Unusual casting dominates the musical “Guys and Dolls.” Marlon Brando appears in a singing role, and opposite Frank Sinatra? When Frank did sing, it was in a halfhearted fashion. Jean Simmons also rarely appeared in musicals. Viviane Blaine seemed a little long in the tooth to be Sinatra’s love interest. And the 150 minute film seemed to go on and on, due to sloppy directing and screenwriting by Joseph Mankiewicz (“All About Eve” 1950).
The Samuel Goldwyn production did have some positives. There were numerous melodic songs, words and music by Frank Loesser. Brando did a terrible job on his sole musical number, “Luck Be a Lady.” Why didn’t they have the Chairman of the Board perform here? Ironically, Sinatra was standing to the side in this scene; the song later became one of his standards.
The cast also included Stubby Kaye, B. S. Pully, Johnny Silver, reprising their roles from the Broadway play. Other include Robert Keith, Regis Toomey, and Sheldon Leonard in yet another gangster role. “Guys and Dolls” made only a modest profit at the box office for producer Samuel Goldwyn and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was nominated for four Oscars – art direction, cinematography, costume design, and musical scoring.
Guys and Dolls (1955)
cinema
My Review
Unusual casting dominates the musical “Guys and Dolls.” Marlon Brando appears in a singing role, and opposite Frank Sinatra? When Frank did sing, it was in a halfhearted fashion. Jean Simmons also rarely appeared in musicals. Viviane Blaine seemed a little long in the tooth to be Sinatra’s love interest. And the 150 minute film seemed to go on and on, due to sloppy directing and screenwriting by Joseph Mankiewicz (“All About Eve” 1950).
The Samuel Goldwyn production did have some positives. There were numerous melodic songs, words and music by Frank Loesser. Brando did a terrible job on his sole musical number, “Luck Be a Lady.” Why didn’t they have the Chairman of the Board perform here? Ironically, Sinatra was standing to the side in this scene; the song later became one of his standards.
The cast also included Stubby Kaye, B. S. Pully, Johnny Silver, reprising their roles from the Broadway play. Other include Robert Keith, Regis Toomey, and Sheldon Leonard in yet another gangster role. “Guys and Dolls” made only a modest profit at the box office for producer Samuel Goldwyn and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was nominated for four Oscars – art direction, cinematography, costume design, and musical scoring.