tommypet3

Having listened to the recording of the 1992 revival with Peter Gallagher, Josie de Guzman, Nathan Lane and the one and only Faith Prince over and over again and having seen the recent national tour with Maurice Hines, I was used to seeing "Guys and Dolls" played pretty much entirely for laughs. And an over-the-top, even in some aspects cartoonish approach to this story of gamblers with hearts of gold who halfheartedly but more or less willingly get mixed up with missions and the dolls who run them and get engaged to nightclub singers for 14 years works just fine for me. So, it was a bit of a shock seeing the movie version of the musical (Made 5 years of the original Broadway premeiere), because almost everybody played it pretty much entirely straight. Everyone took themselves so SERIOUSLY, which is probably why so many of the scenes dragged quite a bit, rather than moved along at a snappy pace. Maybe I'm just too used to seeing and hearing "Guys and Dolls" played as a cartoon to be comfortable with this new, much edgier approach. I got into it after a while, and the film has many good points. It was just... very different from what I was used to.

First of all, a couple of great Frank Loesser songs from the Broadway show were cut. This has good and bad consequences. There is no real excuse for cutting the great "11-o'clock-number" "Marry the Man Today," but even without it, the (Am I really spoiling anything here?) final wedding procession is hilarious to watch. Also, while I really miss "I've Never Been In Love Before," I'm just as glad they kept "I'll Know," even if the singing of it wasn't the best (More on this later). I definitly don't miss "Bushel and a Peck," (I'll never understand why that song became so popular) and am very grateful "Take Back Your Mink" was still included. Don't miss "More I Cannot Wish You," and at least they kept "My Time of Day" as some nice underscoring. But what's worse is all the songs added to replace these, with the possible exception of "Pet Me Poppa," just aren't that catchy or memorable and definitly not in the same class of their Broadway predeccesors. And THEN they had to go and tweak a bunch of lyrics to the other songs for unknown reasons and mess with "Guys and Dolls." Those darn Hollywood people...

So now to the casting. For the main pair of lovers, who at least were meant to be played more or less seriously, we have Jean Simmons as represeed missionary Sarah Brown and, here we are, Marlon Brando as smooth-talking, hard-playing, charming gambler Sky Masterson. Brando is actually really good... in the acting. His rendition of "Luck Be a Lady" has a certain intensity that is interesting to watch, and he doesn't embarrass himself in his bits of dancing, but as for the rest of his musical performance... why, why d'ya think he never made another one? Likewise, Jean Simmons does pretty well for herself, acting-wise, and it's a delight to watch her let go in the "Havana" dance sequence, and she even sings "I'll Know" more or less well, but let's not get into "If I Were a Bell." Still, even if these two aren't exactly world-class singers, they really embody their roles, so it's hard not to forgive them. As for Frank Sinatra as the scheming crap-game runner Nathan Detroit, in a role meant for a non-singing comic rather than a singer who can act and toss off a precious few one-liners, he carries his offscreen dissapointment at not being cast as Sky (How about him as Sky and Peter Falk as Nathan Detroit? Wouldn't that be something?) with him. He sings great, but his acting, again taken WAY too seriously with the saddest of expressions throughout, is depressing to watch. The majority of the rest of the gamblers also are so darn SERIOUS, you think you're in "The Godfather" instead of a "musical fable of Broadway." Still, the lingo is fun to hear. Only Vivian Blaine, Stubby Kaye, and B.S. Pully, ironically three of the main holdovers from broadway, have any sense of comedy, and even Blaine, as Miss Adelaide, that singer who's been engaged to Nathan for 14 years, is oh-so-seriously determined to get Nathan to marry her. This more restrained approach, and her more natural "Noo Yawk" accent, are big changes from the slightly more over-the-top (Yet still incredibly touching) performance of Faith Prince (My definitive Adelaide) and the just-plain-ridiculous performance of the woman in the Hines tour. Very interesting changes, but big ones nonetheless. Kaye, as Nicely-Nicely (thank you), is a loveable lug if ever there was one, and his "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" is one of the few numbers to really come to life and stop the show. Pully, as "dangerous" Big Jule, has a good mix of comic timing and edginess, without going too far in one or the other direction.

So to sum up, Joseph Mancewicz probably wasn't the best choice to adapt and direct this for the screen. He almost wants to remind us it's a musical and not supposed to be reality, what with those bright and highly stylized sets by Oliver Smith (who I believe designed the original broadway sets as well), but yet almost everyone plays their roles completely straight and as realistically as possible, which adds an edge to the film that takes much of the great fun of the stage production away. An interesting new approach that has mixed results. There's stuff to like, stuff to want to forget, but on the whole it's just... really different from the average production of the show.

The smash hit Broadway musical Damn Yankees was transferred to the screen with all but one of its original Broadway cast, its original director, and its original choreographer intact. This has both good and bad consequences. The good is that the great performances of the cast and the dynamic, sexy choreography of a young Bob Fosse are preserved for posterity. Although top billing is given to the one non-Broadway holdover, Tab Hunter, the real star of the film is the incredible Gwen Verdon recreating her spellbinding, Tony-winning turn as Lola. With comic timing, energy, sex appeal and incredible dancing ability to spare, it's impossible to succumb to her charms when she takes the stage... er, screen in her numbers "A Little Brains, A Little Talent," "Who's Got the Pain" (In a delightful pairing with Fosse himself), "Two Lost Souls," and especially the classic "Whatever Lola Wants," and, as another reviewer noted, it's amazing that this didn't lead to a longer and more rewarding movie career. She had a brilliant career for years after on Broadway but it still is a shame that more of her work wasn't preserved. Ray Walston is hammy but devishly (Sorry about the pun) delightful as Applegate, and the supporting cast, including Jean Stapleton, is all fine. Nobody can really sing, but they inject the performances of their songs with such zest, energy and sweet sincerity that it doesn't really matter. The only problem is that, even though George Abbot, the original Broadway director, is paired witht he more cinematically knowledgeable Stanley Donen, everything is very stagey and there isn't much effort to open the action out. But when Verdon is working her magic, it's pretty hard to care, so that seems like a stupid quibble. So kick back, relax and enjoy Damn Yankees. It may not be the most inventive movie musical ever, but it's got a little brians, a little talent, plenty of heart, and Gwen Verdon. Who could ask for anything more?