Sweet Charity

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Overview

Shirley MacLaine plays Charity Hope Valentine who, despite her job at a seedy dime-a-dance joint, is an incurable optimist. Charity never stops looking for true love and never seems to look for it in the right places. We first see her in the company of Charlie Dante DiPaolo, a slimeball who steals her purse and pushes her into the Central Park pond. Next she stumbles into a one-night stand with Vittorio Vidal Ricardo Montalban, an egotistical movie star; this comes to nothing when Vittorio's contrite girlfriend ...
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Overview

Shirley MacLaine plays Charity Hope Valentine who, despite her job at a seedy dime-a-dance joint, is an incurable optimist. Charity never stops looking for true love and never seems to look for it in the right places. We first see her in the company of Charlie Dante DiPaolo, a slimeball who steals her purse and pushes her into the Central Park pond. Next she stumbles into a one-night stand with Vittorio Vidal Ricardo Montalban, an egotistical movie star; this comes to nothing when Vittorio's contrite girlfriend Ursula Barbara Bouchet comes calling, forcing Charity to spend the night hiding in the closet. Desperate to escape the dance hall, Charity heads to an employment agency, where a bureaucratic clerk Alan Hewitt informs her that she has no qualifications. Unhappily, Charity heads for the elevator, where she becomes trapped with the very shy -- and very claustrophobic -- Oscar Lindquist John McMartin. Once they've gotten out of the stalled elevator, Charity begins dating Oscar, never telling him of her checkered past or her sordid dance-hall job. Oscar eventually finds out but assures her that it doesn't matter. However, at the engagement party held at the dance hall, Oscar's puritanical streak emerges. He walks out on Charity, leaving her alone and heartbroken once more. With the help of a group of flower children among them Bud Cort and Kristoffer Tabori, Charity is able to pick herself up and start living "Hopefully Ever After." Sweet Charity was adapted from the 1965 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was inspired by the 1957 Fellini flick Nights of Cabiria.
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Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide - Hal Erickson
Most of the Cy Coleman-Dorothy Fields songs in Sweet Charity remain intact: the best of these include "Big Spender," "If They Could See Me Now," "There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This," and the rousing "I'm a Brass Band," cinematized on an epic scale courtesy of choreographer/director Bob Fosse (who staged the original Broadway production, which starred his then-wife Gwen Verdon). A few curious changes are made in the score, notably a completely new (and not altogether successful) arrangement of the title number. Also, Neil Simon's libretto has been laundered and sentimentalized for the family trade, robbing us of the play's deliciously cynical ending. Otherwise, the film is an underrated gem, wholly undeserving of its bad reputation (though admittedly, its unexpectedly poor box-office take did nearly ruin Universal Pictures). The supporting cast includes Chita Rivera and Paula Kelly as Charity's sarcastic co-workers, Stubby Kaye as dance-hall proprietor Herman (who displays an unexpected lovable streak in the song "I Love to Cry at Weddings," Sammy Davis Jr. as phony guru Big Daddy Brubeck (his show-stopping production number "Rhythm of Life" has no bearing whatsoever on the plot, but who cares?), and a whole slew of stars-to-be among the dancers and singers, including Ben Vereen, Chelsea Brown and Toni Basil.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 3/1/1992
  • UPC: 096885504436
  • Original Release: 1969

    • Rating:

  • Source: Universal Studios
  • Format: VHS

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Shirley MacLaine Charity
John McMartin Oscar
Ricardo Montalban Vittorio
Sammy Davis Jr. Big Daddy
Chita Rivera Nickie
Paula Kelly Helene
Stubby Kaye Herman
Barbara Bouchet Ursula
Leon Alton
Richard Angarola Maitre d'
Toni Basil
Henry Beckman Cop
Larry Billman
Herman Boden
Charles Brewer Young Man on Bridge
Chelsea Brown
Lonnie Burr
Jeff Burton Policeman
Ceil Cabot Married woman
Dee Carroll Woman on tandem
Suzanne Charney Lead frog dancer
John Craig Man in Fandango Ballroom
Alfred Dennis Waiter at Chile Hacienda
Dante DiPaolo Charlie
Kathryn Doby
Roy Fitzell
Lance Le Gault
David Gold Panhandler
Bill Harrison Baseball Player
Buddy Hart Baseball player
Sharon Harvey Young Woman on Btidge
Tom Hatten Man on tandem
Alan Hewitt Nicholsby
Carlton Johnson , 'Rhythm of Life' dancer
Nolan Leary Manfred
Diki Lerner Man with dog on bridge
Buddy Lewis Appliance salesman
Jerry Mann
Joseph Mell Man on Bridge
Alma Platt Lady with hat on bridge
Maudie Prickett Nurse on bridge
Chet Stratton Waiter
Phillip Terry Doorman
Roger Til Greeter at Pompeii Club
Jerry Trent
Ben Vereen
John Wheeler 'Rhythm of Life' dancer
Lorene Yarnell Frog Dancer
Adele Yoshioka Dancers in "Big Spender" Number
Technical Credits
Bob Fosse Director, Choreography
Alexander Golitzen Art Director
Robert Arthur Producer
Cy Coleman Score Composer
Federico Fellini Screenwriter
Dorothy Fields Score Composer, Screenwriter
Ennio Flaiano Screenwriter
Joseph E. Gershenson Score Composer, Musical Direction/Supervision
Stuart Gilmore Editor
Douglas Green Asst. Director
Edith Head Costumes/Costume Designer
Jack D. Moore Set Decoration/Design
Ronald Pierce Sound/Sound Designer
Tullio Pinelli Screenwriter
William Russell Sound/Sound Designer
Neil Simon Screenwriter
Peter Stone Screenwriter
Robert Surtees Cinematographer
Waldon O. Watson Sound/Sound Designer
George C. Webb Art Director
Bud Westmore Makeup
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