Guys and Dolls (1955)

In New York, a gambler is challenged to take a cold female missionary to Havana, but they fall for each other, and the bet has a hidden motive to finance a crap game.

Director:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writers:

Jo Swerling (based upon the play: "Guys and Dolls" book by), Abe Burrows (based upon the play: "Guys and Dolls" book by)

Stars:

Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marlon Brando	...	Sky Masterson
Jean Simmons	...	Sarah Brown
Frank Sinatra	...	Nathan Detroit
Vivian Blaine	...	Miss Adelaide
Robert Keith	...	Lt. Brannigan
Stubby Kaye	...	Nicely-Nicely Johnson
B.S. Pully	...	Big Jule
Johnny Silver	...	Benny Southstreet
Sheldon Leonard	...	Harry the Horse
Danny Dayton	...	Rusty Charlie (as Dan Dayton)
George E. Stone	...	Society Max
Regis Toomey	...	Arvide Abernathy
Kathryn Givney	...	General Cartwright
Veda Ann Borg	...	Laverne
Mary Alan Hokanson	...	Agatha

Storyline

All the hot gamblers are in town, and they're all depending on Nathan Detroit to set up this week's incarnation of "The Oldest Established Permanent Floating Crap Game in New York"; the only problem is, he needs $1000 to get the place. Throw in Sarah Brown, who's short on sinners at the mission she runs; Sky Masterson, who accepts Nathan's $1000 bet that he can't get Sarah Brown to go with him to Havana; Miss Adelaide, who wants Nathan to marry her; Police Lieutenant Brannigan, who always seems to appear at the wrong time; and the music/lyrics of Frank Loesser, and you've got quite a musical. Includes the songs: Fugue for Tinhorns, "Luck Be a Lady", "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat".

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Plot Keywords:

mission | gambler | new york city | based on stage musical | havana cuba | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 December 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ellos y ellas

Filming Locations:

Samuel Goldwyn Studios - 7200 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,500,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$13,000,000, 31 December 1956

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Samuel Goldwyn Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

150 min 152 min (with overture and exit music)

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Sound System) (magnetic prints) Mono (optical prints)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) (uncredited)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jerry Orbach is visible in several numbers.

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Goofs

While Sky and Nathan are talking in the restaurant and Nathan is trying to get Sky to eat some cheese cake, a man walking in the street outside disappears and a woman walks past in his place.

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Quotes

Sky Masterson: You know, I imagine there's only one thing that's been in as many different hotel rooms as I have: the Gideon Bible. Don't tangle with me on the Good Book. I must've read it through at least a dozen times.
Sergeant Sarah Brown: If all that was no help to you...

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Connections

Featured in I Love Lucy: Lucy and the Dummy (1955)

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Soundtracks

For He's a Jolly Good Fellow
(uncredited)
Traditional
Sung a cappella by Johnny Silver and other men in the bar

User Reviews

Has Some Very Good Sequences; A Bit Uneven Overall

Something of a mixed bag, the screen version of "Guys and Dolls" is worth seeing for the cast and for a number of very good sequences. Its main drawbacks are that it is rather uneven, and that there are too many times when the pace slows down, making it somewhat overlong.

The cast is good, although the performers do not always get the chance to use their abilities as fully as they could have. Frank Sinatra is always good in any singing role, but his character here does not give him much to work with aside from the songs. Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons were interesting choices. There are times when they work well, and other times when the material really doesn't suit them all that well.

The story is entertaining, yet slight, and is certainly not meant to be taken as anything more than a pretext for the musical numbers. The songs are good in general, with "Luck Be a Lady Tonight" as the highlight. Yet not all of them quite reach that standard, for one reason or another.

Overall, the movie is not bad, just not as much as you might hope for given who and what went into it. It's possible that this is simply a show that works better on stage, or it's possible that the movie could have been even better with a few improvements here and there.