Guys and Dolls (1955)

Guys and Dolls
Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz from the play by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows and stories by Damon Runyon
1955/USA
The Samuel Goldwyn Company
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental
#309 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

[box] Sergeant Sarah Brown: That bacardi flavor, it certainly makes a difference, doesn’t it?

Sky Masterson: Oh, yeah. Nine times out of ten.[/box]

I’m not ashamed of loving this movie

Nathan Detroit (Frank Sinatra) has a problem.  On the 14th anniversary of his engagement to stripper Adelaide (Vivian Blaine),  he is broke and without a venue for his illegal crap game.  The town is full of high rollers but the heat, in the form of Sgt. Brannigan, is on.  He needs $1,000 cash up front to use a friend’s garage.  So Nathan decides he will earn the money by means of a sucker bet.  He finagles Sky Masterson (Marlon Brando) into bragging that he can take any woman at all to Havana for dinner the next day.  After Sky falls for a bet, Nathan picks Save-a-Soul Mission missionary Sarah Brown (Jean Simmons) as the lucky lady.

Sky realizes he has been had and vows that he will not let Nathan get the better of him.  Finally he sees a way to get Sarah to bite in exchange for delivering twelve sinners to impress a General that wantq to close down the struggling mission.  Naturally, he gets more than he bargained for once he gets her to Havana.  With Stubby Kaye as Nathan’s henchman Nicely-Nicely Johnson.

I was in this musical in my youth, have it practically memorized, and love it still.  One has to accept the cartoon sensibility of the piece and the picturesque Damon Runyon way of speaking.  I think these are quite charming and like the music a lot as well.  It’s fun to see Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons sing and dance.  I hadn’t realized Joseph L. Mankiewicz was at the helm until this viewing.  Recommended to musical lovers.

Guys and Dolls was nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of Best Cinematography, Color; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color; Best Costume Design, Color; and Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture.

Trailer – Ed Sullivan looks so young!

Clip – “Fugue for Tinhorns”