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Sweet Charity (film)

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Director
  
Bob Fosse

Initial DVD release
  
March 4, 2003

Country
  
United States

7/10
IMDb

Genre
  
Comedy, Drama, Music

Duration
  

Language
  
English

Sweet Charity (film) movie poster

Release date
  
April 1, 1969 (1969-04-01)

Based on
  
Le Notti di Cabiria (Nights of Cabiria)

Writer
  
Neil Simon (from the New York stage production book by), Federico Fellini (based upon the screenplay by: "Nights of Cabiria"), Tullio Pinelli (based upon the screenplay by: "Nights of Cabiria"), Ennio Flaiano (based upon the screenplay by: "Nights of Cabiria"), Peter Stone (screenplay)

Songs
  
Overture

Cast
  
Shirley MacLaine
(Charity),
John McMartin
(Oscar),
Ricardo Montalban
(Vittorio),
Sammy Davis, Jr.
(Big Daddy),
Chita Rivera
(Nickie)

Similar movies
  
Ricardo Montalban appears in Sweet Charity and On an Island with You

Tagline
  
Love is what it's all about!

Sweet charity trailer 1969


Sweet Charity, full title of which is Sweet Charity: The Adventures of a Girl Who Wanted to Be Loved, is a 1969 American musical film directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse, written by Neil Simon, and with music by Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields.

Contents

Sweet Charity (film) movie scenes

It stars Shirley MacLaine and features John McMartin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Ricardo Montalban, Chita Rivera, Paula Kelly and Stubby Kaye. It is based on the 1966 stage musical of the same name – which Fosse had also directed and choreographed – which in turn is based on Federico Fellini, Ennio Flaiano and Tullio Pinelli's screenplay for Fellini's film Le Notti di Cabiria (Nights of Cabiria). However, where Fellini's black-and-white film concerns the romantic ups-and-downs of an ever-hopeful prostitute, the musical makes the central character a dancer-for-hire at a Times Square dance-hall.

Sweet Charity (film) movie scenes

The film is notable for its costumes by Edith Head and its dance sequences, notably "Rich Man's Frug".

Sweet Charity (film) movie scenes

Sweet charity part a


Plot

Sweet Charity (film) movie scenes

Charity Hope Valentine (Shirley MacLaine) works as a taxi dancer along with her friends, Nickie (Chita Rivera) and Helene (Paula Kelly). She longs for love, but has bad luck with men, being robbed and pushed off Bow Bridge in Central Park by one ex-boyfriend. She has another humiliating encounter with Vittorio Vitale (Ricardo Montalban), a movie star.

Sweet Charity (film) movie scenes

After failing to find a new job through an employment agency, Charity meets shy Oscar Lindquist (John McMartin) in a stuck elevator. They strike up a relationship, but Charity does not reveal what she does for a living. When she finally does tell Oscar, he initially seems to accept it, but finally tells Charity that he cannot marry her.

The optimistic Charity faces her future, alone for the time being, living hopefully ever after.

Alternate ending

An alternate ending found on the Laserdisc and DVD versions picks up after Oscar leaves Charity. Oscar starts to go crazy in his apartment and, feeling suffocated, goes for a walk in the park. He sees Charity on their bridge in Central Park and thinks she is going to jump. Racing to rescue her, he trips and falls in the water. Charity jumps in after him, but can't swim so Oscar rescues her. Oscar realizes Charity is the only breath of fresh air in his life, proposes again, and she accepts. Fosse thought the ending was too corny, but filmed it in apprehension that the studio would demand a happy ending. In the end, though, they agreed with Fosse and kept the original ending from the stage version.

Cast

  • Shirley MacLaine as Charity Hope Valentine
  • John McMartin as Oscar Lindquist
  • Ricardo Montalban as Vittorio Vitale
  • Chita Rivera as Nickie
  • Paula Kelly as Helene
  • Stubby Kaye as Herman
  • Barbara Bouchet as Ursula
  • Sammy Davis, Jr. as Big Daddy Brubeck
  • Suzanne Charny as "Rich Man's Frug" lead dancer
  • Ben Vereen as "Rich Man's Frug" dancer

    • Musical numbers

    1. "My Personal Property"
    2. "(Hey,) Big Spender"
    3. "The Pompeii Club"
    4. "Rich Man's Frug"
    5. "If They Could See Me Now"
    6. "The Hustle"
    7. "There's Got to Be Something Better Than This"
    8. "It's a Nice Face"
    9. "The Rhythm of Life"
    10. "Sweet Charity"
    11. "I'm a Brass Band"
    12. "I Love to Cry at Weddings"
    13. "Where Am I Going?"

    Box office

    The film cost $20 million to make, but made only $8 million at the box office, which nearly sank Universal Pictures.

    According to Variety the film earned rentals of $4,025,000 in the US and Canada.

    Awards and honors

    The film received three Academy Award nominations: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Alexander Golitzen, George C. Webb, Jack D. Moore); Best Costume Design; and Best Music, Score of a Musical Picture (Original or Adaptation). It received one Golden Globe nomination for Shirley MacLaine as Best Motion Picture Actress - Musical/Comedy.

    It was also screened at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival, but outside of the main competition.


    The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

  • 2002: AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – Nominated
  • 2004: AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs:
  • "Big Spender" – Nominated
  • "If My Friends Could See Me Now" – Nominated
  • 2006: AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – Nominated

    • Sweet charity dance scenes the aloof the heavyweight the big finish


    References

    Sweet Charity (film) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA

    Sweet Charity (film) IMDb Sweet Charity (film) themoviedb.org