Many of us grew up singing the catchy musical classics such as "Luck Be a Lady" and "Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat," but never knew exactly where they came from. To provide a little flavor for our showcase of films this semester, the Film Society brings you Guys and Dolls (1955), one of the most popular, iconographic musical comedies ever made.
The film stars Frank Sinatra as the New York gambler Nathan Detroit who is responsible for maintaining the "Oldest Established Permanent Floating Crap Game in New York." Nathan is struggling to finance a crap game for which he needs $1,000. One rich bet-a-holic, Sky Masterson (Marlon Brando), offers to give Nathan the money he needs on the condition that he is successful in taking a cold female missionary, Sarah Brown (Jean Simmons), to Havana on a date with him.
Sarah and Nathan end up falling for each other and Nathan has to find a way to finance the game and be true to his new love, all the while being chased by the cops and his girlfriend from a 14-year engagement.
Guys and Dolls was directed by Joseph Mankiewicz (All About Eve, 1950). It was nominated for four Academy Awards. The music and lyrics were written by Frank Loesser and are as instantly contagious as they are timeless.
The acting is the thing to look for here; Sinatra and Simmons are right at home, and Brando does a pretty good job for a musical debut. Vivian Blaine is also irresistible as the persistent and pathetic girlfriend, a role which she played in the original Broadway production, which was a huge hit and Tony winner.
Guys and Dolls will be screened this Friday and Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in Smith Auditorium of Sills Hall.
On Sunday, the Film Society will be co-sponsoring a film event with the ASA for Asian Awareness Week on campus. Better Luck Tomorrow (2002) is a film that tells the story of a group of Asian-American high school seniors. The students are overachievers and perfectionists in the classroom, but engage in extracurricular criminal activities to relieve the pressures of academics. It is a thoroughly entertaining film with many great performances from relatively undiscovered young actors. The film was directed by Justin Lin. Better Luck Tomorrow will be screened on Sunday evening at 7:00 p.m. in Beam Classroom, on the first floor of the VAC.