orologio en CINEBLOG01. A three-reel version of the famous stage production. Don Jose, the hero of the famous book by Prosper Merimee, and Bizet's celebrated opera, was born in the Basque Provinces of Spain. He was a young, good-looking peasant, devoted to his old mother, and greatly in love with his pretty sweetheart, Mercedes. The plans of Jose and Mercedes for an early marriage were rudely dissipated by the news that the young man had been drafted for service in the Spanish army. Jose comforted his mother and Mercedes, telling them that he would soon return and they would never be separated again.