by David C. Terr

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Title: Guys and Dolls

Director: Joseph L. Mankeiwicz

Starring: Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra, Vivian Blaine, Stubby Kaye, Regis Toomey

Release Date: Nov. 3, 1955 (USA)

Running Time: 150 min

Genres: Musical, Comedy, Romance, Crime

Commentary
Guys and Dolls is a wonderful MGM film adapted from a long-running Broadway musical. The singing and acting are superb, as is the storyline and choreography, including the several panomime sketches. Guys and Dolls is truly one-of-a-kind in many ways. I was raised on the soundtrack album, which my parents used to like to listen to when I was a kid. I rediscovered the movie as well as the music on my own about 25 years later after renting a videotape of the movie. Since then I have watched it several times.

Plot Summary
Guys and Dolls concerns a group of gamblers and petty criminals in New York City in the 1950s. Nathan Detroit (Frank Sinatra) runs a "floating crap game", played in a different secret location each time so the cops can't track him down. Dozens of high-rollers line up for his crap games. One day he can't deliver though because he needs $1000 to hold his game in the one location he is able to get. Since he can't let his customers down, he decides to approach Sky Masterson (Marlon Brando) to try to win the money from him in a bet. Nathan ends up betting Sky $1000 that he can't get Sarah Brown (Jean Simmons), a very uptight mission leader, to agree to accompany him to Havana for dinner. Meanwhile, Adelaide (Vivian Blaine), Nathan's fiancee of 14 years, is begging Nathan to give up his gambling business in exchange for a "normal career".

Music
Frank Loesser, who wrote the musical, also composed the songs. Songs from both the play and the movie include the following:

• "Fugue for Tinhorns" (Nicely, Benny, Rusty)
• "I'll Know" (Sarah, Sky)
• "Adelaide's Lament" (Adelaide)
• "Guys and Dolls" (Nicely, Benny, Rusty)
• "If I Were a Bell" (Sarah)
• "Luck be a Lady" (Sky)
• "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat" (Nicely, Company)

Songs in the play which do not appear in the film include the following:

• "A Bushel and a Peck" (Adelaide, Hot Box Girls)
• "My Time of Day" (Sky)
• "More I Cannot Wish You" (Arvide)

Movie Clips

Here's Jean Simmons' performance of "If I Were a Bell".