Sweet Charity (1969)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

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:

Charity | Hope | Dancer | Taxi Dancer | Wish Better Life

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:

Helene: There ain't no use flappin' your wings, 'cause we are stuck in the flypaper of life!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Jack Frost (#9.13)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

I'm a Brass Band

MacLaine, Fosse & Fellini Make a Musical Comedy

While "Sweet Charity" was being filmed, almost 40 years ago, Shirley MacLaine was a song and dance actress with a body and matching charm that wouldn't quit.

Bob Fosse was the rising choreographer of MacLaine's and so many other dancers' dreams, in this, his first major musical.

Fellini was a brilliant director.

In hindsight, MacLaine's career may have been royally jump-started by "Sweet Charity." As a dance hall hooker, more or less, her character, Charity Hope Valentine, was looking for Mr. Goodbar--a man with money to marry.

Her classic song, "If they could see me now," comes from this musical and as scene where she found one such guy. Nearly 2 scores later, MacLaine is still playing leading characters with the same comical charm and extraordinary talent; still singing hits like "I'm still here," in "Postcards from the Edge," and has out lasted both famous men.

What I've always loved about Shirley MacLaine's characters is that even though they are supposed to be sexy, like Charity, as a dance hall hooker, she makes them into charming, funny, and innocuously cute-sexy rather than sleazy women. In fact, it's her trademark to do so. "Irma la Douce" is another fine example.

Though MacLaine could have easily used her dancer's body to seduce us to the pinnacle of the stage and screen, she uses her multiple talents instead. And she is "still here!"