"Guys and Dolls" with Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Vivian Blaine, Jean Simmons and Stubby Kaye (1955)

One of my favorite movies is the 1955 version of "Guys and Dolls", which is based upon the Damon Runyon book of short stories about New York City during the 1930's and 1940's. From it's opening scene until the films finale; a double wedding at dawn in Times Square; this film just keeps giving, one delightful scene after another. And, as an added bonus, everyone in the film sings and dances. From Marlon Brando to Frank Sinatra and Stubby Kaye, all the stops are kicked out, as each of the stars sing, dance, and do comedy. These were the days when you really learned your craft on the live stage first, before making the transition to Hollywood and 30 second "takes".

The movie opens with a meander through the Times Square of olden days, when the streets were filled with con artists, hookers and gamblers. The film makes it all seem less sordid than it really was at the time. By the 1970's it was almost hazardous to walk in the area at night, especially after the theaters had closed.

This is one of my favorite scenes from the movie, actually, the whole movie is one of my favorite scenes! From the opening number shown above, right on through Marlon Brando singing a love song in Havana, this film is a pure delight.

"Titanic Thompson" by Kevin Cook

When Damon Runyon wanted to write a biography about "Titanic" Thompson, Mr. Thompson replied, "Mine ain't the kind of business publicity helps." So Mr. Runyon did the next best thing. He turned Mr. Thompson into "Sky" Masterson, the legendary gambler in his classic book "Guys and Dolls." And he was pretty much on the mark with his portrayal of this legendary figure.

Mr. Thompson was born in Monett, Missouri in a log cabin. It was Thanksgiving Eve 1892. His father was in a saloon, drinking and gambling when his wife gave birth to a baby boy they named Alvin Clarence Thomas. When the elder Mr. Thomas returned home the next day to his wife and newborn son, he was far from happy at the arrival of what he considered another responsibility. Within weeks, he would take the last $5 from the sugar bowl in the kitchen, and leave his wife and children.

Alvin's mother remarried, this time to a hog farmer in Rogers, Arkansas. The town was mainly concerned with producing apple vinegar. Life was hard, Alvin grew up poor and swore that he would leave someday. As a child he pitched pennies for practice. He was so good that he could make a coin lean up against a wall if he so desired. And when it came to cards, he was a sharp at the age when most kids are learning to read and write, which is something he didn't take the time to do.

But he could figure odds in his head. He knew the dice inside out, figuring all the odds against each possible roll. He learned to mark cards and shoot pool. In short, he bacame a self educated "sporting" man.

Promising his mother that he would never "smole or drink", he set out to become one of the most legendary gamblers who ever lived. He was friends with Minnesota "Fats", Lee Trevino, and in 1970 he co-hosted the First World Series of Poker with actor Chill Wills. But it's the years in between that are of the most interest.

He would, as Damon Runyon would later state, "bet that one rain drop would beat another" to the bottom of the window. Some of his bets were pure gamble, and others were calculated risks, taken after lenghty study by Mr. Thompson, who got the last name when a news reporter accidentally changed Thomas into Thompson, like the machine gun.

He killed his first man at age 16 aboard a river barge after the other man had thrown him overboard. The other man had lost at dice to Thompson and decided it would be easier to kill the young man rather than pay up. Thompson was able to climb back aboard, club the man over the head and then pitch him into the water, where he drowned.

He was a skilled marksman, carried two sets of golf clubs, one right handed, the other left. He was an expert self taught Craps shooter, as well as a shrewd card player. He could flip 52 cards, one at a time, across the room, landing them in his derby. He could also cheat with the best of the best, often letting himself be set up as the "mark", only to turn the tables on his unsuspecting opponents.

Along with the story of "Titanic" Thompson, the author serves up a complete history of the "bones", which we have come to call dice. He explains the "odds" concerning the toss, and even manages to find the time to record the entire history of cards and the game of poker. You will be fascinated with this portion of the book.

He married 4 times, and had a child he didn't see for almost 20 years while he traveled every back road and major city in the country. This is almost a mirror image of what happened between "Titanic" and his own Dad many years earlier.

After "Titanic" left home and began his quest to become a "self made man", he ran into a card game in New Orleans. It was 1911, four years since he had left home. He was 19 years old. He sat down to the game and quickly won $200. Playing back and forth for hours, the young man took $1,600 from his opponent, who then asked him what his name was. "I'm Alvin Thomas. You're my daddy, and I'm giving you your money back."

The book is filled with the names of every notable sports figure from Babe Ruth to Lee Trevino. The index to this 224 page book could well serve as an FBI roster. The stories are true, and the names and places are real. Before his death in 1974, Mr. Thompson became instumental in making poker the World Wide legitimate sport that it is today. Kind of like NASCAR, which had it's roots in running moonshine. A very entertaining and informative read which will leave you more knowledgable than when you began the book. Wanna bet?

Jean Simmons- I'm Getting Older

I know I’m getting older. All of the actresses that I had crushes on when I was a kid are passing away. Last year it was Olivia DeHavilland – (“Robin Hood" with Errol Flynn) and then Betty Hutton – (“Miracle at Morgan's Creek” and “Annie Get Your Gun”). Now, with 2010 barely begun, Jean Simmons, forever Sister Sarah in “Guys and Dolls” to me, has passed away. She died last Friday in Santa Monica, California at the age of 80. The cause of death was lung cancer.

Standing on the edge of a fountain at midnight in Havana with Marlon Brando in “Guys and Dolls”, belting out “If I Were a Bell” is how I will always see her. But her story is so much more.

Originally studying dance she was taken out of school and contracted to David Lean and J Arthur Rank in Britain during the 1930’s. There she appeared in many films, including the classic David Lean production of Charles Dickens “Great Expectations.” She played Estella, the young girl used as revenge against the world by her bitter Grandmother.

Other hits followed, “Black Narcissus” and “Hamlet” with Laurence Olivier are just a few of the timeless classics she was turning out prior to the 1950’s.

Howard Hughes bought her contract and she came to Hollywood in 1951. It was not love at first sight. Hughes had amorous intentions, knowing she was a married woman. Her husband, Stewart Granger, no shrinking violet, confronted Hughes on the phone one evening and demanded he leave her alone. As a result Hughes torpedoed her next few films in an effort to destroy her career.

But good talent always rises back up and with the 1952 production of “Guys and Dolls” starring Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando, her career was once again on top. Other hits and awards followed- notably the 1960 classic “Elmer Gantry.” In this one she plays the opposite of innocent Sister Sarah from “Guys and Dolls.” Rather she portrays a cunning and ruthless woman evangelical preacher who falls for another scam artist played by Burt Lancaster.

Her career was on top again where it would remain until she retired in the late 1990’s. Her retirement came after a successful run in the remake of “Dark Shadows”, where she reprised Joan Bennetts original role as matriarch of the Collins family.

Always very much the lady, she was regarded with much respect in film circles the world over. Her quiet struggles with alcohol and depression led her to disclose her problems in 1983. She said at the time that she did this “so other women would know it is okay to seek treatment.” She was a class act and we shall not see the likes of her again anytime soon.

And as her passing means I’m getting older, I miss her already.