Comedy

Crime

Romance

Guys and Dolls

Samuel Goldwyn Productions

United States of America

English

Marlon Brando

Jean Simmons

Frank Sinatra

Vivian Blaine

Robert Keith

Stubby Kaye

B.S. Pully

Johnny Silver

Sheldon Leonard

Danny Dayton

George E. Stone

Regis Toomey

Kathryn Givney

Veda Ann Borg

Mary Alan Hokanson

Joe McTurk

Kay E. Kuter

Stapleton Kent

Renee Renor

Virginia Aldridge

Lynette Bernay

George Boyce

Barbara Brent

Jimmy Brooks

Steve Carruthers

Beth Carter

Gordon Carveth

Jack Chefe

Noble 'Kid' Chissell

Fred Curt

Russell Custer

Jann Darlyn

Madelyn Darrow

Sayre Dearing

Larry Duran

Billy Engle

Joe Evans

Franklyn Farnum

Adolph Faylauer

Bess Flowers

Charles Fogel

Rubén de Fuentes

Tony Galento

Rudy Germane

Ricky Gonzales

Joe Gray

Robert Haines

Stuart Hall

Betty Jean Hansen

Sam Harris

Earle Hodgins

John Indrisano

Donald Kerr

Carey Leverette

Maurice Marks

Thomas Martin

Matt Mattox

Bert May

Harold Miller

Charles Morton

Matt Murphy

Jerry Orbach

Troy Patterson

Jack Perry

Foster H. Phinney

Joe Ploski

Frank Radcliffe

Paul Rees

Frank Richards

Julian Rivero

Edwin Rochelle

Tony Rosa

John Roy

Jeffrey Sayre

Bernard Sell

Pat Sheehan

Leslie Sketchley

Buddy Spencer

Norman Stevans

Brick Sullivan

Larri Thomas

Al Thompson

Harry Tyler

Sandra Warner

Sonia Warner

Harry Wilson

Rodney Bieber

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Samuel Goldwyn

Irene Sharaff

Oliver Smith

Howard Bristol

Daniel Mandell

Frank Loesser

John Daheim

Dick Crockett

Lila Finn

Gil Perkins

Polly Burson

Harvey Parry

Paul Baxley

George Robotham

Helen Endicott

Mary Ann Hawkins

Eddie Saenz

Ben Lane

Damon Runyon

Joseph C. Wright

Harry Stradling Sr.

Abe Burrows

Jo Swerling

Annabell Levy

Jay Blackton

Michael Kidd

Cyril J. Mockridge

Alexander Courage

Warren Newcombe

Arthur S. Black Jr.

Fred Lau

Vinton Vernon

Albert Sendrey

Skip Martin

Roger Heman Sr.

Nelson Riddle

Edward F. Mull

Gus Schroeder

I've always been a bad guy, and a bad gambler. From now on, I would like to be a good guy, and a good gambler. I thank you. 

Guys and Dolls is directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and collectively adapted to screen from the play by Mankiewicz, Jo Swerling, Abe Burrows and Damon Runyon. It stars Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra, Vivian Blaine, Robert Keith, Stubby Kaye, Sheldon Leonard, B.S. Pully and Johnny Silver. Music is by Frank Loesser and cinematography by Harry Stradling Sr.  

Gambler Nathan Detroit (Sinatra) has few options for the location of his big craps game. Needing $1,000 to pay a garage owner to host the game, Nathan bets Sky Masterson (Brando) that Sky cannot get virtuous Sarah Brown (Simmons) out on a date. Despite some resistance, Sky negotiates a date with her in exchange for bringing people into her mission. Meanwhile, Nathan's longtime fiancée, Adelaide (Blaine), wants him to go legit and marry her.

Having never seen the play I have no frame of reference about the transfer to the big screen. Whilst concurring with the strongly held belief that both Brando and Sinatra are indeed miscast, the former a great actor who can barely sing, the latter a great singer given the wrong character role to play, the pic still comes out in credit for joyful entertainment.

Samuel Goldwyn forked out big money to put the source to the silver screen, and it shows as no expense is spared across the production (though Goldwyn was hugely disappointed with the box office returns). The songs are simple but all hit the foot tapping mark, the dancing choreography superb, while the booming colour photography gladdens the eyes. All told, Mankiewicz, directing his first ever musical, does a fine job.

One has to wonder how much better the pic could have been if MGM had of released Gene Kelly to play Sky Masterson, while in truth the pic is 30 minutes too long. Yet with Simmons and Blaine beguiling, and Stubby Kaye superb, it's easy to forgive the flaws and just sit back and enjoy the colourful ride. 7/10

Peter McGinn

I think I used to like musicals more than I do now, or else I am more particular about them. I wasn’t over impressed with this classic. The acting was credible and the plot jumped along nicely.  It oh, the music. When they jump into song, you are not supposed to wish they were still speaking, are you? And it wasn’t even the quality of the singing; I don’t have all that a discerning ear for music. The songs just didn’t appeal to me, andnthatbisnthe point with a musical, right?

Perhaps it is just me. Maybe I have listened to the pulse station on Sirius satellite too long and I require a hook to pull me in.

CinemaSerf

Despite the reported controversy over who played whom in this enjoyable adaption of Damon Runyon's short stories, I reckon they got the choice right. Frank Sinatra is "Nathan Detroit" host of a legendary weekly crap game in New York. Only this week, with some big out-of-town hitters including legend "Sky Masterson" (Marlon Brando) in town - he can't find a venue, unless he can find $1,000. Catch 22? Brando, meantime is bet that he cannot get hoity-toity local Christian mission Sergeant "Sarah Brown" (Jean Simmons) to go to Havana with him. There is a bet riding on just about everything here.... What sets this apart for me, is that it is dominated by the male characters; there are few of the traditionally heavily choreographed dance routines; the characterisations have more punch - especially a slick and suave Brando & Simmons; and the casting is driven by cinema not theatre box office stars. Now nobody will ever be able to say that Brando was a natural born crooner; but that didn't matter - his rendition of Frank Loesser's "Luck be a Lady" has charm and a certain joie-de-vivre that we wouldn't necessarily have achieved from a more professional stage performer. Likewise, Jean Simmons delivers well as the puritanical salvationist whilst charmingly working her way through "A Woman In Love" & "Follow the Fold" (with Brando). Of course Sinatra is in is element with "Adelaide" his ode to Vivian Blaine who is great, reprising her 1950 Broadway performance as Sinatra's frequently put-upon gal, with a super song and dance routine to "Pet Me Poppa", too. In the end, though, I think the plaudits actually belong to Stubby Kaye ("Nicely-Nicely") for his corking ensemble lead of "Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat". To it's detriment, there is little chemistry between the the two leads and that really does come across - at times like two spatting cats, but generally it is a pacy, stylish spin on spivs and gangsters that certainly made me smile and tap my toes.

Guys and Dolls Official Trailer #1 - Frank Sinatra Movie (1955) HD

Best Movies

Guys and Dolls

Cast & Crew

Videos

Cast

Marlon Brando

Jean Simmons

Frank Sinatra

Vivian Blaine

Robert Keith

Stubby Kaye

B.S. Pully

Johnny Silver

Sheldon Leonard

Danny Dayton

Box office

More Like This

Chicago

Rope

A Bronx Tale

State of Grace

The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage!

The Hustler

The French Connection

TMNT