This CinemaScope treatment of Frank Loesser's hit Broadway musical Guys and Dolls is a deeply rewarding visual and musical experience. Frank Sinatra turns in one of his best screen performances running a close second to Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons, looking adorable and singing sweetly. In essence this is a piece of photographed theatre mounted on a handsome scale. The striking set designs and a brilliantly executed soundtrack are courtesy of two Broadway craftsmen Oliver Smith and conductor Jay Blackton. Photographer Harry Stradling brings a meticulous eye for detail when his camera stationed on the auditorium side of the frame, peers into Miss Adelaide's bathroom cupboard as she views the lines of medicine bottles in her celebrated "lament". Sinatra, in his vocal prime, sings a new number to Adelaide (Vivian Blaine)--arranged by Nelson Riddle--and Brando and Simmons strike chords in all their scenes from their opening duet "I'll Know" through to their evening out at a Havana bistro where she gets pie-eyed on a Bacardi milk-shake, tipsily wondering "If I were a Bell". Stubby Kaye also from the Broadway cast recreates the show-stopping "Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat". Michael Kidd's choreography for "Luck Be a Lady" is razor-sharp and superbly captured in the CinemaScope format, though the formalised staging of the opening ought to have been rethought for this medium. The biggest pity is that Loesser amended some of his lyrics and replaced several tunes from his original score with inferior material.
On the DVD: The DVD trailer hosted by Ed Sullivan makes much of the $1,000,000 cheque producer Samuel Goldwyn paid for the rights and the previews of the picture he obtained for his weekly television show. There's no denying that the remastered stereophonic soundtrack captures the Broadway sound to thrilling effect without it being overglamorised. The picture looks splendid too--never settle for the compromise version we've endured all these years on television! --Adrian Edwards
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
Unbelievable! Of the 4 leads in this musical,only Vivienne Blaine belongs in a musical, being a major vaudeville & Broadway singer & hoofer before this was made. Despite this, it's a thoroughly enjoyable experience, good colour and sound and an outstanding supporting turn by Stubby Kaye. Jean Simmons retains her English innocence well as a Salvation Army lass and even assists in helping you forget that Damon Runyon's picaresque language translates hopelessly to screen. But the best bits are Brando &... more info
marlon at his best this film is seen by me as the greatest musical of all time. why? marlon brando and frank sinatra make the film enjoyable to watch. The story is all about brando falling inlove with someone he never expects to then risking it all with his gambling friends to declare his love and give up a life of gambling. The greatest part of the film is of course brando singing the famous luck be a lady. This i believe to be what draws everyone to this film and makes it as good as any other musical around to date.
Great Broadway - Great Movie The first thing that blew me away with this DVD is the quality of the sound. It has amazing depth and punch; you'd never believe that the soundtrack is almost 50 years old! ...and then, the sumptuous colour; those wonderful, stylised sets; the choreography...never mind the quality of the original material. "Guys and Dolls" is indisputably one of greatest of Broadways shows and here it gets the best of Holywood treatment; a truly class act. The cast is stella and even those who aren't known for their dancing... more info
pure joy I'm always looking out for videos to amuse both adults and children, and this is a jewel that my 10 year old adored. The dramatisation of Damon Runyon's classic short stories about small-time crooks, mobsters and chorus girls it starts with a long and very funny sequence tracking a pickpocket ambling through a crowded Times Square and getting away with tourists' wallets etc. The theme of "dolls" having the upper hand over "guys" made into a kind of ballet, and by the time three of the "guys" are gathered to... more info
![Guys And Dolls [1955]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51KK3YM82NL._SL160_.jpg)
