GUYS AND DOLLS: Blu-ray reissue (Samuel Goldwyn, 1955) Warner Archive

Long before Felix Unger met Oscar Madison, Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra proved the original ‘odd couple’ when maverick showbiz legend, ole-time mogul, and, gambling Hollywood producer, Samuel Goldwyn cast them together in his lavishly appointed adaptation of Guys and Dolls (1955), a mellifluous and suave amalgam of the actor turned singer - Brando, and, singer come actor – Sinatra; each, debatably, the proverbial ‘fish out of water’; both, rising like cream, to the occasion. Guys and Dolls hails from another golden epoch entirely in Broadway to Hollywood hybrid musicals, a delightfully risqué tale originally spun by author, Damon Runyon, artfully adapted from page to stage, then stage to screen with a seemingly effortless wave of a real Tinsel Town showman at the helm…well, actually, two: Goldwyn, for guts, and director, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, to achieve the glory. And collaboratively, they do just that, with a plushily padded and highly stylized glamour treatment befitting the art, as well as the artifice of all the best loved Cinemascope spectacles from the 1950’s. The picture is bookended by two iconic performances – one from Sinatra, who campaigned hard, and was bitterly disappointed to lose out on the lead, as the slick and polished Sky Masterson to Brando, the latter, chronically concerned that his thin voice would not carry the incredible Frank Loesser score. He had nothing to fear. Brando’s rendition of Luck Be A Lady is as riveting as any dramatic performance ever leant his formidable craft, while Sinatra’s Nathan Detroit gets the lion’s share of secondary songs.  Arguably, and ironically, the standout musical moment belongs to neither, but is owed the rotund and cherub-esque Stubby Kaye as Nicely-Nicely, belting out ‘Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat’ – an electro-charged moment of pure musical magnetism that never fails to bring down the house.  

When Guys and Dolls had its world premiere, the New York Post declared it to be “the top musical of this year or any year!” Indeed, time has done very little to diminish its carefully contrived impressionist view of the déclassé and loveably degenerate, stylized in the best acting tradition inherent in the original stage show, as lovingly – if not entirely – preserved for the motion picture camera. Produced on a grand scale by Goldwyn, who was circling the end to the silver age of his long career, and, with his usual hallmarks for impeccable showmanship firmly steering the picture, Guys and Dolls aegis, as a simple short story by Runyon was later fleshed out by Abe Burrows, Jo Swerling and Frank Loesser into a smash Broadway extravaganza. Runyon’s characterizations of the lovably low, who speak in punctuated, ever so slightly backward English – presumably to confuse and confound the local law enforcement that is ever vigilant to expose their illegal activities – creates its own curiously off-kilter charm for these underworld reprobates; miraculously transformed into cuddly, warmhearted friendly folk who just happen to occasionally settle their differences at the point of a gun. For Goldwyn, the picture was the crowning artistic achievement in a career justly celebrated today as perhaps the greatest of all independent producers: no small feat during an era when Goldwyn – after being ousted from sharing in the profits of the newly amalgamated MGM in 1922 – went on to make such iconic masterpieces as 1936’s Dodsworth, 1939’s Wuthering Heights, Ball of Fire and The Little Foxes (both in 1941), The Bishop’s Wife (1947) and, of course, the Academy Award-winning picture of 1946, The Best Years of Our Lives, to name but a handful. But Guys and Dolls was by far, Goldwyn’s most impassioned project, a grand and glorious, big time splashy musical extravaganza that had all the trappings to make it an even bigger success (also, quite possibly a garish failure) on the big screen.

Like all movie moguls of his ilk and era, Goldwyn was a gambling man, a necessary ingredient for making cinema art. For Goldwyn, Guys and Dolls became a bittersweet success – undeniably asserting his eminence in an industry he thoroughly enjoyed, but putting a decided period to his great glories from the past. He could have done worse. Damon Runyon, who toiled his whole life creating thinly veiled fiction of his own encounters with these ‘less than common folk’, had barely begun to see his vintage works translated into classic films throughout the 1930's and 40's before succumbing to throat cancer in 1944. As such Guys and Dolls – arguably the greatest of all his accomplishments – was a success he would never enjoy.  With the overwhelming triumph of Guys and Dolls it is easy to forget today that the original aspiration for the show as put forth by producers, Cy Feuer and Ernest Martin was as a morality ‘message’ musical from Runyon’s story, roughly cut out of the same artistic cloth as Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific – then, the reigning stage smash to beat. Yet, this template did not suit the material at all, as Feuer and Martin quickly realized. After auditioning a slew of librettists, the producers abandoned their concept of writing a serious romance in favor of crafting a lighthearted musical comedy instead.  The rest, as they say, is history.

In transforming the play into a movie, Goldwyn spared no expense, outbidding MGM, Columbia and Paramount to produce it for a cool $1 million. Although Frank Sinatra aggressively campaigned to play the part of Sky Masterson – the elegant rake who seduces a wallflower Salvation Army officer, only to be lured in by her innocence, thus to reform his own wicked ways – the role was never his for the asking. Goldwyn had hoped to cast Gene Kelly. But old wounds with MGM remained fresh and the studio refused Goldwyn, Kelly’s loan out. Clark Gable and Robert Mitchum were then briefly considered, as was – ironically – Bing Crosby, before Goldwyn convinced Marlon Brando to accept the part. Brando’s star had been on the ascendance with back-to-back classic performances in The Men (1950), A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), and, his most impressive role to date: Marc Antony in Mankiewicz’s Julius Caesar (1953) for which ‘the great mumbler’ not only proved his mettle as an actor, but convinced even his harshest critics of the viability of Shakespeare on film. But Brando, then all of 31, for all his charisma and bravado was not altogether sure Masterson was for him. In fact, in accepting the part, he sheepishly confessed his inadequacies to both Goldwyn and Mankiewicz about singing in the film. Undaunted, Goldwyn told Brando to be himself and thereafter hired a vocal coach who diligently worked to hone Brando’s natural singing voice. And Brando, invested with the actor’s acumen, nevertheless reserves the right to speak on pitch, but actually sings the songs as though born to the musical mantle of quality. The results speak for themselves. Though never to be considered a sincere threat to either Crosby or Sinatra, Brando’s half spoken/half sung interpretations of the Loesser score strike just the right notes. He is magnificent.  Rather than belting these tunes out of the park, Brando interprets them as a flashy hustler might, with an earthy integrity for the feel, rather than the flair of the lyric.

Bitter at losing the part, Sinatra begrudgingly accepted the plum supporting role of Nathan Detroit; then, somewhat defiantly, went off and cut a single of ‘Luck Be A Lady’ – Brando’s signature tune, for his own record label. This became an instant pop standard and a regular part of Sinatra’s Vegas nightclub repertoire. Perhaps to compensate Sinatra for his loss, embellish the musical portion of the show, and, deflect the focus from Brando’s lack of innate musical ability, Goldwyn also commissioned Loesser to write two new songs for the movie; ‘Pet Me Poppa’ and ‘Adelaide’ – the latter, a memorable showcase for Sinatra in the picture’s last act. Viewing Guys and Dolls today, one is acutely aware of Sinatra’s competitiveness in the scenes he shares with Brando. Brando’s laid-back delivery oozes self-confidence in contrast to Sinatra’s pulling out all the stops to remain the flashier of the two. It’s a solid contrast and joyously resolved by the actors’ mutual respect. Although there are structural differences between the stage show and movie, the plot is essentially the same. Gambler Nathan Detroit (Sinatra) is attempting to organize his next floating crap game somewhere in New York. But Lieutenant Brannigan (Robert Keith) has been keeping a watchful eye on Detroit’s activities and has all but successfully intimidated anyone from furnishing a spot for the action. Nathan’s faithful stooges, Nicely-Nicely Johnson (Stubby Kaye) and Benny Southstreet (Johnny Silver) inform him that the owner of the Biltmore garage wants a thousand dollars to take the risk; an unfair price that needs to be met up front if Nathan’s plan is to succeed.

Nathan has even bigger problems with his fiancée, Miss Adelaide (Vivian Blaine), a dewy-eyed showgirl who is threatening to end their fourteen-year engagement unless Nathan gives up gambling and marries her. On the surface at least, Nathan agrees to Adelaide’s terms. But behind her back he sets into motion a plan to acquire the necessary funds to launch his next big fix. His trump card is Sky Masterson (Marlon Brando), a high-stakes gambler who is willing to bet on virtually anything for a price. The bet Nathan comes up with involves prudish ‘Save The Soul Mission’ Sergeant Sarah Brown (Jean Simmons). Sky must get the sexually frigid Sarah to fly with him to Havana for an impromptu dinner engagement or pay $1000 to Nathan as the forfeit. Sky accepts this bet without question and then suddenly realizes he will have to work considerably harder than he thought to convince Sarah he loves her. Unable to lure Sarah to his side with sheer charm, Sky feigns he is an awful sinner who is in desperate need of her reform.  He is only partly successful in this approach, however, and next tells Sarah that if she agrees to accompany him to Havana, he will guarantee her a dozen sinners for her mission which has thus far had no success in convincing the downtrodden to join their order. Unable to find any legitimate fault with Sky’s proposal, Sarah accompanies him to Cuba where she quite easily loses her inhibitions through strong drink and succumbs to Sky’s wily charm. But who is seducing who?

Meanwhile, confident he has won the bet, Nathan gathers a who’s who of gamblers together, fronted by rough trade, Harry the Horse (Sheldon Leonard) and Big Julie (B.S. Pully) a hardcore Chicago mobster. Taking notice of this assemblage, Benny masks their intentions from Brannigan by informing him that Nathan and Adelaide have finally decided to tie the knot. Unable to finagle his way out of this declaration, Nathan plays along, but later collapses when he notices Sarah is not with her mission band. Sky and Sarah return to New York blissfully in love. He confesses his part in the bet, but she forgives him this trespass, because he is sincere towards her now. Unbeknownst to Sky, Nathan and the boys have used the mission’s back room for their crap game, the hoods gathered for Brannigan’s sake to profess their reformation – thus keeping up Sky’s end of the bargain to deliver sinners to the cause. But Sarah, believing Sky knew about the game all along, feels she has been duped and breaks off with him. Sky, who has indeed been touched by Sarah’s goodness, decides to make restitution for his shortcomings.

He confronts Nathan and the rest of the gamblers in the sewer they have transformed into their floating crap game hideaway. Lying to Nathan about not having taken Sarah to Cuba, Sky pays Nathan $1000 on the spot – money to recover his devastating loses against Big Jule.  Sky then makes his boldest bet of all. He will roll the dice a single time. If he loses, he will pay each gambler $1000. But if he wins, they must all march into the mission to attend one of Sarah’s prayer meetings. Sarah is stunned when this entourage of notorious hoods come marching in, but ever the skeptic, she remains bitterly unconvinced of their contrition until Nicely-Nicely recalls a harrowing nightmare that supposedly caused him to reconsider the error of his ways. Later, Sarah learns from Nathan that he denied taking her to Cuba to preserve her reputation and she, recognizing the chivalry in his gesture, rushes off to make up with Sky. The next day Time Square shuts down for the double wedding of Nathan and Adelaide, and, Sky and Sarah; the couples escorted to their respective love nests in a paddy wagon supplied by Lieutenant Brannigan with a full police escort.

Guys and Dolls remains an indestructible entertainment, a handsome and high-minded reincarnation of the Broadway smash. At 2 ½ hrs. it runs just a tad too long, but retains Runyon’s gloriously gilded dialogue with plenty of laughter and sentiment to boot. Director, Mankiewicz, who also co-wrote the script, has wisely chosen to retain the artifice in the exercise. The entire production is conceived inside sound stages with Joseph C. Wright’s ultra-stylized recreations of New York – beautifully photographed by Harry Stradling Sr. These provide an impeccable backdrop that compliments the obviousness in Runyon’s dialogue.  Joyously witty, with all the dash and finesse Goldwyn’s old-school showmanship can muster, Guys and Dolls endures as few movie musicals have. And then there are the performances to recommend the picture. What Brando lacks in musical ability he unequivocally makes up in his acting with uncompromising conviction. Jean Simmons manages to sustain the tender balance of an emotionally repressed spinster who suddenly rediscovers her own heart by falling in love with this scamp. Sinatra is at the pinnacle of his powers – both vocally and from an acting standpoint – perfectly complimented by Vivian Blaine’s sympathetic comic foil as his ever-devoted Miss Adelaide.  The supporting cast all do their thing just fine, particularly Stubby Kaye who is given, (and excels at) the aforementioned musical novelty, ‘Sit Down You’re Rocking The Boat’, a number whose mere remembrance of it now while writing this review makes me want to stand up and applaud.  In all, Guys and Dolls is an effervescent, full-blown ultra-musical – a tune-filled Technicolor extravaganza that will undoubtedly continue to tickle and delight for many good years yet to come.

Warner Archive has reissued Guys and Dolls on Blu-ray, minus the deluxe digi-booklet packaging that was a part of its original release in 2017. Image quality is identical, and exhibits a robust Cinemascope image with eye-popping colors. Occasionally, flesh tones retain an ever-so-slight jaundice pallor. But the spectrum of color here favors gorgeous reds, velvety purples, hot pinks and fertile greens. Contrast is bang on. The image leaps ahead in fine detail with a good solid smattering of film grain naturally reproduced. There is some minor gate weave that ought to have been corrected. No doubt, Guys and Dolls – whose 1080p transfer is now well past a decade old – could seriously use a new 4K scan and upgrade. The DTS 5.1 audio is a sonic revelation, recapturing the vintage and plush 6-track quality of ‘scope’ stereo with impeccable spatial separation and a hearty bass. Extras are the only disappointment herein. Warner has imported the brief featurettes on the making of the film and reflections on its impact that were a part of Fox/MGM’s tired and careworn DVD release. We also get the original theatrical trailer. Bottom line: if you already own the old digipack design, there is no reason to double dip for this WAC reissue. Judge and buy accordingly.

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

5

VIDEO/AUDIO

3.5

EXTRAS

2