner of the carousel at which Liliom works; she is infatuated with Liliom
- Ficsúr, a criminal, and friend of Liliom
- Mother Hollunder, owner of the boarding house at which Liliom and Julie are staying
- Young Hollunder, her son
- Marie, Julie's best friend
- Wolf Beifeld, a hotel porter and Marie's fiancé
- A Carpenter, in unrequited love with Julie
- Louise, Liliom and Julie's daughter
- Linzman, a payroll clerk
- The Heavenly Magistrate
- Two Policemen from the Beyond