Sweet Charity (film)

:"This is an article about the 1969 film. For the musical, see Sweet Charity."

Infobox Film
name = Sweet Charity


caption =
director = Bob Fosse
producer = Robert Arthur
writer = Peter Stone
screenplay
Neil Simon
book of musical
starring = Shirley MacLaine
John McMartin
Chita Rivera
Paula Kelly
music = Cy Coleman
Dorothy Fields
cinematography = Robert Surtees
editing = Stuart Gilmore
distributor = Universal Pictures
released = April 1, 1969
runtime = 149 min.
country = USA
awards =
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0065054

"Sweet Charity" is a 1969 musical movie directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse, written by Neil Simon, and starring Shirley MacLaine. It is based on the 1966 stage musical of the same name, which Fosse had directed and choreographed as well. The movie was notable for costumes by Edith Head and its dance sequences (notably "Rich Man's Frug"). The play and the film are based on Federico Fellini's screenplay for "Nights of Cabiria". The film's full American title is "Sweet Charity: The Adventures of a Girl Who Wanted to Be Loved".

Musical numbers

#"Hey, Big Spender"
#"Rich Man's Frug"
#"The Hustle"
#"There's Got To Be Something Better Than This"
#"I'm A Brass Band"
#"The Rhythm of Life"
#"If They Could See Me Now"
#"I Love To Cry At Weddings"
#"Sweet Charity"
#"My Personal Property"
#"It's A Nice Face"
#"Where Am I Going?"

Characters

*Shirley MacLaine as Charity Hope Valentine
*John McMartin as Oscar Lindquist
*Chita Rivera as Nickie
*Paula Kelly as Helene
*Stubby Kaye as Herman
*Ricardo Montalban as Vittorio Vidal
*Barbara Bouchet as Ursula
*Sammy Davis, Jr. as Big Daddy Brubeck

Plot

Charity works as a taxi dancer along with her friends Nickie and Helene. She longs for love, but has poor luck with men including getting robbed and pushed off a bridge in Central Park by one boyfriend. She meets famous actor Vittorio Vidal and has a complicated, but pleasant evening with him. After failing to find a new job through an employment agency, Charity meets shy Oscar in a stuck elevator. They strike up a relationship, but Charity does not reveal what she does for a living. When she finally does tell Oscar, he initially seems to accept it, but finally tells Charity that he cannot marry her.

The optimistic Charity faces her future, alone for the time being, living "hopefully" ever after.

Alternate Ending

An alternate ending found on the laserdisc and DVD versions picks up after Oscar leaves Charity. Oscar starts to go crazy in his apartment and feeling suffocated, goes for a walk in the park. He sees Charity on their bridge in Central Park and thinks she is going to jump. Racing to rescue her, he trips and falls in the water. Charity jumps in after him, but can't swim so Oscar rescues her. Oscar realizes Charity is the only breath of fresh air in his life, proposes again, and she accepts. Fosse thought the ending was too corny, but filmed it in apprehension that the studio would demand a happy ending. In the end, though, they agreed with Fosse and kept the original bittersweet ending from the stage version.

Cast and Crew

Having directed the Broadway version of the musical, Bob Fosse was given his first opportunity to direct a feature film with "Sweet Charity".This is the first film appearance of Chita Rivera and Paula Kelly. It is also the first film appearance of Ben Vereen who plays one of the Frug dancers. John McMartin reprised his role from the Broadway version for the film.

Box Office

The film cost $20 million to make, but only made $4 million at the box office. The terrible box office nearly sunk Universal Pictures. [http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:48091~T1]

Awards and nominations

The film received three Academy Award nominations: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration; Best Costume Design; and Best Music, Score of a Musical Picture (Original or Adaptation). It received one Golden Globe nomination for Shirley MacLaine as Best Motion Picture Actress - Musical/Comedy.

External links

*imdb title|id=0065054|title=Sweet Charity