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Poster (c) MGM
Guys and Dolls is a movie itching for a remake. It was made forty-eight years ago. Its two main stars are either dead or 409 pounds. Although a remake, with big stars now, would be box-office success, it would not be able to capture the magic that went into this version. Its boundless energy can’t be recaptured, nor can the pure joy you get when watching something like this: a huge, widescreen, big entertainment movie.
Marlon Brando (who last clocked in at 409 lbs. last time I heard) plays Sky Masterson, one of the biggest gamblers in New York. Frank Sinatra is Nathan Detroit, whose as-often-as-he-can-find-a-speakeasy-for-it crap game is city-wide famous. However, when the one place he has left to hold it is charging $1,000, Detroit needs the money fast. He bets Masterson $1,000 that he can’t take missionary Sarah Brown (Jean Simmons) to Havana with him the next day.
Guys and Dolls is basically nothing more than unsavory types singing and dancing, which usually, as it does here, add up to fun. It’s obvious to see how this was a Broadway musical: there weren’t that many sets, and the scenes were long. If I was to complain about one thing, it’s how uneven the songs were. At times, there were two songs in a scene; other times, thirty minutes went by without one. Guys and Dolls is never boring, just a great time.
Not Rated.
Review Date: October 5, 2003