As the title song of Guys and Dolls philosophizes what we guys will not do to our dolls to win a bet or get a dice game going. That's the dilemma facing promoter of said dice game Nathan Detroit who can't come up with the $1000.00 for the Biltmore Hotel garage for the what is generally known as the oldest established permanent floating crap game in New York.
What to do, bet a reckless gambler Sky Masterson. Sucker him into betting he can't sweep a doll off her feet for a romantic idyll in pre-Castro Havana. The doll you pick for Sky is Sister Sarah Brown of the Salvation Army. Of course Nathan's life is also complicated by his 14 year long engagement to Adelaide of the Hot Box Revue.
Considering the resentments that festered between Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra who played Sky and Nathan, I can't believe this film got made at all. Especially when you consider both these guys never hesitated in walking off film sets if their anger was aroused. In Sinatra's case I can understand since Brando's playing the part he should have done. Proof of that can be found on Guys and Dolls cast album that Sinatra did for his Reprise record label in the early sixties where he shows what he could do with the Masterson songs.
Still Brando is not great, but not bad as a singer and Frank Loesser did write the Adelaide song for Sinatra for the film. Unfortunately he also wrote A Woman In Love for the score which Brando sings and which became a big hit. Not for Marlon Brando, but for another Frankie named Laine.
Jean Simmons is our Salvation Army Sergeant and she shows once again why was the most under appreciated film star of the fifties. That woman was in so many of the best films of that decade and never got any real recognition for her talent. I like her the best from this movie.
Vivian Blaine, Johnny Silver, B.S. Pully, and Stubby Kaye all came over from the original Broadway cast. They all contribute their unique talents to parts that became career roles for them.
With some smarter casting it's better than even money that Guys and Dolls would be a great and not a good film.
What to do, bet a reckless gambler Sky Masterson. Sucker him into betting he can't sweep a doll off her feet for a romantic idyll in pre-Castro Havana. The doll you pick for Sky is Sister Sarah Brown of the Salvation Army. Of course Nathan's life is also complicated by his 14 year long engagement to Adelaide of the Hot Box Revue.
Considering the resentments that festered between Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra who played Sky and Nathan, I can't believe this film got made at all. Especially when you consider both these guys never hesitated in walking off film sets if their anger was aroused. In Sinatra's case I can understand since Brando's playing the part he should have done. Proof of that can be found on Guys and Dolls cast album that Sinatra did for his Reprise record label in the early sixties where he shows what he could do with the Masterson songs.
Still Brando is not great, but not bad as a singer and Frank Loesser did write the Adelaide song for Sinatra for the film. Unfortunately he also wrote A Woman In Love for the score which Brando sings and which became a big hit. Not for Marlon Brando, but for another Frankie named Laine.
Jean Simmons is our Salvation Army Sergeant and she shows once again why was the most under appreciated film star of the fifties. That woman was in so many of the best films of that decade and never got any real recognition for her talent. I like her the best from this movie.
Vivian Blaine, Johnny Silver, B.S. Pully, and Stubby Kaye all came over from the original Broadway cast. They all contribute their unique talents to parts that became career roles for them.
With some smarter casting it's better than even money that Guys and Dolls would be a great and not a good film.