Review of Guys and Dolls (1955) by Eric M — 23 Aug 2011

Sky Masterson (Marlon Brando) and Nathan Detroit (Frank Sinatra), can't resist making or taking a bet on anything. So when a missionary (Simmons) sets up shop in the neighborhood, Nathan bets that Sky can't seduce her. But all bets are off when Sky falls madly in love.

One of my favourite musicals, but the movie isn't as entertaining as the stage show can be. It's still got some of the excellent music from the show, except for some songs which are "(I Love You)A Bushel and a Peck", "I've Never Been In Love Before", and "My Time of Day". Those are three great songs and it's a shame they weren't in this film. A couple of them are replaced by different songs which aren't as good.

I have seen GUYS AND DOLLS on stage twice. One of the was a local production, the other was a professional one with some famous Australian actors such as Lisa McCune, Shane Jacobson, and Magda Szubanski. I have also starred in the show myself, it was a junior production of it and I played Big Jule, the bad guy. It was a lot of fun, I got to wear a fat suit.

It's good how Marlon Brando did this, it was something that we haven't seen him do before. He isn't a fantastic singer though, and it feels weird watching him dance, but the acting is still good.

I don't think Frank Sinatra is the perfect choice for Nathan DeTroit, but he is still okay. The best example I know of for DeTroit is Nathan Lane, he was in the 1992 Broadway Revival version, I heard him on the soundtrack and I watched a couple of videos on YouTube, he is so great in that role.

Jean Simmons and Vivian Blaine are good in their parts too.

GUYS AND DOLLS is a decent movie, but I just wish it was more like the show. I would recommend it if you like musicals or if you want to see Marlon Brando sing and dance.