Guys and Dolls (film)
Encyclopedia
Guys and Dolls is a 1955 musical film
starring Marlon Brando
, Jean Simmons
, Frank Sinatra
and Vivian Blaine
. The film was made by the Samuel Goldwyn Company and distributed by MGM. It was produced by Samuel Goldwyn
, and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
, who also wrote the screenplay. The film is based on the 1950 Broadway musical
by composer and lyricist Frank Loesser
, with a book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows
based on "The Idyll Of Miss Sarah Brown
" and "Blood Pressure", two short stories by Damon Runyon
.
Upon Samuel Goldwyn's and Joseph L. Mankiewicz's requests, Frank Loesser wrote three new songs for the film: "Pet Me Poppa", "(Your Eyes Are the Eyes of) A Woman in Love", and "Adelaide", the last written specifically for Sinatra. Five songs in the stage musical were omitted from the movie: "A Bushel and a Peck", "My Time of Day", "I've Never Been In Love Before", "More I Cannot Wish You" and "Marry the Man Today".
and movie
versions, the plot is essentially based on the activities of New York
petty criminal
s and professional gamblers
in the late 1940s.
Gambler Nathan Detroit (Frank Sinatra
) is under pressure from all sides: He has to organize an unlicensed crap game
but the police, led by Lieutenant Brannigan (Robert Keith), are "putting on the heat". All the places where Nathan usually holds his games refuse him entry due to Brannigan's intimidating pressure. The owner of the Biltmore garage does agree to host the game provided Nathan pays him $1000 in cash in advance. The garage owner will not even accept a "marker" or IOU
, he insists on having the money itself. Adding to Nathan's problems, his fiancée, Miss Adelaide (Vivian Blaine
), a nightclub
singer, wants to bring an end to their 14-year engagement and actually tie the knot. She also wants him to go straight, but organizing illegal gambling is the only thing he's good at.
Trying to obtain the money for the garage, Nathan meets an old acquaintance, Sky Masterson (Marlon Brando
), a gambler willing to bet on virtually anything and for high amounts. Nathan proposes a $1000 bet by which Sky must take a girl of Nathan's choosing to dinner in Havana
, Cuba
. The bet seems impossible for Sky to win when Nathan nominates Sergeant Sarah Brown (Jean Simmons
), a straight-walking sister at the Save a Soul Mission
(based on the Salvation Army
) which opposes gambling.
Sarah herself has problems. She has been in charge of the Broadway
branch of the Mission for some time now and no drunks
or gamblers have come in to confess or reform. To approach Sarah, Sky pretends that he is a gambler who wants to change. Sarah sees how expensively dressed he is and she is suspicious: "It's just so unusual for a successful sinner to be unhappy about sin."
Seeing that the Mission is and has been empty and unsuccessful, "a store full of repentance and no customers", Sky suggests a bargain: He will get a dozen sinners into the Mission for her Thursday night meeting in return for her having dinner with him in Havana. With General Matilda Cartwright (Kathryn Givney) threatening to close the Broadway branch for lack of participation, Sarah has little choice left, and agrees to the date.
Confident that he will win his bet with Sky, Nathan has gathered together all the gamblers, including a visitor that tough-guy Harry the Horse (Sheldon Leonard
) has invited: Big Jule (B.S. Pully
), a Chicago
mobster. When Lieutenant Brannigan appears and notices this gathering of "senior delinquents", Nathan's sidekick, Benny Southstreet (Johnny Silver) covers it up by claiming that they are celebrating the fact that Nathan is getting married to Adelaide. Nathan is shocked by this, but is forced to play along. Later, when he notices the Save a Soul Mission band passing by and sees that Sarah is not among them, he collapses on the realization that he has lost his bet with Sky. He has no money and nowhere to house the crap game, and, since Adelaide was present at the "wedding announcement" Benny Southstreet dreamed up, he is now apparently committed to actually marrying Adelaide. He does love Adelaide, but is uneasy about going straight, either maritally or lawfully.
Over the course of their short stay in Cuba, Sky manages to break down Sarah's social inhibitions, partly through disguised alcoholic drinks, and they begin to fall in love with one another. He even confesses that the whole date was part of a bet, but she forgives him as she realizes that his love for her is sincere.
They return to Broadway at dawn and meet the Save a Soul Mission band which, on Sky's advice, has been parading all night. At that moment police sirens can be heard, and before they know it the gamblers led by Nathan Detroit are hurrying out of a back room of the Mission, where they took advantage of the empty premises to hold the crap game.
The police arrive too late to make any arrests, but Lieutenant Brannigan finds the absence of Sarah and the other Save a Soul members too convenient to have been a coincidence. He implies that it was all Sky's doing: "Masterson, I had you in my big-time book. Now I suppose I'll have to reclassify you — under shills and decoys". His suspicions are passed on to Sarah, who dumps Sky there and then, refusing to accept his denials.
In the meantime Sky has to make good his arrangement with Sarah to provide sinners to the Mission. Sarah would rather forget the whole thing, but Uncle Arvide Abernathy (Regis Toomey
), who acts as a kind of father figure to her, warns Sky that "If you don't make that marker good, I'm going to buzz it all over town you're a welcher."
Nathan has continued the crap game in a sewer
. With his revolver
visible in its shoulder holster, Big Jule, who has lost all his money, forces Nathan to play against him while he cheats, cleaning Nathan out. Sky enters and knocks Big Jule down and removes his pistol. Sky, who has been stung and devastated by Sarah's rejection, lies to Nathan about succeeding in the bet to take her to Havana, and pays Nathan the $1000. Nathan tells Big Jule he now has money to play him again, but Harry the Horse says that Big Jule can't play without cheating because "he cannot make a pass to save his soul". Sky overhears this, and the phrasing inspires him to make a bold bet: He will roll the dice, and if he loses he will give all the other gamblers $1000 each; if he wins they are all to attend a prayer meeting at the Mission.
The Mission is near to closing when suddenly the gamblers come parading in, taking up most of the room. Sky won the roll. They grudgingly confess their sins, though they show little sign of repentance: "Well ... I was always a bad guy. I was even a bad gambler. I would like to be a good guy and a good gambler. I thank you." Even Big Jule declares: "I used to be bad when I was a kid. But ever since then I've gone straight, as I can prove by my record — 33 arrests and no convictions." Nicely-Nicely Johnson (Stubby Kaye
) however, recalling a dream he had the night before, seems to have an authentic connection to the Mission's aim, and this satisfies everyone.
When Nathan tells Sarah that Sky denied winning the Cuba bet, which she knows he won, she hurries off in order to make up with him.
It all ends with a double wedding in the middle of Times Square
, with Sky marrying Sarah, and Nathan marrying Adelaide, who is given away by Lieutenant Brannigan. Arvide Abernathy performs the dual ceremony. Nicely-Nicely has joined the Save a Soul Mission, and he and General Matilda Cartwright are sweet on each other. As the film closes, the two newlywed couples are escorted from the wedding to their respective love nests inside police cars, with lights festively flashing and sirens blaring.
had originated the role of Sky Masterson on Broadway
in 1950. For the movie, Gene Kelly
, then one of the screen's greatest dancers, at first seemed a serious candidate for the part. Instead it went to Marlon Brando, then one of the screen's greatest actors, partly because MGM would not loan Kelly for the production, but also because Goldwyn wanted to cast Brando, the biggest box office draw at that moment. The film ended up being distributed by MGM, Kelly's home studio.
Another contender for the part of Sky was Sinatra himself. Sinatra had also been considered for the part of Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront
; both roles went to Brando.
Marilyn Monroe
and Grace Kelly
were also considered for the parts of Adelaide and Sarah respectively. Mankiewicz refused to work with Monroe, probably as a result of his experiences while filming All About Eve
, in which she had appeared.
The musical scenes for Jean Simmons and Marlon Brando were sung by the actors themselves (no dubbing).
Robert Keith plays police Lieutenant Brannigan, and one of his targets is Sky Masterson. Keith had matched wits with Brando before in the part of a sheriff facing Brando's reckless biker in The Wild One
.
Stubby Kaye
, Vivian Blaine
, B.S. Pully
, and Johnny Silver all repeated their Broadway roles in the film.
In 2004, the AFI
ranked the song Luck Be a Lady at #42 on their list of the 100 greatest film songs, AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs
. In 2006 Guys and Dolls ranked #23 on the American Film Institute
's list of best musicals
.
reports that 81% critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 6.9/10. Casting Marlon Brando
has long been somewhat controversial, although Variety
wrote "The casting is good all the way." This was the only Samuel Goldwyn
film released through MGM. With an estimated budget of over $5 million, it went on to gross in excess of $13 million. Variety
ranked it as the #1 moneymaking film of 1956, netting a profit of $9,000,000. Guys and Dolls went on to gross $1.1 million in the UK, $1 million in Japan
, and over $20 million dollars globally.
However, the film has been criticized by some critics and by the surviving family of Frank Loesser, who wrote the music and lyrics. Loesser had a very public disagreement with Sinatra, considering him totally wrong for the role of Nathan Detroit, who, in the stage version, was played by the gruff-voiced Sam Levene
, who was not really a singer. Loesser felt that Sinatra was too slick for the role of Nathan and strongly disliked the way he "crooned" Nathan's songs. This resulted in Loesser and Sinatra never speaking to each other again after the film was finished. Others have criticized the smooth, mellow-voiced gambler Sky Masterson being played by the non-singer Brando, who, according to a biography of Samuel Goldwyn by Arthur Marx, was cast simply because he was then the hottest rising star in Hollywood. Nevertheless, Brando sings in the film and received praise for his vocal performance.
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
starring Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
, Jean Simmons
Jean Simmons
Jean Merilyn Simmons, OBE was an English actress. She appeared predominantly in motion pictures, beginning with films made in Great Britain during and after World War II – she was one of J...
, Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
and Vivian Blaine
Vivian Blaine
Vivian Blaine was an American actress and singer best known for originating the role of Miss Adelaide in the musical theater production Guys and Dolls.-Life and career:...
. The film was made by the Samuel Goldwyn Company and distributed by MGM. It was produced by Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn was an American film producer, and founding contributor executive of several motion picture studios.-Biography:...
, and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Joseph Leo Mankiewicz was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz had a long Hollywood career and is best known as the writer-director of All About Eve , which was nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won six. He was brother to screenwriter and drama critic Herman J...
, who also wrote the screenplay. The film is based on the 1950 Broadway musical
Guys and Dolls
Guys and Dolls is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" and "Blood Pressure", two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also borrows characters and plot elements from other Runyon stories, most notably...
by composer and lyricist Frank Loesser
Frank Loesser
Frank Henry Loesser was an American songwriter who wrote the lyrics and scores to the Broadway hits Guys and Dolls and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, among others. He won separate Tony Awards for the music and lyrics in both shows, as well as sharing the Pulitzer Prize for...
, with a book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows
Abe Burrows
Abe Burrows was a Tony and Pulitzer-winning American humorist, author, and director for radio and the stage.-Early years:...
based on "The Idyll Of Miss Sarah Brown
The Idyll Of Miss Sarah Brown
"The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" is a short story by Damon Runyon upon which the musical Guys and Dolls is based. It was first published in 1933. In 1949, it was dramatized on radio as part of a program called Damon Runyon Theatre....
" and "Blood Pressure", two short stories by Damon Runyon
Damon Runyon
Alfred Damon Runyon was an American newspaperman and writer.He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era. To New Yorkers of his generation, a "Damon Runyon character" evoked a distinctive social type from the...
.
Upon Samuel Goldwyn's and Joseph L. Mankiewicz's requests, Frank Loesser wrote three new songs for the film: "Pet Me Poppa", "(Your Eyes Are the Eyes of) A Woman in Love", and "Adelaide", the last written specifically for Sinatra. Five songs in the stage musical were omitted from the movie: "A Bushel and a Peck", "My Time of Day", "I've Never Been In Love Before", "More I Cannot Wish You" and "Marry the Man Today".
Plot
Although there are detail differences between the stageStage (theatre)
In theatre or performance arts, the stage is a designated space for the performance productions. The stage serves as a space for actors or performers and a focal point for the members of the audience...
and movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
versions, the plot is essentially based on the activities of New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
petty criminal
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
s and professional gamblers
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
in the late 1940s.
Gambler Nathan Detroit (Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
) is under pressure from all sides: He has to organize an unlicensed crap game
Craps
Craps is a dice game in which players place wagers on the outcome of the roll, or a series of rolls, of a pair of dice. Players may wager money against each other or a bank...
but the police, led by Lieutenant Brannigan (Robert Keith), are "putting on the heat". All the places where Nathan usually holds his games refuse him entry due to Brannigan's intimidating pressure. The owner of the Biltmore garage does agree to host the game provided Nathan pays him $1000 in cash in advance. The garage owner will not even accept a "marker" or IOU
IOU (debt)
An IOU is usually an informal document acknowledging debt. An IOU differs from a promissory note in that an IOU is not a negotiable instrument and does not specify repayment terms such as the time of repayment. IOUs usually specify the debtor, the amount owed, and sometimes the creditor...
, he insists on having the money itself. Adding to Nathan's problems, his fiancée, Miss Adelaide (Vivian Blaine
Vivian Blaine
Vivian Blaine was an American actress and singer best known for originating the role of Miss Adelaide in the musical theater production Guys and Dolls.-Life and career:...
), a nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
singer, wants to bring an end to their 14-year engagement and actually tie the knot. She also wants him to go straight, but organizing illegal gambling is the only thing he's good at.
Trying to obtain the money for the garage, Nathan meets an old acquaintance, Sky Masterson (Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
), a gambler willing to bet on virtually anything and for high amounts. Nathan proposes a $1000 bet by which Sky must take a girl of Nathan's choosing to dinner in Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. The bet seems impossible for Sky to win when Nathan nominates Sergeant Sarah Brown (Jean Simmons
Jean Simmons
Jean Merilyn Simmons, OBE was an English actress. She appeared predominantly in motion pictures, beginning with films made in Great Britain during and after World War II – she was one of J...
), a straight-walking sister at the Save a Soul Mission
Church Body
A local church is a Christian religious organization that meets in a particular location. Many are formally organized, with constitutions and by-laws, maintain offices, are served by pastors or lay leaders, and, in nations where this is permissible, often seek seek non-profit corporate status...
(based on the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
) which opposes gambling.
Sarah herself has problems. She has been in charge of the Broadway
Broadway (New York City)
Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
branch of the Mission for some time now and no drunks
Drunkenness
Alcohol intoxication is a physiological state that occurs when a person has a high level of ethanol in his or her blood....
or gamblers have come in to confess or reform. To approach Sarah, Sky pretends that he is a gambler who wants to change. Sarah sees how expensively dressed he is and she is suspicious: "It's just so unusual for a successful sinner to be unhappy about sin."
Seeing that the Mission is and has been empty and unsuccessful, "a store full of repentance and no customers", Sky suggests a bargain: He will get a dozen sinners into the Mission for her Thursday night meeting in return for her having dinner with him in Havana. With General Matilda Cartwright (Kathryn Givney) threatening to close the Broadway branch for lack of participation, Sarah has little choice left, and agrees to the date.
Confident that he will win his bet with Sky, Nathan has gathered together all the gamblers, including a visitor that tough-guy Harry the Horse (Sheldon Leonard
Sheldon Leonard
Sheldon Leonard was a pioneering American film and television producer, director, writer, and actor.-Biography:...
) has invited: Big Jule (B.S. Pully
B.S. Pully
B.S. Pully, born Murray Lerman, was a New York nightclub comedian and stage actor who created the role of Big Jule in the musical Guys and Dolls...
), a Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
mobster. When Lieutenant Brannigan appears and notices this gathering of "senior delinquents", Nathan's sidekick, Benny Southstreet (Johnny Silver) covers it up by claiming that they are celebrating the fact that Nathan is getting married to Adelaide. Nathan is shocked by this, but is forced to play along. Later, when he notices the Save a Soul Mission band passing by and sees that Sarah is not among them, he collapses on the realization that he has lost his bet with Sky. He has no money and nowhere to house the crap game, and, since Adelaide was present at the "wedding announcement" Benny Southstreet dreamed up, he is now apparently committed to actually marrying Adelaide. He does love Adelaide, but is uneasy about going straight, either maritally or lawfully.
Over the course of their short stay in Cuba, Sky manages to break down Sarah's social inhibitions, partly through disguised alcoholic drinks, and they begin to fall in love with one another. He even confesses that the whole date was part of a bet, but she forgives him as she realizes that his love for her is sincere.
They return to Broadway at dawn and meet the Save a Soul Mission band which, on Sky's advice, has been parading all night. At that moment police sirens can be heard, and before they know it the gamblers led by Nathan Detroit are hurrying out of a back room of the Mission, where they took advantage of the empty premises to hold the crap game.
The police arrive too late to make any arrests, but Lieutenant Brannigan finds the absence of Sarah and the other Save a Soul members too convenient to have been a coincidence. He implies that it was all Sky's doing: "Masterson, I had you in my big-time book. Now I suppose I'll have to reclassify you — under shills and decoys". His suspicions are passed on to Sarah, who dumps Sky there and then, refusing to accept his denials.
In the meantime Sky has to make good his arrangement with Sarah to provide sinners to the Mission. Sarah would rather forget the whole thing, but Uncle Arvide Abernathy (Regis Toomey
Regis Toomey
John Regis Toomey was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was one of four children of Francis X. and Mary Ellen Toomey and attended Peabody High School...
), who acts as a kind of father figure to her, warns Sky that "If you don't make that marker good, I'm going to buzz it all over town you're a welcher."
Nathan has continued the crap game in a sewer
Sanitary sewer
A sanitary sewer is a separate underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater...
. With his revolver
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
visible in its shoulder holster, Big Jule, who has lost all his money, forces Nathan to play against him while he cheats, cleaning Nathan out. Sky enters and knocks Big Jule down and removes his pistol. Sky, who has been stung and devastated by Sarah's rejection, lies to Nathan about succeeding in the bet to take her to Havana, and pays Nathan the $1000. Nathan tells Big Jule he now has money to play him again, but Harry the Horse says that Big Jule can't play without cheating because "he cannot make a pass to save his soul". Sky overhears this, and the phrasing inspires him to make a bold bet: He will roll the dice, and if he loses he will give all the other gamblers $1000 each; if he wins they are all to attend a prayer meeting at the Mission.
The Mission is near to closing when suddenly the gamblers come parading in, taking up most of the room. Sky won the roll. They grudgingly confess their sins, though they show little sign of repentance: "Well ... I was always a bad guy. I was even a bad gambler. I would like to be a good guy and a good gambler. I thank you." Even Big Jule declares: "I used to be bad when I was a kid. But ever since then I've gone straight, as I can prove by my record — 33 arrests and no convictions." Nicely-Nicely Johnson (Stubby Kaye
Stubby Kaye
Stubby Kaye was an American comic actor. He was born Bernard Kotzin in New York City on the last day of the First World War, at West 114th Street in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan to first generation Jewish-Americans originally from Russia and Austria...
) however, recalling a dream he had the night before, seems to have an authentic connection to the Mission's aim, and this satisfies everyone.
When Nathan tells Sarah that Sky denied winning the Cuba bet, which she knows he won, she hurries off in order to make up with him.
It all ends with a double wedding in the middle of Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
, with Sky marrying Sarah, and Nathan marrying Adelaide, who is given away by Lieutenant Brannigan. Arvide Abernathy performs the dual ceremony. Nicely-Nicely has joined the Save a Soul Mission, and he and General Matilda Cartwright are sweet on each other. As the film closes, the two newlywed couples are escorted from the wedding to their respective love nests inside police cars, with lights festively flashing and sirens blaring.
Casting the movie
Robert AldaRobert Alda
Robert Alda was an American actor. He was the father of actors Alan Alda and Antony Alda.-Life and career:...
had originated the role of Sky Masterson on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in 1950. For the movie, Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
, then one of the screen's greatest dancers, at first seemed a serious candidate for the part. Instead it went to Marlon Brando, then one of the screen's greatest actors, partly because MGM would not loan Kelly for the production, but also because Goldwyn wanted to cast Brando, the biggest box office draw at that moment. The film ended up being distributed by MGM, Kelly's home studio.
Another contender for the part of Sky was Sinatra himself. Sinatra had also been considered for the part of Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront
On the Waterfront
On the Waterfront is a 1954 American drama film about union violence and corruption among longshoremen. The film was directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. It stars Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger, Eva Marie Saint, Lee J. Cobb and Karl Malden. The soundtrack score was composed by Leonard...
; both roles went to Brando.
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
and Grace Kelly
Grace Kelly
Grace Patricia Kelly was an American actress who, in April 1956, married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, to become Princess consort of Monaco, styled as Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, and commonly referred to as Princess Grace.After embarking on an acting career in 1950, at the age of...
were also considered for the parts of Adelaide and Sarah respectively. Mankiewicz refused to work with Monroe, probably as a result of his experiences while filming All About Eve
All About Eve
All About Eve is a 1950 American drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve", by Mary Orr.The film stars Bette Davis as Margo Channing, a highly regarded but aging Broadway star...
, in which she had appeared.
The musical scenes for Jean Simmons and Marlon Brando were sung by the actors themselves (no dubbing).
Robert Keith plays police Lieutenant Brannigan, and one of his targets is Sky Masterson. Keith had matched wits with Brando before in the part of a sheriff facing Brando's reckless biker in The Wild One
The Wild One
The Wild One is a 1953 outlaw biker film directed by László Benedek and produced by Stanley Kramer. It is famed for Marlon Brando's iconic portrayal of the gang leader Johnny Strabler.-Basis:...
.
Stubby Kaye
Stubby Kaye
Stubby Kaye was an American comic actor. He was born Bernard Kotzin in New York City on the last day of the First World War, at West 114th Street in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan to first generation Jewish-Americans originally from Russia and Austria...
, Vivian Blaine
Vivian Blaine
Vivian Blaine was an American actress and singer best known for originating the role of Miss Adelaide in the musical theater production Guys and Dolls.-Life and career:...
, B.S. Pully
B.S. Pully
B.S. Pully, born Murray Lerman, was a New York nightclub comedian and stage actor who created the role of Big Jule in the musical Guys and Dolls...
, and Johnny Silver all repeated their Broadway roles in the film.
Cast
- Marlon BrandoMarlon BrandoMarlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
as Sky Masterson - Jean SimmonsJean SimmonsJean Merilyn Simmons, OBE was an English actress. She appeared predominantly in motion pictures, beginning with films made in Great Britain during and after World War II – she was one of J...
as Sister Sarah Brown - Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
as Nathan Detroit - Vivian BlaineVivian BlaineVivian Blaine was an American actress and singer best known for originating the role of Miss Adelaide in the musical theater production Guys and Dolls.-Life and career:...
as Miss Adelaide - Stubby KayeStubby KayeStubby Kaye was an American comic actor. He was born Bernard Kotzin in New York City on the last day of the First World War, at West 114th Street in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan to first generation Jewish-Americans originally from Russia and Austria...
as Nicely-Nicely Johnson - Robert Keith as Lieutenant Brannigan
- Sheldon LeonardSheldon LeonardSheldon Leonard was a pioneering American film and television producer, director, writer, and actor.-Biography:...
as Harry the Horse - Regis ToomeyRegis ToomeyJohn Regis Toomey was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was one of four children of Francis X. and Mary Ellen Toomey and attended Peabody High School...
as Arvide Abernathy - B.S. PullyB.S. PullyB.S. Pully, born Murray Lerman, was a New York nightclub comedian and stage actor who created the role of Big Jule in the musical Guys and Dolls...
as Big Jule - Johnny Silver as Benny Southstreet
Awards and nominations
- Academy AwardsAcademy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
- Nominated for Best Art DirectionAcademy Award for Best Art DirectionThe Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
: Oliver SmithOliver Smith (designer)Oliver Smith was an American scenic designer.Born in Waupun, Wisconsin, Smith attended Penn State, after which he moved to New York City and began to form friendships that blossomed into working relationships with such talents as Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins, Carson McCullers, and Agnes de...
, Joseph C. WrightJoseph C. WrightJoseph C. Wright was an American art director. He won two Academy Awards and was nominated for ten more in the category Best Art Direction...
, Howard BristolHoward BristolHoward Bristol was an American set decorator. He was nominated for nine Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction. He worked on 56 films between 1936 and 1968.-Selected filmography:Bristol was nominated for nine Academy Awards for Best Art Direction:...
; Best CinematographyAcademy Award for Best CinematographyThe Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
: Harry StradlingHarry StradlingHarry Stradling Sr., A.S.C. was an American cinematographer with over 130 films to his credit.His uncle Walter Stradling and son Harry Stradling Jr. were also cinematographers.-Early career:...
, Best Costume DesignAcademy Award for Costume DesignThe Academy Award for Best Costume Design is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for achievement in film costume design....
: Irene SharaffIrene SharaffIrene Sharaff was an American costume designer for stage and screen. Her work earned her five Academy Awards and a Tony Award.- Background :...
; Best Music, Scoring of a Musical PictureAcademy Award for Original Music ScoreThe Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
: Jay Blackton and Cyril J. MockridgeCyril J. MockridgeCyril J. Mockridge was an English film and television composer who composed the scores for such films as Grand Canary, Danger - Love at Work, In the Meantime, Darling, Wake Up and Dream, Nightmare Alley, and Road House...
.
- Nominated for Best Art Direction
- BAFTA Awards
- Nominated for Best Film from any Source
- Nominated for Best Foreign Actress: Jean Simmons
- Golden Globe Awards
- Best Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy
- Best Motion Picture Actress - Musical/ComedyGolden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or ComedyThe Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1950...
: Jean Simmons
In 2004, the AFI
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
ranked the song Luck Be a Lady at #42 on their list of the 100 greatest film songs, AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs
Part of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's 100 Years…100 Songs is a list of the top 100 songs in American cinema. The list was unveiled by the American Film Institute June 22, 2004 in a CBS special hosted by John Travolta, who appeared in two films honored by the list, Saturday Night Fever and...
. In 2006 Guys and Dolls ranked #23 on the American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
's list of best musicals
AFI's 100 Years of Musicals
Part of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals is a list of the top musicals in American cinema. The list was unveiled by the American Film Institute at the Hollywood Bowl on September 3, 2006...
.
Critical reception and commercial success
Guys and Dolls opened on November 3, 1955 to mostly good reviews. Review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that 81% critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 6.9/10. Casting Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
has long been somewhat controversial, although Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
wrote "The casting is good all the way." This was the only Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn was an American film producer, and founding contributor executive of several motion picture studios.-Biography:...
film released through MGM. With an estimated budget of over $5 million, it went on to gross in excess of $13 million. Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
ranked it as the #1 moneymaking film of 1956, netting a profit of $9,000,000. Guys and Dolls went on to gross $1.1 million in the UK, $1 million in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and over $20 million dollars globally.
However, the film has been criticized by some critics and by the surviving family of Frank Loesser, who wrote the music and lyrics. Loesser had a very public disagreement with Sinatra, considering him totally wrong for the role of Nathan Detroit, who, in the stage version, was played by the gruff-voiced Sam Levene
Sam Levene
Sam Levene was an American Broadway and film actor. He made his Broadway debut in 1927 with five lines in a play titled Wall Street, and over a span of nearly 50 years, appeared on Broadway in 37 Shows, of which 33 were the original Broadway Productions, many now considered legendary...
, who was not really a singer. Loesser felt that Sinatra was too slick for the role of Nathan and strongly disliked the way he "crooned" Nathan's songs. This resulted in Loesser and Sinatra never speaking to each other again after the film was finished. Others have criticized the smooth, mellow-voiced gambler Sky Masterson being played by the non-singer Brando, who, according to a biography of Samuel Goldwyn by Arthur Marx, was cast simply because he was then the hottest rising star in Hollywood. Nevertheless, Brando sings in the film and received praise for his vocal performance.