For some reason, I've never been a Damon Runyon fan. His characters are almost always cartoon-like (LITTLE MISS MARKER, THE BIG STREET) with odd names usually derived from gambling terms. Here the choreography uses a stylized approach that is probably in keeping with the cartoonish characters involved in the flimsy plot.
A few of the songs are top notch, but the choreography lacks something, even from the opening number. And the songs, in the hands of capable singers, would have been a lot more enjoyable. As it is, MARLON BRANDO was chosen to play Sky Masterson, he with a less than average way of belting out a tune--and prim JEAN SIMMONS plays the pretty Salvation Army miss in bland style (until the Havana nightclub scene) with her own unimpressive singing voice. She and Brando both fling themselves around amusingly for the impromptu nightclub dance number--but it seems totally out of character for her Salvation Army image.
That leaves VIVIAN BLAINE as Adelaide to give some professional polish to her songs (which she does, but in that nasal Adelaide voice that gets irritating after the first half-hour). Then too, STUBBY KAYE ("I've got the horse right here") is right at home with the Runyon material and the songs, as is the always dependable SHELDON LEONARD. And, of course, FRANK SINATRA, as Nathan Detroit (too bad he's not the one who gets to sing "Luck Be A Lady") is equally at home with Runyon's style.
But it's a musical about floating crap games that must have worked much better on the stage. The film is too long, sags in the middle during the Havana sequence, and the entire affair looks artificial and stylized to such an extent that believability suffers. No one sings or acts naturally, which is another big drawback. You almost expect the curtain to fall after certain scenes are played.
Definitely not the kind of musical I'd watch again. Once is enough.
However, I'm sure fans of Brando and Jean Simmons (who think both of them can indeed sing) won't mind watching this one.
A few of the songs are top notch, but the choreography lacks something, even from the opening number. And the songs, in the hands of capable singers, would have been a lot more enjoyable. As it is, MARLON BRANDO was chosen to play Sky Masterson, he with a less than average way of belting out a tune--and prim JEAN SIMMONS plays the pretty Salvation Army miss in bland style (until the Havana nightclub scene) with her own unimpressive singing voice. She and Brando both fling themselves around amusingly for the impromptu nightclub dance number--but it seems totally out of character for her Salvation Army image.
That leaves VIVIAN BLAINE as Adelaide to give some professional polish to her songs (which she does, but in that nasal Adelaide voice that gets irritating after the first half-hour). Then too, STUBBY KAYE ("I've got the horse right here") is right at home with the Runyon material and the songs, as is the always dependable SHELDON LEONARD. And, of course, FRANK SINATRA, as Nathan Detroit (too bad he's not the one who gets to sing "Luck Be A Lady") is equally at home with Runyon's style.
But it's a musical about floating crap games that must have worked much better on the stage. The film is too long, sags in the middle during the Havana sequence, and the entire affair looks artificial and stylized to such an extent that believability suffers. No one sings or acts naturally, which is another big drawback. You almost expect the curtain to fall after certain scenes are played.
Definitely not the kind of musical I'd watch again. Once is enough.
However, I'm sure fans of Brando and Jean Simmons (who think both of them can indeed sing) won't mind watching this one.