Guys and Dolls

Released Nov 3, 1955

2 hr. 30 min.

Musical

Comedy

List

91%

32 Reviews

Tomatometer

83%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Gambler Nathan Detroit (Frank Sinatra) has few options for the location of his big craps game. Needing $1,000 to pay a garage owner to host the game, Nathan bets Sky Masterson (Marlon Brando) that Sky cannot get virtuous Sarah Brown (Jean Simmons) out on a date. Despite some resistance, Sky negotiates a date with her in exchange for bringing people into her mission. Meanwhile, Nathan's longtime fiancée, Adelaide (Vivian Blaine), wants him to go legit and marry her.

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Critics Consensus

An escapist and inventive cinemascope delight, Guys and Dolls glistens thanks to the charm of its ensemble.

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Margaret G

This is one of my all-time favorite musicals. I hope younger generations will enjoy this movie as well.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/25/24

Full Review

Alec B

Sinatra is boring but Brando isn't (a truly surprising thing to see in a musical) and while some of the cuts to the original stage show are vexing, overall it keeps the spirit and style intact. We should be very grateful Kidd's fantastic choreography got to stay in.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/20/24

Full Review

Jose G

I had been meaning to watch this movie for a few years. I wasn't familiar with the stage version and went in not knowing much aside from "Luck be a Lady Tonight". I was expecting to see big production numbers and for some reason I thought the setting would be Las Vegas, due to the gambling theme. I was surprised the movie takes place in NYC, and many of the musical numbers were smaller in scale. Still, it's a classic, Golden Age musical and you can't go wrong with Golden Age musicals or westerns imo. Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando are icons that I enjoy watching. Like another reviewer I was surprised it wasn't Frank singing "Luck" and I also felt that number should've been a bigger production number. A little disappointed it wasn't. Nevertheless, the opening sequence, the part in Havana and the dancing/gambling in the sewers were impressive.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/01/23

Full Review

Joshua C

Not the best singing performances - which isn't great for a musical - and not the best acting all around... but it's fun & pretty. Way too long though.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/02/23

Full Review

Alec B

It's true that Guys and Dolls is a classic, with golden-era Hollywood names like Jean Simmons, Marlon Brando, and Frank Sinatra. While we can look back on Guys and Dolls as a timepiece work of art, modern audiences will find the film's comedic moments to be dull and the plot too dragged out. Contemporary stage versions typically provide a more lively, witty amount of energy though no one can beat Brando's classic charm and devilish features. Lovers of musical theatre should give Guys and Dolls at least one watch to appreciate its old-fashioned fun.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/18/22

Full Review

Audience Member

The musical's subject is love and it is displayed in the relationships between the two couples: Sky and Sarah, and Nathan and Adelaide. Both Sky and Nathan are chronic gamblers and are unable to commit to relationships — with Sky in particular having a disposable disposition toward women. Although his initial advancements on Sarah are only because of a bet, he soon learns the value of companionship and quite frankly, the beauty of love. It makes the unlikely couple of Sarah (a devoted missionary) and Sky (a devoted gambler and bachelor) dynamic, multi-faceted, and deeply heartfelt.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

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Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Director

Marlon Brando

Sky Masterson

Jean Simmons

Sarah Brown

Frank Sinatra

Nathan Detroit

Vivian Blaine

Miss Adelaide

Robert Keith

Lt. Brannigan

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

The showtunes are weapons-grade: especially Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat, which never fails to get any audience on its feet. A must.

Rated: 5/5

Dec 25, 2014

Full Review

Geoffrey Macnab

Independent (UK)

Joseph L Mankiewicz's adaptation of the Frank Loesser Broadway musical, itself adapted from Damon Runyon stories, looks a treat. The wonder of the film is that it combines widescreen colour and opulence with an earthy, street-level humour.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 19, 2014

Full Review

Kate Muir

Times (UK)

Brando the singing actor and Sinatra the acting singer make a remarkable pair as sharp-suited gangsters and gamblers, along with their "dolls", Vivian Blaine and the English actress Jean Simmons.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 19, 2014

Full Review

Andrew Sarris

Film Culture

Both Brando and Sinatra retain enough personal charm to keep Guys and Dolls moving along as the most entertaining musical from Hollywood since Singing in the Rain.

Feb 3, 2021

Full Review

Clyde Gilmour

Maclean's Magazine

A handsome and funny wide-screen version of the famous Broadway hit. It's over-long at two and a half hours but liberally loaded with laughter and sentiment in the appropriate Damon Runyon tradition.

Oct 30, 2019

Full Review

Jason Solomons

The Mail on Sunday (UK)

The script is perhaps even better than most of the musical numbers, crackling with the Damon Runyon-style dialogue and with the colour of the stories on which Ben Hecht based his screenplay.

Oct 30, 2017

Full Review

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Synopsis

Gambler Nathan Detroit (Frank Sinatra) has few options for the location of his big craps game. Needing $1,000 to pay a garage owner to host the game, Nathan bets Sky Masterson (Marlon Brando) that Sky cannot get virtuous Sarah Brown (Jean Simmons) out on a date. Despite some resistance, Sky negotiates a date with her in exchange for bringing people into her mission. Meanwhile, Nathan's longtime fiancée, Adelaide (Vivian Blaine), wants him to go legit and marry her.

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Screenwriter: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Distributor: MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., Image Entertainment Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Samuel Goldwyn Company
Genre: Musical, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 3, 1955, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 23, 2012

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