[.ca] Guys and Dolls (ISBN 6301969960)

From Amazon.com:
Joseph Mankiewicz's brightly stylized film of Frank Loesser's classic musical (based on the stories of Damon Runyon) casts the criminal underworld as a harmless fantasy in this whimsical vision of the Big Apple. Nonsingers Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons acquit themselves fine in the lead roles as high-rolling gambler Sky Masterson and Salvation Army missionary Sarah Brown. It's odd casting, to say the least. Frank Sinatra, who plays the good old reliable Nathan Detroit (who runs "the oldest established permanent floating crap game in New York") is left with novelty tunes while husky Brando delivers the love songs and hits, including "Luck Be a Lady." But in the context of the colorful dialogue and comically affected speech patterns (a giddy gangster-speak straight out of Runyon's breezy stories) the song performances aren't the least out of place. Stubby Kaye, reprising his role as Nicely Nicely from the Broadway run, practically steals the show in his few scenes and his show-stopping solo "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat." The film is overlong at two and a half hours and somewhat stagily confined in the stylized, studio-bound sets--perhaps the mark of a director who had never helmed a musical before--but a terrific cast of eccentrics and Michael Kidd's high-energy choreography gives the film a memorable and enchanting character. --Sean Axmaker

Brando Singing...and dancing? Need I say More?:
I really liked this movie. I am not much of a fan of musicals, (hence the 4 stars) but, because Brando was in it, I thought I'd give it a chance. He actually can sing and I loved the dance sequence. He is gorgeous as usual (surely the other reason why I like this movie so much). There is great chemistry between him and Jean Simmons, who was great also. If nothing else get this movie for the sheer curiousity of seeing Brando sing and dance. After I'm done with this I'm gonna go watch it again.

Brando in a musical? You bet!:
A film by Joseph Mankiewicz The image I have in my head of Marlon Brando is that of Vito Corleone in "The Godfather" and Terry Malloy in "On the Waterfront". The opportunity to see Brando in a musical was just too good to pass up. "Guys and Dolls" is a musical about gamblers and women, but the story is much better than that. Nathan Detroit (Frank Sinatra) runs a high stakes craps game. Normally he does not have any trouble finding a location for the game, but the police is putting on the heat and nobody is willing to take the chance...nobody but one person who wants $1000 up front to host the game. All of the big mobsters are in town and they are looking for Nathan's craps game. Nathan makes a bet with Sky Masterson (Marlon Brando), a high roller who will bet on absolutely anything. The bet is that Sky cannot convince Sarah Brown (Jean Simmons) to go with him to Havana for the night. This may not seem like that big of a bet, but Sarah Brown works downtown at the mission and is a very straight-laced, Christian woman. Sky Masterson is not the sort of man she would associate with. Sky takes the bet and starts trying to win over Sarah. While Sky is doing this, Nathan is setting up the craps game with the promise of the thousand dollars he believes he'll win from Sky. The only thing raining on Nathan's parade is his fiancee of 14 years, Miss Adelaide (Vivian Blaine). Miss Adelaide is a show girl, and she is getting tired of waiting for Nathan to marry her and she is also completely against the crap game. The above description sets the stage for a wonderful musical where we get to see Brando singing "Luck Be a Lady". The other song that completely surprised me was "Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat", a song I only knew from the much slower Don Henley version. With Sinatra's crooning and Brando singing like I never knew he could, this is one good musical. I would definitely recommend this movie.

POURQUOI BRANDO?:
La célèbre comédie musicale de 1950 donne un résultat satisfesant,mais aurait pu etre bien supérieur.La reconstitution de TIMES SQUARE en studio est un plus;cinq chansons ont disparues dont I'VE NEVER BEEN IN LOVE BEFORE;ils ont été remplacées pas trois nouvelles.Le ballet d'ouverture est magnifique;FRANK SINATRA est dans son élément dans le role de NATHAN DETROIT,mais on ne peut en dire autant de MARLON BRANDO dans celui de SKY MASTERSON,role joué sur scène par ROBERT ALDA(le père de ALAN).Quel erreur de casting!Les autres acteurs dont certains-NICELY NICELY-ADELAIDE-étaient dans la comédie musicales sont excellents.Il n'est pas surprenant d'apprendre que BRANDO et SINATRA n'étaient pas sur la meme longueur d'ondes pendant le tournage.La complainte amoureuse de NATHAN est devenue une scène d'anthologie.P.S.FRANK SINATRA aimait-il le gateau au fromage?

Great flawed musical.:
I rate this product with three stars only. I take off one on account of the film's shortcomings, and another because this particular edition on DVD lacks bonus materials (it has only the theatrical trailer and a three page booklet). Also, the DVD can't be run in other aspect ratio than the panoramic original format (2,35:1). Now, into the film itself. The best of it, in my view, are the memorable lyrics and music by Frank Loesser, another of those half a dozen -or little more- genius popular musical artists of the XXth Century. Particularly, "Woman in love", played and sung in Spanish and in English, in several styles during the Havana trip of Brando-Masterson and Simmons-Sergeant pervades the atmosphere of the film for many minutes. I find that about the best part. Worth watching and rewatching and listening and relistening. The romance advances at the rythm of the music. As to the actors adequacy for the parts, it is a little awkward. Sinatra is perfect, very at ease in the rol (no very far from the "Pal Joey" character at least in his general outlook). He can sing. Simmons is also excellent for the role, she represents the allure of the beatiful prude, the repressed young woman who explodes in passion when she is released by love. Brando... this doesn't seem a part for him, he looks awkward, his singing and voice are rather lackluster. But we can forget that and acknoledge his efforts to cover new ground. It is refreshing that he accepted to move aways from his usual mumbling "rebels". This is no to say that he does not mumble here... Vivian Blaine is perfect, she recreates the part from the stage musical she herself starred on. The dancing numbers are good. Choreographed by Michael Kidd, they are also stylish and pleasant to look on, often spectacular. This is a film one can see many times, so it is worth purchasing. Mankiewicz characterictic excess of dialogue doesn't come in the way. It is clever dialogue, well delivered -of course, a lot must come from the play-. So, with a little effort of enriching this DVD in various ways, it would have been near-great, as the movie is in fact.

Another Score for Marlon Brando !:
Angry, Aggressive, Bitter, Stanley Kowalski from "A StreetCar Named Desire" is singing and dancing in this Broadway classic. Versatility on Marlon Brando's behalf proven at its finest .