1955
Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
So we go from the worst to the best with this delightful musical. When I first saw that Marlon Brando was going to be singing and dancing, I was understandably frightened. But this is the best film I have seen in awhile; it was simply magnificent.
I had never seen any production of Guys and Dolls so I really had no idea what to expect. Most people are probably familiar with the story but I will bore you all with the summary anyway. Frank Sinatra bets Marlon Brando that he could not get the hot Christian dame to come to Havana with him. Brando takes the bet, but as in all romances, he gets more than he bargained for!
This film is completely flawless. In real life, Brando and Sinatra absolutely hated each other, but they have great chemistry in the movie. The songs are catchy, particularly "Luck Be A Lady Tonight" sung by Brando which did something for my lady parts, not going to lie. This film is over two hours, which I think normally would be too long for a musical, but I was entertained the entire time. Highly recommended; one of my favorite musicals of all time (after Moulin Rouge! and West Side Story).
RATING: *****
Interesting Facts:
Frank Sinatra protested against Brando being cast, largely because he wanted the part of Sky Masterson for himself.
Sinatra's nickname for Brando was Mumbles.
Excellent song:
1950's Marlon Brando is sexy af. That's all
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
DeleteHope you are sitting down for this comment...
ReplyDeleteI completely agree :D haha.
My story with this musical goes like this. I watched it when I was a kid...years before I fell in love with Brando and before I became a fan of Frank. I liked it at the time but it didn't become a favourite.
So recently I went to see it on the West End and really didn't rate the show at all- was mega disappointed and thought the whole thing was lacklustre.
Decided to watch the film again last week and fell in love with it. I just thought everything about it was great and I don't think it gets the credit it deserves. It never really gets mentioned when people talk about great musicals!
Yay!! I have never seen the play but so much of my love for this movie comes from the cast, so I might have the same reaction you did.
ReplyDeleteYou would think that a movie starring Sinatra and Brando would be guaranteed success and I know Guys and Dolls is an all time musical success on Broadway, but it just did not click for me. I cannot say exactly what it is. Maybe it is simply thta it is a musical, maybe it is the dancing gangsters, I don't know.
ReplyDeleteHaha yeah it was definitely a weird shift but I still found it to be delightful.
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