Perhaps its just as well that Columbia elected to film Prosper Merimees Carmen without Georges Bizets music: after all, Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford werent exactly Leontyne Price and Robert Merrill. The Loves of Carmen is a reasonably faithful rehash of Merimees story of the tempestuous gypsy cigarette-factory worker Carmen (Hayworth) and the devastating effect she has on the men in her life. Assigned to arrest Carmen after a street brawl, handsome military officer Don Jose (Ford) falls in love with her instead, renouncing his virginal sweetheart and falling in with Carmens smuggler cronies. So smitten is Don Jose that he doesnt realize until its too late that the amoral Carmen is foredoomed to destroy herself and her lovers. Highlights include a knife duel between Don Jose and Carmens common-law husband Garcia (Victor Jory) and the fatal final confrontation stemming from Carmens flirtation with bullfighter Lucas (John Baragrey). Dazzling Technicolor photography is the principal asset of this entertaining but uneven star vehicle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide