285. Guys And Dolls (1955)

Directed By Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Synopsis

Detroit has to get his floating crap game going, he needs a grand to do it however, as the only place available to him wants him to pay up front. Fortunately Sky, the high roller is in town and Detroit tries to get him to bet on a sure thing in order for him to get his grand. So he bets Sky that he can't take this Salvation Army type Sergeant to Havana next night. Well Sky is Marlon Brando so of course he can sweep her off her feet. Detroit loses the bet and has the game at the mission. Sky still has to prove his love to the Sergeant, however, and he does so by filling her mission with sinners.

Review

This is a really fun and original musical. Firstly you have Marlon Brando in an all-singing, all-dancing part... and that's just weird, secondly the dialog is miles above the average Musical dialogue, it is actually pretty great, witty, fast, very smart.

The choreography is great, and fortunately the film isn't overrun by it, the set numbers are well selected and short, and the music is pretty fantastic, with some of the funniest words ever put to musical music. I don't think I ever heard another song with the word Streptococci in it.

Of course there is a slight religious message to the whole thing, but it is treated in a flippant enough way that it never gets preachy, and for the ladies the benefit of a Marlon Brando in very well cut suits before he quadrupled in size is always a treat. Highly Recommended.

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

* The scope of the gambling by the 'high rollers' is often misjudged as their bids are in the thousands. However, US$1,000 in 1950 has the same buying power as US$8,361 present day (2007).

* There is a suggestion that Nathan Detroit may be Jewish, due to his frequent use of Yinglish phrases, especially in the song "Sue Me" which includes "nu" (an interjection roughly meaning well, as of expectation), and turns of phrase such as "What can you do me?" and Gesundheit.

* When "Angie the Ox" tells Nathan to guess who he saw having a "steak breakfast", Nathan sarcastically mutters "Hitler". Part of the sarcasm is that Hitler is popularly believed to have been a vegetarian.

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