A Gangster Musical – with The Godfather and Sinatra
In the first instance, the actors alone are a strange combination. Originally the broadway version cast a gruff-voiced singer in the role of Nathan Detroit … which then went to Frank Sinatra and his silky voice. In fact, many songs were omitted from the stage version – whilst two songs were added to the film: namely ‘Adelaide’, written for Sinatra himself. Apparently, Sinatra’s ‘crooning’ was critisized heavily by Frank Loesser – the composer – as it was not in keeping of the character he played, but Loesser was still expected (by Samuel Goldwyn and Mankiewicz) to write the three additional songs, including ‘Adelaide’. Marlon Brando was also seen as bad casting – hired only because of his recent successes having come off On the Waterfront in 1954 and The Wild One in 1955. Interestingly, in The Wild One, Brando was pitted against Robert Keith who plays a similar law-abider in Guys and Dolls, playing Lt. Brannigan rather than the Sheriff he played in The Wild One.
The gambling narrative involved Nathan Detroit (Sinatra), in desperate need of $1000 to set up an illegal card game, he bets Sky Masterson (Brando) that he can’t take a “doll” - Christian Mission girl Sarah Brown (Jean Simmons) – to Havana. Detroit is under the impression that Sky makes stupid bets and, this bet, will guarantee him the money to set up the card game. Funnily enough, Detroit finds out that Sky does indeed take Sarah Brown to Havana … whereby they both fall in love…
Squeeze in Songs
Musicals often have a habit of making unneccessary songs and squeezing them into the story – and Guys and Dolls does seem to have a habit of doing this. One specific song stalls the story completely as we wait for Detroit to go to the Christian Mission and his ‘doll’ [of fourteen years] thinks he is lying and there is a whole song about how much she doesn’t believe him and how Nathan is torn between convincing her he is telling the truth but additionally leaving to fulfill his part of the bet and go to the Mission… you want to hit him round the head and just tell him to get the hell out the door.Having said that, they use Detroit’s ‘doll’ exceptionally well as she is part of a dance group who perform in a local club and so all their songs fill in gaps in the story. For example, ‘Pet Me Poppa’, Adelaide (Detroits ‘doll’) sings about how – like a cat – she will roam if she is not married soon! She sings: “You know you’ve been mean to me/ And you know when you’re mean to me/ How it always makes me wanna roam/ And you know there’s a danger/ That some gentle stranger/ Might pick me up and make me feel at home”. The whole song is clearly stating the same message as Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies (Put a Ring on it)’… and when you watch the film, the leotards and high legs seem a little too similar …
The Bet on Faith
There is a strange conflict at the centre of the story. Sky Masterson – a successful gambler – seems to ‘win’ Christian Missionary Sarah Brown through taking her out and getting her drunk. To make matters worse, he is content in getting her drunk without her knowing. I know this is all a joke, but it does nevertheless lead to the same Sarah Brown not only getting drunk and getting into fights but – when all the illegal gamblers reluctantly go to her Mission to fulfill Skys bet, she even lies to the police about the gamblers the previous night (whereby the group broke into the Missionary when it was unattended and conducted an illegal card game). Does this film condone lying to the police? I don’t think any of the gangsters get a comeuppance either – and none of them actually turn to Christ having attended the Missionary. They are constantly begrudging the fact that they are even there at all! I think I would go so far in saying that the film actually takes the mickey out of Christian attitudes and morals – with the very clear intention of stating that Christians have a very prudish and unfulfilling life.
There is also a philosophical argument (and I’m sure people may hang me for bringing such psuedo-highbrow thoughts to a review on Guys and Dolls). Blaise Pascal created an argument aptley titled ‘Pascals Wager’ or ‘Pascals Gambit’. The idea was that any rational person would believe in the existence of God – arguing that, if you were to bet on such a thing, it would make sense to bet on the existence of God because if you are right – you have everything to gain (post-death I presume) whereas, if you are wrong, it wouldn’t matter anyway. Because you’d be dead in the ground. Take this argument and apply it to the sequence involving ‘Luck be a Lady Tonight’. Sky bets everyone to merely attend the Mission for prayer that evening – otherwise he would give them $1000 each. For each of those ‘sinners’ they have nothing to lose – but everything to gain. Though this may be a tangible link, the idea of having faith at all is clearly central to the story – getting married has an element of risk and you have to have the faith to stand by her/him if you make the decision. Life is a game of luck, as they say.
The reality is that this is all very unclear – for example, despite Sky getting Sarah Brown drunk and involving her in a fight, he stops short of sleeping with her telling her it would be wrong… assuming his actions prior to this was right?
A Marriage Made in Heaven
The film ends with, what feels like, a random wedding. Both Sky and Sarah Brown get married after their whirlwind romance, whilst Detroit and Adelaide, after 14 years, get married in the same ceremony. Even Lt Brannigan walking Sarah Brown down the aisle. All the actors in the film make a little appearance - with the hint of the start of a relationship between different friends and families.The casting of Brando and Sinatra, in hindsight, was great – I don’t believe any other movie stars both actors. The fact that Brando and Simmons both sing simply shows how capable they are at holding a musical note. The shame is how Joseph L. Mankiewicz seems to bring to the table little considering his background. Mankiewicz is the man who directed All About Eve and he went on to direct Cleopatra and Sleuth! This film seems to play very much like the MGM musicals – bright colours, MGM dancers filling the screen, studio set, etc rather than anything more thought-provoking.At any rate, like the best musicals, the success hunges on the songs and this film has indeed got some unforgettable songs. Specific songs about male and female attitudes to relationships, as sexist as they are, they are a lot of fun to watch. Adelaide sings about how scared of commitment Nathan – and men - can be in ’Adelaides Lament’. But then, against this, the guys follow this and sing ‘Guys and Dolls’ about how a guy can under the thumb. They are merely in jest and comedic in their nature but it is what holds this film together and makes it a fun watch rather than simply romantic melodies. Its strange to think that Sinatra was nearly cast as Johnny Fontaine in The Godfather, which would’ve marked Brando and Sinatra’s second collaboration …
Next Week: Disney’s Fantasia (1940)
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The casting of Sinatra and Brando might have been strange, but it works in the film. And I think Marlon was very brave to do his own singing in a movie with Frank!
About musicals squeezing in unnecessary songs, well, that’s what musicals are all about! No one breaks into song about every little emotion they have in real life. But musicals aren’t usually going for gritty realism, you know?
The whole get-the-uptight-girl-drunk-to-loosen-her-up bit is a cliche I hate in movies in general. But for some reason it doesn’t bother me as much here, maybe because Sarah/Jean Simmons is just so cute singing “If I Were a Bell” to the bemused Sky/Brando.
About Sarah lying to the police… I think you’re missing the point there. She looks at all of the guys and says something like “I’ve never seen these men before in my life.” The idea is that she is recognizing them as changed men, not as the dirty gamblers they were the night before but as the repentant sinners now in her mission. Did any of them make real changes? Who knows. Nicely singing “Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat” seems sincere. And in the Broadway show I believe that at the end Sky is part of the mission.
It may be reading too much into things to say that the movie is trying to portray all Christians as living prudish, unfulfilled lives. Sarah is portrayed that way, and while she thaws, by the end of the movie she’s still a mission doll (with Sky now by her side!) The gamblers have their problems, too; life’s not all fun and games for them either. There is the theme of sinners vs. non-sinners, but the movie stereotypes both. I don’t think it’s meant to have a big, greater meaning or that it’s trying to make a statement on Christianity. If anything it shows more that it’s not black and white: sinners have a good side and saints a bad.
Anyway, in the end it’s not just Sarah who’s changed, Sky has too. Somewhere along the way he fell for her and obviously then feels bad about the whole Havana business. Rolling to save the gambler’s souls is kinda silly, but he is trying to make good his marker to Sarah for at least one dozen genuine sinners. Sarah is mad thinking Sky’s used her to win a bet, but then Nathan passes along the news that Sky told him he did not take her to Havana. This is when she goes to find Sky because she fell for him too and she can see that he’s trying to make things better. He cares more about her than winning some bet, a big change from the guy at the beginning who says all dolls are the same and who would gamble about charming any one of them.
Lots of words and maybe too much analysis on what, as you say, is mainly a fun watch!
Crikey! Thanks for that huge response Wendy.
I think the casting of Brando and Sinatra was fine – vits great to see them in a film together at any rate! But I think it is interesting to note the concerns the composer and writer of the story had… and how his concerns were ultimately ignored.
I think the rick with musicals is to squeeze in songs at points whereby it feels natural – opposed to simply dragging out sequences. I was desperate to see the hoodlums in the mission – but we had the wholly unneccessary song between Adelaide and Sinatra that stalled the whole thing.
I can appreciate the fun and games of any film – and this is entertaining of course, but I do stand by the mixed messages it delivers. I wouldn’t be suprised if the stage version is much more balanced, whilst this film is released during the heyday of musicals of the mid-fifties so maybe it is a example of a make-money-muscial and whipping together a film that will draw in a large crowd – akin to James Cagney being cast as a gangster and starring in a fun film of guns and crime to be justified in the last reel merely by showing the characters comeuppance, in GUYS AND DOLLS, I believe they may be getting lots of fun and games – drinking, fighting, flirting, gambling, etc – but semi-justifying it by the all encompassing ‘true love’ quota.
Possibly.
Thanks for reading at any rate!
Wendymoon couldn’t have said it better. Totally agree.
It’s fun and a great musical.
Thanks Melody – how do you agree. You don’t believe in the mixed-morals I believe it represents then?
Well, then I’ll play devil’s advocate here. I hate this musical. I’m not always a fan of musicals, although there are plenty I do like, but this one will never appear on that list.
Mostly, it comes down to the fact that I really don’t like a single one of the characters. The men are all jerks and the women are either dumb as posts or flat-out bitchy. I don’t buy the character transformations…and I don’t really like the songs all that much.
Sorry. Let the stoning commence.
Hating is a bit harsh no?I’d be interested to hear which ones you DO like! I think alot of musicals have pretty flat characters – but I think that its not so much flat but unrealistic and false. But, as you can see by the other comments, others disagree…
I find it impossible not to like Singin’ in the Rain–and I tend to like films like this that are focused on the sort of complete musical package including dance. My daughter is a dancer, and so I’ve seen more than my share of classic MGM musicals, and while I don’t love them all, I respect a lot of them. Surprisingly to me, I found that I really liked Cabaret, My Fair Lady, and was okay with A Star is Born. All that Jazz is incredible.
For a truly unusual musical, find Les Parapluies de Cherbourg.
As for others disagreeing, I’m cool with that. Guys and Dolls simply doesn’t work for me on any level–I feel the same way about The Sound of Music.
the best picture oscar winner ‘the sound of music’… nazi’s and nuns … who could dislike such a film. (in fairness, I haven’t seen it for a long time to pass too much judgement…)
Yeah, yeah…I know. Still, a bunch of kids traipsing about Nazi Austria singing about deer and sunshine isn’t right. I don’t care that it’s based on reality. It always leaves me in danger of becoming diabetic.