Why Hollywood’s most expensive musical became a ghost story for over fifty years
In short: Samuel Goldwyn’s 1959 production of Porgy and Bess was a high-budget, star-studded affair that turned into a cultural lightning rod. Plagued by on-set fires, director firings, and intense public backlash, the film eventually vanished from circulation, becoming a legendary lost masterpiece that the Gershwin estate allegedly wanted destroyed.
The 1959 film adaptation of George Gershwin’s opera was a massive undertaking for producer Samuel Goldwyn, costing $7 million. Despite securing a cast including Sidney Poitier and Dorothy Dandridge, the production was fraught with tension. Many Black actors, including Harry Belafonte, rejected roles they deemed demeaning, and the production faced a devastating $2 million fire in 1958 that destroyed sets and costumes. Director Rouben Mamoulian was fired mid-production and replaced by Otto Preminger, leading to a bitter dispute over creative control and directorial credit.
Upon release, the film drew mixed reactions. While some critics praised its musicality and Technicolor visuals, others, like James Baldwin, criticized the film for its lack of authenticity and the perceived insensitivity of a white director handling such sensitive material. The film’s reception was further marred by protests in Atlanta, leading Goldwyn to pull the movie from several markets. Although it performed well in Europe, it failed to recoup its production costs in the United States and Canada.
The film’s subsequent disappearance is rooted in legal and personal conflict. Goldwyn’s distribution rights expired after 15 years, leaving the Gershwin and Heyward estates with control over the work. For decades, the estate refused to grant exhibition permission, fueling rumors that Ira Gershwin had ordered the destruction of all prints. While this remains contested, the film became a 'holy grail' for cinephiles, rarely seen until its 2011 selection for the National Film Registry. Today, it stands as a complex artifact of a shifting era in civil rights and cinematic history.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Porgy and Bess (film)
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