The face-off between two of the biggest legends in American pop culture, Sinatra and Brando, is something to be relished, although the roles are perhaps a little too atypical for each for the pairing itself to be legendary as the individuals. But still, what a joy it always is. Frank is Nathan Detroit, proprietor of New York’s most desirable floating crap game; Marlon is Sky Masterson, an inveterate gambler with whom Nathan has an unsporting wager involving the beautiful, demure Salvation Army stalwart Sarah Brown (Jean Simmons). Somehow he has to get her to Cuba – a place which, in those 1950s pre-Castro days, had a chancy, Vegas reputation that would be further explored in the Godfather movies. The showtunes are weapons-grade: especially Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat, which never fails to get any audience on its feet. A must.
