The film had its world premiere at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City on October 28 , 1954 . The following February , it opened in London and Berlin , and in both cities it played for more than a year in exclusive first-run engagements . Because of a technicality in French copyright laws on order of the estate of composer George Bizet ( who wrote the opera on which the film was based ) , the film was banned in France until 1981 . However , it was permitted to open the 1955 Cannes Film Festival , where for the first time Preminger and Dandridge openly flaunted their relationship . Soon after Cannes , Dandridge was offered the role of Tuptim in the screen adaptation of '' The King and I '' , but Preminger , acting as both lover and mentor , urged her not to accept a supporting role after proving her worth as a star . Dandridge complied but later regretted her decision , certain it had been instrumental in starting the slow but steady decline of her career
1955 Cannes Film Festival
1955 Cannes Film Festival
Carmen Jones (film)