Guys and Dolls

    There is a debate out in the world as to whether Frank Sinatra should have been Sky Masterson over Marlon Brando in the film adaptation of Guys and Dolls.  While I am sure there are good arguments as to why Sky should have been played by Sinatra, I am 100% in the Brando camp.  I know he is not a perfect singer (something often referenced), but there is something about Marlon Brando that makes him perfect for the character of Sky.  It’s the way he looks at a person.  It’s the way he acts around others.  There is something about Marlon Brando no one else has that works perfectly for the character.  Plus, I’m not a fan of Sinatra.

    Nathan Detroit (Frank Sinatra) has a problem.  He needs a site for an underground craps game, but no one will let him use their place.  Only one man will even consider it, and he wants $1,000 upfront.  Money Nathan does not have.

    To raise the money, Nathan decides to challenge Sky Masterson (Marlon Brando) to a bet.  Sky is known for taking wild bets, and Nathan believes he has found one Sky can never win. 

    The bet is, Sky will take Sarah Brown (Jean Simmons), a sergeant from the local mission, to Havana, Cuba, for dinner.

    Now, when Sky made the bet, he did not know the woman Nathan was going to choose was Sarah.  He had been running on the belief he could take any woman Nathan named down to Cuba, but he never expected Nathan would choose someone like Sarah.  A woman determined to save people from their vices, Sarah is not the type of woman for a gambler like Sky. 

    But, unwilling to back out despite his unhappiness with the task, Sky goes to the mission to try and win his bet.               

    Sarah is suspicious of Sky from the start.  She does not truly believe he has come to the mission to be saved.  He must have come for some other reason, and she is right.  So, Sky makes a deal with her.  If she goes to dinner with him, he will bring sinners to her mission. 

    At first Sarah does not agree, but then her mission becomes at risk of being closed.  Without any other options to save her mission, Sarah goes to Cuba.

    While unsure about the trip at first, Sarah ends up having a good time.  Although, she does get some help with the dulce de leches she keeps drinking.  She does not understand they are an alcoholic drink.

    Sarah also finds herself falling in love with Sky.  She makes a move on him, which is very much out of her character, but Sky pushes her away.  She is under the influence, which he believes could make her not realize what she is doing.  The other reason Sky pushes her away is he’s starting to have feelings for Sarah.  Feelings he does not know how to handle.

    Despite Sky’s concerns, romance continues to grow between him and Sarah once they return home.  It looks like their relationship could really go somewhere until police sirens are heard near the mission.  Warned about the sirens by their lookout, all the gamblers run from the mission, having used it as their gambling hall while Sarah and the others she works with were away.

    Thinking Sky was in on the scheme to use the mission for gambling, Sarah gets upset with him.  Nothing Sky says will convince her he is innocent.  Instead of talking to Sky about what she has witnessed, Sarah leaves him out in the cold, literally.

    Hurt, but still wanting to keep up his end of the bargain, Sky tries to convince the other gamblers to come to a prayer meeting.  They do not want to go, so Sky makes a wager.  One roll of a dice will determine whether they go to the meeting or not.

    Maybe it’s because Guys and Dolls is one of the first stage musicals I remember seeing, but this film is one of my favorites.   Because of my love for the stage musical, I could have easily hated it.  Disagreed with some of the things different between the two.  But that is not the case.  I love this film, and I am always excited when it is on.

    Although, there is one thing I must say I miss from the stage version.  That is the song “A Bushel and a Peck”.  It is a song Adelaide (Vivian Blaine), Nathan’s fiancée, sings in her stage show.  At least she does in the stage version.  In the film, it is replaced with another song.  And while the new song is perfectly fine, there is something about “A Bushel and a Peck” I have always liked.  It is fun, and sticks in my head, which makes me miss it in the film.

    Another song new for the film is the song “Adelaide”.  It’s sung by Sinatra and fits perfectly into the film.  I have to wonder if I were to see the show on stage again, would I miss this song not being in it.

    In some ways, I am surprised no one has tried to remake this film.  I am also perfectly happy with the fact they have not.  There is something about Marlon Brando and the chemistry he has with Jean Simmons that is hard to replace.  Add in the impossibility of replacing Brando in just about anything, and I think it would be really hard to cast a remake of this film.  Even though it has been over sixty years since the original.

A Roll of the Dice/Artwork by Kate Dorsey