Review of Carousel (2013) by Chris H — 11 Sep 2010

Very human tale. Billy Bigelow (Gordon MacRae), recounts the story of his life, and death, after meeting Julie Jordan (Shirley Jones). Includes the classic song, You'll Never Walk Alone, which sort of sneaks up on the viewer.

Billy, seems to have no redeeming qualities, except that Julie loves him. He is redeemed, somewhat, when he begins to consider the consequences of fatherhood. Here, he starts to develop a conscience that could have led him to a more honest and productive life. Alas, his best friend is a crook, a thief, and potential murderer, who only succeeds in leading Billy to his doom.

Despite this, the story is about redemption. Billy is allowed to return from the grave, and help his daughter, Louise Bigelow (Susan Luckey), avoid being led astray.

Trivia from IMDB states that Frank Sinatra and Julie Garland were considered for the roles of Billy and Julie. Wouldn't that have been interesting, but it's great to see Shirley Jones, in another pre-Partridge Family role, lighting up the screen (or sadly, in my case, the television set).