Guys and Dolls [G]

Nathan Detroit, renowned gambler and host of the famed and celebrated crap game has his livelihood threatened when Lieutenant Brannigan turns on the heat and is keeping an eye of every gambler in the city, eager to catch them out on the crap game. With only a garage to play in, Nathan must come up with a thousand in cash and the only way he can get it is through a bet. So he bets famous gambler and friend Sky Masterson that he can’t make a certain prim Salvation Army dame dine with him in Havana. But the bet takes a turn as Sky begins to develop feelings for the doll. 

Although is has some very catchy and memorable tunes and the cast has some pretty impressive names in it, Guys and Dolls was a camp musical that didn’t really live up to its potential. It had a solid enough story, but everything was overshadowed and sort of ruined by the high-powered dance scenes and Broadway style numbers. 

Nathan Detroit, renowned gambler and hots of the famed crap game has his livelihood threatened when Lieutenant Brannigan turns on the heat and begins keeping a close watch on every gambler, eager to catch them out at the crap game and put them behind bars. With only a garage to play in, Nathan must come up with one thousand dollars in cash or else cancel the game, which isn’t a very appealing option. The only way Nathan can think to get such a sum is by having a bet with famous gambler and friend Sky Masterson, who’s only in town for a short while. Desperate for the cash, Nathan bets Sky that he can’t woo Sarah Brown, a prim Salvation Army dame and convince her to dine with him in Havana before he leaves the following day. But the bet takes a turn when Sky starts to develop feelings towards the doll. 

All Broadway musical lovers, and I must admit that I am a great fan of show tunes and the like, will remember Guys and Dolls because it gave us those classic tracks Luck Be a Lady and Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat, and it’s those songs mixed with amorous songs like I’ll Know When My Love Comes Along, that make this movie even worth watching. 

The film had a good, solid story, but seemed to be hell-bent on making a movie in the style of a Broadway show and, unfortunately, it overdid everything so much that it just completely lost its hold of the story and overpowered it with its high-powered song and dance numbers. In my view this is almost blasphemous and in fact, I feel that this film had very few redeeming features. 

Aside from the catchy tunes that you’ll never get out of your head, I can put a name to two slightly redeeming features the movie had: Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando. 

Frank Sinatra stars as Nathan Detroit and, admittedly he’s a better singer than actor, nevertheless he was charming, and handsome, and I couldn’t keep my eyes off him. Especially when he was singing. He really is a crooner, you cannot help but swoon. 

Marlon Brando stars as Sky Masterson and he was adorably arrogant, charming, gentlemanly, and lovely to watch on screen. I think I fell in love with him for a bit there. 

Starring Jean Simmons, Vivien Blaine, Robert Keith, and Stubby Kaye, Guys and Dolls was an ok musical. Its major downfall was that it overdid the Broadway style song and dance numbers rather than paying attention to the potentially good story. Filled with extravagant costumes, catchy songs, big dance numbers and an even bigger drunken fight scene, Guys and Dolls has made it into The Book, but I do feel that you only need to see it once.