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The Overture is used on film to introduce the opening credits which leads to a very clever First number. It is a ballet of sorts used to introduce the character of Runyonland (New York through the eyes of creator Damon Runyon). The choreography is crisp and clever, and the sets and costumes give the whole film a comic book feel. |
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The first song belongs to a trio of gamblers, Nicely Nicely Johnson, Rusty Charlie and Benny Southstreet. This wonderful song has a simple enough premise... each of the gamblers is picking which horse they will bet upon in the afternoons big race. The presentation is similar to the stage production but, I found Stubby Kaye in the role of Nicely Nicely role, suprisingly low-key. |
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We've met the seedy part of society, now we are introduced to the Sav-a-Soul Missionaries. They sing this strident piece to encourage people to put some effort into being saved. |
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Back to the gamblers and their latest concern... Where will the crap game be? Frank Sinatra portrays the man that usually has the solution to the problem, Nathan Detroit. This song of appreciation is performed by patrons and employees of the corner barber shop... The role of Detroit has changed in its transition from stage to screen, probably because of the casting of Sinatra. He now sings lines that he would not on stage... Sometimes, this does not work too well... |
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We are now introduced to one pair of the shows lovers, superstar gambler, Sky Masterson (Marlon Brando in a suprising bit of tone deaf casting) and "Mission Doll" Sarah Brown (Jean Simmons in one of the more animated roles in the film!!?) She sings of her dream guy to Sky, mostly to distract and cover her immediate feelings for him. He sings a verse back, mostly to show his voice is pretty precise but not always in the right key. No mumbling from him in this role. |
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Miss Adelaide, Nathan Detroit's girlfriend of 14 years is the headliner at the "Hot Box" where they strip down to frilly underwear and sing comic songs. This song, written for the film, has the girls dressed as kitty cats and replaces the stage song "A Bushel and a Peck." The idea of the number is extremely dated. I doubt you could ever find an adult entertainment club where all the beautiful girls act as back-up to a more 'mature' woman- except for nostalgic reasons. |
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Miss Adelaide's defenses are down from being courted for so long without a marriage proposal, thus she has come down with a cold... and every other little disease she can find in hert little book. The song is a smash song but the screen presentation of it falls a bit flat. |
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The title song is a break in the action and three of our gamblers comment on other guys falling in love. For the film they put Nathan Detroit amongst the singers where he strangely has to change the sons tense from third to first. I do feel the vocal stylings of Mr. Sinatra work well for the piece. At one point in the song, Nicely Nicely Johnson makes a reference to someone sitting home and watching the television. He breaks the fourth wall as if he is referring to us, the movie-going audience. Very clever. |
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Written for the film and for Sinatra to sing, This unimpressive number is a marriage proposal between Nathan and Adelaide. All the gamblers are present to witness the event. A must for Sinatra fans... |
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Jean Simmons does a wonderful 180 degree turn to show the "loose" side of Miss Sarah Brown here. She has been drinking so her mournfully pious mission girl attitude is all but gone. The number is very fun and Brando does an acceptable job of being the non-singer who is always on screen. |
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My least favorite song from the stage show (My Time of Day) and my absolute favorite song from the show (I've Never Been in Love Before) have been cut from the film version and replaced with this song, passably crooned by Marlon Brando. His efforts are warranted and allow the performance to work. The song is a pretty and much simpler melody then the replaced songs with fewer large jumps, something Brando would be less than stellar at achieving. |
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Miss Adelaides second number serves the
same purpose as "Pet Me, Poppa" from the first half and suffers from the same
weaknesses. This number in stage versions can be a pretty exciting number.
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Brando acts his way through this signature
number and the results are acceptable. This seems to be the first number that
actually uses the scope of the big screen to great effect with the view filled with
acrobatic crap players dancing around the crooning Godfather. This number also
demonstrates a creativity not seen up to this point.
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This number when performed properly can be hysterical. Here it comes across as standard fare. The characters are just too human for this to work. The comic book characters that they were up to this point are gone... and sorely missed. |
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Nicely Nicely Johnson gives final testimony at the Save-a-Soul mission with this rousing number. Stubby Kaye, still suprisingly subdued, speeds through the song but he does not sacrifice flair. His energies are well spent in a big closing number. |
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The musical of Guys and Dolls is such a theatrical sensation that it is no wonder they pushed it to the big screen. Still, I wish they put a bit more time and focus into the production. The costuming and scenic design are top drawer, but the casting is questionable and the pacing is even worse. As I mentioned earlier, there are several songs cut from the stage production including:
My Time of Day
These songs were in some cases replaced by new songs including:
Adelaide
All of these songs are very basic and lack the spark of the original numbers, but, they were new and that makes them eligible for Academy Award consideration. The starngest element of the film is how it actually makes the story smaller on the big screen than on stage. On rare occasions is the screen filled with color the way many movie musicals attempt. Still, the effort is there but the production lacks fun. Even the performers (with the exception of Jean Simmons) seem to be phoning in the performance. |
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