Sweet Charity (1969)

Director:

Bob Fosse

Writers:

Federico Fellini (screenplay) &
Ennio Flaiano (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 April 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Music | Romance

Tagline:

Hey Big Spender !

Plot:

Taxi dancer Charity continues to have Faith in the human race despite apparently endless disappointments at its hands...

Plot Keywords:

Charity | Hope | Dancer | Taxi Dancer | Broken Engagement

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Shirley MacLaine	...	Charity Hope Valentine
John McMartin	...	Oscar Lindquist
Chita Rivera	...	Nickie
Paula Kelly	...	Helene
Stubby Kaye	...	Herman
Barbara Bouchet	...	Ursula
Ricardo Montalban	...	Vittorio Vidal
Sammy Davis Jr.	...	Big Daddy Brubeck
Suzanne Charney	...	Lead frug dancer (as Suzanne Charny)
Alan Hewitt	...	Nicholsby
Dante DiPaolo	...	Charlie (as Dante D'Paulo)
Bud Vest	...	Frug dancer
Ben Vereen	...	Frug dancer
Lee Roy Reams	...	Frug dancer
Al Lanti	...	Dancer in 'Big Spender' number

Also Known As:

Sweet Charity: The Adventures of a Girl Who Wanted to Be Loved (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

149 min | 154 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Mono (Westrex Recording System) (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:11 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1996) | USA:G | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Chelsea Brown's movie debut.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the "Aloof" movement of "The Rich Man's Frug," two of the male principal dancers walk down the stairs to light a woman's cigarette, while the others dance behind them. The background choreography in this shot leads directly to the triangle formation of the next shot, and the two men are now in the middle of the group, although there was no time for them to reach that position.

Quotes:

Fandango Taxi Girls: Hey Big Spender, Spend a little time with me. Fun! Laughs! Good times! Fun! Laughs! Good times!
Nickie: How's about it, Palsy?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch: Sweet Charity (#1.18)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

The Rhythm of Life

Fosse's first film (and big bomb) is remarkable

There's just something about this movie that I love. I had seen bits and pieces of it some half a dozen times in the past couple of years. Tonight I finally sat and watched all of it. In theory it sounds like blasphemy: a musical remake of Fellini's Nights of Cabiria. But somehow first time director Bob Fosse pulls it off, and enormously well. Fosse is daring and innovative in his direction. Not just in the musical numbers, where you would expect it, but in every scene. He plays, and he's obviously having a ball. After the direction, a high percentage of the film's success is due to Shirley MacLaine, who was never better as Charity Hope Valentine. As much as I love and care for Giullieta Masina's Cabiria, I love and care for MacLaine's Charity. She's such an enormously lovable character, and MacLaine is simply brilliant. Her comic timing is impeccable. Sweet Charity also proves an interesting time capsule of late 60s New York City. In the scene cognate to the Picadilly Club in Nights of Cabiria, we visit a trendy night club where the girls where blue feathers as hats. Clips of Cleopatra (the one with Claudette Colbert) and an unidentifiable W.C. Fields movie play on a big screen in the background. We visit a religious ceremony for hippies who sing The Rhythm of Life. Sammy Davis Jr. is the priest! In Cabiria, a parade of young people cheer her at the end of the film. In Sweet Charity, a group of hippies, amongst them a young Bud Cort, hand out flowers in the morning, just saying good morning to everyone they meet. This movie was a huge bomb when first released. Fosse is actually really lucky they gave him another chance at direction, and then he made a film instantly recognizable as a masterpiece, Cabaret. Sweet Charity did not deserve to fail so miserably. Just the fickle fingers of fate, I guess.