Carmen on AllMovie

The oft-filmed Prosper Merimee novel Carmen was again committed to celluloid in 1926, this time under the skilled hand of French director Jacques Feyder. Raquel Miller plays the title character, an unbridled gypsy girl fated to bring about the ruin of herself and her soldier lover Don José (Louis Lerch). Tragedy is inevitable when, after thoroughly debasing Don José, Carmen falls for sexy toreador Escamillo (Guerrero de Xandoval). Director Feyder manages to transform this timeworn story into a feast for the eyes, especially during the climactic bullfighting sequence. When released in America in 1928, Carmen did surprisingly well, considering that Fox Pictures had recently produced its own version of the same story, with Dolores Del Rio as the ill-fated heroine.