
Around midday on this grey November day I took the Northern Line train to Tottenham Court Road station, pausing on the platform there for a moment to admire the Paolozzi mosaics which brighten up what would otherwise be a drab environment.
Outside there was a sudden downpour as I was walking along Oxford Street, so sudden that it sent passers-by scurrying for the shelter of shops to put up their umbrellas or just to shelter until it abated.
From Oxford Circus I followed Regent Street and then headed to Cavendish Square Gardens.
It was too cold and dull to sit in the gardens.
But the detour there was worth it to see a couple of intricate and beautiful bas-reliefs of a swan and a pelican on the façade of 8 Cavendish Square, an elegant building from 1930.
Just round the corner from Cavendish Square Gardens was my destination for today, Regent Street Cinema.
I’d come here to see the 2pm matinee showing of the 1955 classic ‘Guys and Dolls’ starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra, Vivian Blaine, and Stubby Kaye.
What a wonderful cinema Regent Street Cinema is.
Proudly proclaiming itself ‘The Birthplace of British Cinema’, this is where the Lumière brothers’ Cinématographe machine was introduced to the UK press and public in February 1896.
Now beautifully renovated, the auditorium is an enchanting space with steeply sloping seating, very comfortable seats, and original design features that transport you back several decades.
Adding to the beguiling atmosphere of yesteryear, when I entered the auditorium there was someone on the stage playing an organ prelude on what is apparently the original Compton Theatre Pipe Organ at this cinema.
The organist received a well-deserved round of applause from the audience when he finished.
A brief introduction to today’s film was given from the stage, and then it was straight into director Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s 1955 film version of ‘Guys and Dolls’.
The next two and a half hours flew by in hugely entertaining fashion.
The songs were great, of course, but the acting was equally impressive.
I never realized that Frank Sinatra was such a good actor.
In ‘Guys and Dolls’ he exudes a world-weariness enlivened by occasional shots of humour, perfect for the character he is playing.
As Nathan Detroit and Sky Masterson respectively, Sinatra and Marlon Brando play off against each other wonderfully.
Jean Simmons is terrific as Sarah Brown, embodying a shifting blend of certainty and doubt regarding the lifestyle she has chosen.
During the scene in which she and Masterson are visiting a romantically moonlit Havana, she determinedly recites dry historical factoids from a travel guidebook about the age and architecture of a local church and its surroundings.
This prompts Masterson to deliver one of the best lines in the film. In an attempt to jolt Brown out from the dry life of the mind and into the realm of the senses, he pointedly asks her, ‘What does it say about the moonlight?’
Other great performances in this film are given by Vivian Blaine as Miss Adelaide and by Stubby Kaye as Nicely-Nicely Johnson.
Although not as stellar a name as Sinatra or Brando, Stubby Kaye more than holds his own in this film. He is a class act, and his rendition of ‘Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat’ is a show-stopper.
When ‘Guys and Doll’s ended, I emerged feeling exhilarated.
The film was great, the cinema beautiful and atmospheric, the staff friendly and welcoming.
This dull grey November day suddenly seemed much brighter.
Related Post: ‘La La Land’, City Screen, York