Sweet Charity (1969)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

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:

Taxi Dancer | Charity | Hope | Dancer | Tattoo

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

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:

Chita Rivera's film 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:

Oscar Lindquist: The odds against us are at least a hundred to one.
Charity Hope Valentine: Those are the best odds I ever had.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in La boum 2 (1982)

Soundtrack:

It's a Nice Face

Great Fosse

Based loosely on "Nights of Cabiria" (Fellini is credited as screenwriter), this imaginative musical version of that classic shows early Fosse at his best. The song and dance numbers are sensational, and this is not hyperbole. A forerunner of the "Mein Herr" number from Cabaret can be seen in "Big Spender." Shirley McLain exhibits superb dancing, acting, and singing, particularily in the final "Wooden Soldiers" type routine. I began to suspect that some of the choreography may have been a result of editing (Fosse was the director) though since it is so very rapid and precise. I would like to think not. Most fortunately, the VHS tape presents the musical numbers in widescreen format, although the "straight" scenes are shown in TV compression.

This surely is high on the list of favorites for Fosse followers, I would think. Surprisingly, the film did not receive all that much acclamation at the time