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Sweet Charity

Play trailer Poster for Sweet Charity G 1969 2h 34m Musical Play Trailer Watchlist
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80% Tomatometer 10 Reviews 73% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Charity Hope Valentine (Shirley MacLaine) always tries to look on the bright side of life, despite working in a rundown dance hall and contending with a seemingly endless run of bad dates. Determined to find love, Charity falls for suave actor Vittorio Vidal (Ricardo Montalban), but their romance is all too brief. However, when Charity finds herself stuck in an elevator with the reserved Oscar Lindquist (John McMartin), it turns out that she may have finally met her match.
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Sweet Charity

Critics Reviews

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Wendy Ide The Times (UK) 07/20/2023
While it is no match for Cabaret, the inimitable Fosse flourish adorns a handful of first-rate musical numbers. Go to Full Review
Variety Staff Variety 06/30/2008
MacLaine’s unique talents as a comic tragedienne are set off to maximum impact. Go to Full Review
Vincent Canby New York Times 05/09/2005
In the manner of so many adaptations of hit shows, it recalls the stage production with a certain affection, but without any sense of what made it a hit and potentially valuable movie material. Go to Full Review
Brian Viner Daily Mail (UK) 07/14/2023
It’s thoroughly dated, but that’s part of its enduring charm — as is Shirley MacLaine! Go to Full Review
Chase Burns The Stranger (Seattle, WA) 01/05/2022
While the film can drag, the musical numbers are still so sweet and bold and genre-defining that I found myself tearing up during this rewatch. Go to Full Review
Penelope Houston The Spectator 07/12/2018
If Charity, played by Shirley MacLaine in her sharpest innocent-at-large style, really wants to escape, it's hard to see what is holding her back. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Eye C @ECinc Sep 14 This became, immediatly one of my favorite musicals, the psychodelic atmosphere and the 60s all over the movie rushes my body to higher places. The ending it's not encouraging by far, but it's a harsh and important message. See more Stephen C @bob25009 Jun 5 Success in 2 hours and 34 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more Ginger 1 05/05/2024 MacLaine is as charismatic as ever with some really beautiful dance and musical numbers. The apartment and rooftop sequences being my favourite. Sadly, this really out-stays it's welcome, which does not even feel earned by the unfulfilling end. Additionally, some of the editing is just bizarre. See more Alec B 12/14/2023 As it's Fosse's first serious attempt at a movie, some things are a little sloppy but for the most part it's enjoyably weird. Most of the musical numbers are exceptionally staged (Especially "Rhythm of Life" and "Hey Big Spender") and it's good that they got to keep the bitter sweet ending of the stage show. See more 01/30/2022 What is this movie about? Waited 3 years to finally see it. YAWN!!! See more 06/07/2021 Bob Fosse's masterpiece. With song and dance sequences like "Big Spender" it was all about the little twitches of choreography, the hissing, the slow seduction of tiny motions from dead-eyed showgirls that made Fosse the best. Fosse had his own signature in dancing, and no one can mimic it, even today. The ultimate dance sequence is when the 3 acts are announced: The Aloof, The Heavyweight, and The Big Finish. You can watch these and no other dance sequence in film ever again, and you'd probably (nods) "I understand Life now." The plot is great, the music is fantastic, the dancing is innovative, the film is beautifully shot, and Shirley MacLaine is amazing at faking eternal hopefulness. See more Read all reviews
Sweet Charity

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Movie Info

Synopsis Charity Hope Valentine (Shirley MacLaine) always tries to look on the bright side of life, despite working in a rundown dance hall and contending with a seemingly endless run of bad dates. Determined to find love, Charity falls for suave actor Vittorio Vidal (Ricardo Montalban), but their romance is all too brief. However, when Charity finds herself stuck in an elevator with the reserved Oscar Lindquist (John McMartin), it turns out that she may have finally met her match.
Director
Bob Fosse
Producer
Robert Arthur
Screenwriter
Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, Neil Simon, Peter Stone
Distributor
Universal Pictures, MCA/Universal Pictures [us]
Production Co
Universal Pictures
Rating
G
Genre
Musical
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 1, 1969, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 4, 2021
Runtime
2h 34m
Sound Mix
Magnetic Stereo 6 Track, Mono
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