TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

StrictlyConfidential 1955's "Guys and Dolls" was a big-budget musical production that cost MGM Studios $5.5 million.Yes. It was bright and flashy. Yes. It was busy and bushy-tailed. And, yes - It was also a hopelessly boring Rom/Com that ended (after 2.5 hours) on one of the most cringe-worthy bum-notes imaginable.And, speaking about actor, Marlon Brando (aka. "Mumbles") - I cannot figure out, for the life of me, why he would agree to star in this fluffy foolishness.Not only did he come across looking like an utter jackass, singing and dancing - But he was far from being at all convincing as a sweethearted lover-boy in the heat of romance.I mean - Let's face it - Brando was born a bully (of both men and women) and that's the only type of character he's at all suited for playing.Anyway - This film has an interesting behind-the-scenes story involving the strained working relationship, on the set, between Brando (it figures) and Frank Sinatra. (For further juicy details - Check it out on Wikipedia)

Spondonman I've been meaning to see this properly since it was on TV once in 1975 and occasionally over the decades afterwards – I finally managed it tonight, against the run of the dice too. Maybe it's a little too drawn out for me; but I guess all it means is Damon Runyon and Frank Loesser appealed less to me than Raymond Chandler and George Gershwin did.Amidst a sea of gambling hoods who speak - and sing - brokenly but dance fluently two people find themselves convolutedly falling in love. There's a spectacularly uninteresting storyline for a non-gambler but which is enlivened by some great songs and performances and precise choreography. Jean Simmons and Marlon Brando were good choices as a pair of reference points to the procession of cartoon characters inhabiting Runyon's woyld. Sinatra's silky voice was sadly underused or not used at all with Luck Be A Lady while the underused Stubby Kaye stole the show with the sublime Sit Down Stop Rocking The Boat. But I'd probably run a mile to avoid the sight of any of Vivian Blaine's dance routines for sexy gargoyles, or should that be ghouls. And at the end just like many other routine films including High Society the rough diamonds paired off on conventional lines as did the polished gems.It's arty, worth watching and isn't a crap film - I like it, don't love it; sue me.

Cheese Hoven Guys and Dolls is one of the most famous of the 1950s, but IMHO it has dated more badly than most of its contemporaneous pieces, at least as far as the film version goes. The reason, I think, is down to 3 things: characters, plot and music (in other words, basically everything).The best moments in the film are the musical numbers, although these are hardly the equal of say West Side Story. There are a lot of dated songs, either what might be described as patter or list songs or else sickly sentimental romantic ballads. The songs given to the "Dolls" are forgettable and quite tedious despite being quite short. There are a few interesting ensemble piece for the "Guys" such as Fugue for Tinhorns, The Oldest Established and mostly memorably the title Guys and Dolls. Of the solo songs, the only two of note are "Luck Be a Lady", unfortunately "sung" by Brando (Couldn't a way be found to have contrived Sinatra to sing it?) and "Sit down you're rocking the boat".Although these songs are good they are short, lasting usually less than 2 minutes. In total I would say that the musical numbers add up to less than 40 minutes (probably less) of the film's 150 minutes, and as stated, many of these are substandard. But that leaves well over an hour of film, made up of a silly plot and badly drawn caricatures, and it is for this reason that Guys and Dolls is a failure.The characters are broadly drawn even by the standards of the time. In keeping with the convention of making gangsters non-threatening, they all talk in a comically over precise and genteel way always saying "I do not" rather than "I don't". Now this would be fine if it was limited to short bursts or to one or two characters, but most of the male characters talk this way for most of this (lengthy) film. It gets old very quickly and actually becomes annoying.As far as the females goes, there are only two of note. One talks in a "comical" broad New York accent and the other, more serious one, is depicted as a sexually repressed spinster eager to become wild. This is greeting card level psychology. As to why Sinatra and Brando, two serial womanisers, would suddenly both be overcome by urges to marry these women is never seriously explained. It simply happens because that's what happens in a romantic comedy.This is not the only aspect of the plot that is weak. One gangster, Big Juli, is depicted as being feared yet Brando knocks him out with a single punch at one point without there being any ramifications. And why is the crap game being held in a sewer? Is it believable that extremely rich men would travel great distances to play a high stakes game to walk 10 minutes in a stinking sewer? Maybe it was a crap game in more senses than one.The Police Chief walks in and out of scenes with all the realism of a character in a bad sit-com. He just walks in, speaks a few lines, then walks out again. I could give many more examples of the weak and contrived plotting, and of course the counter would always be "well its just a piece of light hearted entertainment, not to be taken seriously." But even the light hearted must be competently constructed in order to be enjoyable. Things simply can't happen one way at one point because the plot demands it, and another way at another point because the plot demands it.Despite several numbers being cut, the film seems all of its 150 minute length. There are many longueurs, the most interminable being the scenes with Brando and Simmons in Havana, with the implausible seduction of Simmons by Brando which is really the seduction of Brando by Simmons. Despite her handing herself to him on a plate and him previously telling us his easy conquests of women, he declines and acts like a gentleman. One might argue that her purity appeals to his jaded sensibility; however, inexplicably, he starts to fall for her AFTER he has seen her act like a totally selfish and violent drunken tart.Verdict: watch the best bits on youtube and give the film a miss.

Neil Welch On the edges of New York's criminal underworld, Nathan Detroit finds it increasingly difficult to find venues for the illegal games of craps he arranges. A complicated bet sees a venue forthcoming while gambler Sky Masterson takes Salvation Army sergeant Sarah on a date to Cuba. Meanwhile, Nathan is trying to avoid marriage to his fiancée of 14 years, Miss Adelaide.Based on a hit Broadway musical which was, in turn, based on stories by Damon Runyan, Guys and Dolls is bright and colourful, with highly stylised city backdrops, some great songs and engaging dancing, a distinct and individual identity thanks to Runyan's unique dialogue, and great performances from the principles.It's one of the classic musicals from the 50s, and deservedly so.