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July 16 - 22, 2023 • Terre Haute Tribune-Star • 9 During his very full life, Harry Belafonte was many things, personally and professionally. And being an actor was one of them. The entertainer and activist didn't make a lot of films, relatively speaking, but those he did make generally had social undercurrents … not surprising for someone who was so concerned with the world around him. Following his death in April at age 96, Turner Classic Movies pays tribute to him with a double feature on Saturday, July 22: "Carmen Jones" (1954) will be followed by "The World, the Flesh and the Devil" (1959). The Otto Preminger-directed "Carmen Jones" was Belafonte's second movie, revising the Bizet opera "Carmen" with Dorothy Dan- dridge in the title role of a much-desired war- time parachute-factory employee who sets her sights on an already engaged soldier (Belafon- te). It's interesting that despite his famous sing- ing skills, Belafonte took the opportunity to be dubbed by another vocalist (Le Vern Hutcher- son) who was more accomplished specifically in the operatic realm. The cast also includes Pearl Bailey, Brock Peters and Diahann Carroll. Directed and co-written by Ranald McDou- gall (who was married to second wife Nanette Fabray at the time), "The World, the Flesh and the Devil" came shortly before Belafonte took a break from moviemaking for roughly a decade, casting him as a miner who's one of the relative handful of people to survive a nuclear holocaust. Indeed, the picture has only two other actors, Inger Stevens and Mel Ferrer. As their characters try to adjust to an otherwise empty New York (filmed very early each work day, before the city's usual population began filling the streets), racial tensions eventually surface among them. In a way, the July 22 evening actually will be TCM's second salute to Belafonte. Earlier in the month, his daughter Shari Belafonte served as a guest programmer, and her choices includ- ed her father's 1959 feature "Odds Against To- morrow." His subsequent screen credits would include a couple of teamings with his close friend Sidney Poitier, "Buck and the Preacher" and "Uptown Saturday Night" (both of which also included Poitier as a director), and a cam- eo as himself in Robert Altman's Hollywood satire "The Player." Belafonte and the movies will be connected again in the near future, since he is the subject of the forthcoming documentary "Following Harry," previewed at the recent Tribeca Film Festival. in that movie, director Susanne Ros- tock (who also made the 2011 Belafonte profile "Sing My Song") enables him to reflect on the change he hoped to bring about in America … though he questioned how much he had accomplished. Many admirers believe Belafonte achieved a considerable amount during his life- time; TCM clearly does, too, as evidenced by the salute that it's about to give him. spotlight BY JAY BOBBIN Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte in "Carmen Jones" TCM recalls the impact of Harry Belafonte Steve Harvey from "Celebrity Family Feud" Signature HealthCARE of Terre Haute 3500 Maple Avenue Terre Haute, IN 47804 (812) 238-1555 SHCof TerreHaute.com reported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Signature HealthCARE of Terre Haute 3500 Maple Avenue Terre Haute, IN 47804 (812) 238-1555 SHCof TerreHaute.com reported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Signature HealthCARE of Terre Haute 3500 Maple Avenue Terre Haute, IN 47804 (812) 238-1555 SHCof TerreHaute.com reported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Along with the many other services, programs and amenities Signature HealthCARE offers Physical Therapy in PRIVATE Rehab Rooms. Giving you privacy as you work with your Therapist. YOUR RECOVERY IS OUR TOP PRIORITY Color Page