Guys And Dolls, 1955, as Sky Masterson
Cast: Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra, Vivian Blaine
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Rating
Factoid
– Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons reunite for Guys and Dolls.
– Samuel Goldwyn scooped the rights to Guys and Dolls from under the nose of MGM’s Dore Schary and he planned to spare no expense to make it a blockbuster.
– Based on characters created by Damon Runyon, with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser, had been a huge Broadway hit since opening in 1951.
– Vivian Blaine, Stubby Kaye, B.S. Pully and Johnny Silver all recreated the roles that they had played in the original Broadway musical production.
– The story concerns a colorful batch of Times Square characters and their various problems with love and gambling.
– Brando was offered the role of Sky Masterson, the show’s singing romantic lead. Marlon was thrilled with the prospect of trying something removed from the heavy dramatics he had specialized in.
– Brando admitted about looking like an idiot in Guys and Dolls, particularly since he would be sharing the screen with musical veteran Sinatra.
– It was not secret that Sinatra still held resentment toward Marlon for being so successful in On the Waterfront. Added to this was the fact that Sinatra felt he should have been cast as Sky Masterson, who get to sing the lovely “I’ll Know” and “Luck Be a Lady”, a snappy Sinatraesque showstopper. Things did not improve between the two stars and by the end of filming they were barely speaking to each other.
– When the movie opened in the fall of 1955, critics had reservations about the film generally, but were mostly kind to Marlon’s performance as the slick Sky Masterson.
– This was the first and last time that Brando ever sang in a movie. It is not true that Brando sang again, in person, in, the famous, Barbra Streisand’s Live Concert (in 1994 at New York City). In that concert Brando’s song (from Guys and Dolls) “I’ll Know” was projected on a big screen to which Barbra Streisand “accompanied” with her voice (replacing that of Jean Simmons’).
Quotes from the movie
Sky Masterson: On the day when I left home to make my way in the world, my daddy took me to one side. “Son,” my daddy says to me, “I am sorry I am not able to bankroll you to a large start, but not having the necessary lettuce to get you rolling, instead I’m going to stake you to some very valuable advice. One of these days in your travels, a guy is going to show you a brand-new deck of cards on which the seal is not yet broken. Then this guy is going to offer to bet you that he can make the jack of spades jump out of this brand-new deck of cards and squirt cider in your ear. But, son, do not accept this bet, because as sure as you stand there, you’re going to wind up with an ear full of cider.
Sound tracks for the movie
“I’ll Know“
Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Sung by Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons
“Adelaide’s Lament“
Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Sung by Vivian Blaine
“If I Were a Bell“
Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Sung by Jean Simmons
“Take Back Your Mink“
Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Sung by Vivian Blaine and “The Hot Box Girls”
“Luck Be A Lady“
Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Marlon Brando and “The Guys”
“Sue Me“
Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Sung by Vivian Blaine and Frank Sinatra
“Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat“
Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Sung by Stubby Kaye with “Chorus”
“A Woman In Love“
By Frank Loesser
Sung by Renee Renor
Sung also by Jean Simmons and Marlon Brando
“The Oldest Established (Permanent Floating Crap Game)“
Music and lyrics by Frank Loesser
Sung by Frank Sinatra, Stubby Kaye, B.S. Pulley (as B.S. Pully), and men in barber shop
“Fugue for Tinhorns“
Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Sung by Stubby Kaye and Gamblers
No responses yet