Dorothy Dandridge made history as the first African American woman ever nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award in producer-director Otto Preminger’s stylish musical adaptation of Georges Bizet’s Carmen. Updating the opera’s story to World War II-era North Carolina, Carmen Jones tells how parachute factory vixen Dandridge (singing voice provided by Marilyn Horne) seduces young private Harry Belafonte (singing by LeVern Hutcherson) into an affair with tragic results. Preminger supported his leading duo with an all-African American cast including Pearl Bailey, Brock Peters, and Diahann Carroll, though it’s Dandridge’s striking figure that appeared on the Saul Bass-designed posters for the film. 

Make It Dinner and a Movie

Fanny's Restaurant & Café

All guests who present a ticket for a film screening, Tuesday through Saturday (and the first Sunday of every month), receive 10% off all food and non-alcoholic beverages at Fanny's. Discount only applicable on the same day as the screening and cannot be redeemed for another screening or date. Dinner reservations can be made on OpenTable or Resy.