Also, "Guys and Dolls" is all about gamblers and gangsters, minus the rough edges to make them lovable. Sinatra's character is an illegal gambling operator while Brando's character is the toughest and highest roller of them all. Great practice pieces, them guys.
True, but Sinatra could also act. If you seen the 1962 movie, The Manchurian Canadate, you'll see that he did an excellent acting job in it. The guy was multi talented.
Yes, I've read about this incident. Also, in Brando's wife Anna Kashfi's book, she writes that Brando destroyed all Frank Sinatra records they have in their house and sternly told Anna never to listen to any Sinatra's songs again.
@@MrBastilleDay Another thing I read about: In filming "Guys and Dolls," Brando noticed Sinatra was acting too smoothly, especially when singing, "Ever-lovin' Adelaide." Brando complained to Director Mank and told him to stop Sinatra from acting like he was the male lead character. The director answered, "I agree. Now, you tell him yourself."
Magnificent Facts! I didn't know Frank wanted to kill Marlon Brando. Guys and Dolls is a amazing film. People just have indifferences when the camera is off.
Frank Sinatra had a streak of gangster in him which sounds tough, but it's anything but tough. Gangsters are cowards. In an actual fight, Brando would have folded up the puny Frank Sinatra no problem. Forget what you see in films; real gangsters are not brave but just mean, and they come at you from behind or trap you with greater numbers.
I thought Sintra had a huge oversized ego. I also read he had bi polar disorder. Add those two together and if this story is true, then I can see Sintra doing something like this. The FBI use to spy on Sinatra, when J Edgar Hoover ran the administration because Sinatra hung out with gangsters. The FBI report concluded Sinatra had no serious ties to the Mafia, but just had a hoodlum complex.
Bobby, I agree.. I grew up in a tough neighborhood in NYC. It was always undersized people or coward men with no morals that picked on me. I was only 9 when I had to fight a 14yr. old. I did. I won too. Hard memories of being jumped and picked on because I was the innocent one. I still love NYC, but I left it behind for all the ignorant violence. One good memory I have is of my Italian step daddy dressing up in his "ice cream suit" with a boutonniere in his lapel and pretending. We ate free spaghetti that day!😆😉
Sinatra was o gangster either..... In fact the real mob threatened him whe n he got of one with his arrogance I their casinos... Overrunning his credit limit. One night a pitboss.... A full on mafia member.... Told him to stop insulting staff and when carried on, the pitboss kno ked his front teeth out with one punch... This was the late 60s in Nevada
I saw Sinatra in concert back around 1980. He sang a song from Guys & Dolls called Luck Be a Lady Tonight, sung by Brando in the film. He introduced the song by saying, “This song was sung by that great American baritone, Marlon Brando.” The audience laughed at the sarcastic dig at Brando’s singing ability. Apparently, Sinatra was still nursing a grudge about Brando beating him out for the role of Sky Masterson.
@@blobboflava You would think after 25 years he’d let it go. But no! Not Frank. It was a great concert. The best concert of popular music I’ve ever attended. The orchestra was magnificent. And Buddy Rich opened the show with his own fabulous band. What a drummer! Frank and Buddy Rich had a feud going back when they both performed with Tommy Dorsey’s orchestra back in the early 40’s. Frank had a couple of his boys give Buddy a good ass kicking on the street one day! The level of musicianship was incredible. Frank was in good form that night. The audience response was tremendous. I’m just glad I got to see him.
@@stevenyourke7901 Wow. I love your detail in your storytelling. Sinatra has had the mindset of an easily upset man of Medievil Italy and if he had not been a singer he would have been most likely in the Mafia. Thanks again for great story. Please tell me more. 👌
I've heard that many years later Sinatra helped Brando when his son was on trial for killing his sister's boyfriend. Sinatra helped Brando out with money for legal bills. Sinatra was a very generous man. If true it would be a rare time Sinatra got over a grudge against someone.
In a biography I read about Sinatra, Frank always hated Mario Puzo for his depiction of the singer who gets his comeback role in some war film via the beheading of a subspecies of "Equus ferus". Hey, winning an Oscar for The Godfather was Brando's revenge.
One correction. Guys and Dolls was produced by Samuel Goldwyn Studios, not MGM. Also, the feud continued into the 1970s. Before Brando was officially cast in The Godfather, Sinatra offered his services to director, Francis Coppola. Coppola had gone to Sinatra to assure him that the Johnny Fontane character would not resemble Sinatra's life. Sinatra was pleased the director reached out to him and responded, "I love you, Francis. If you want me to, I'll play the Godfather for you" Brando was hired soon after. I've never heard how Sinatra responded to that snub.
The fact that Brando wasn't a singer actually made the role more plausible. Sinatra was nuts about Ava and it sounds true about the kidnapping incident.He could be brutal, according to a biography I just read about him.
Frank called Brando mumbles.....😆💥 Perfect ! Brando was full of himself. He always acted like the world revolved around him . He was like the perpetual pot smoker , overanalyze everything. He couldn't be spontaneous because he always needed more time to figure it out
Excellent as always Tim. Very interesting, there are even Three photos of Frank in this, with a noticeable receding hairline, that’s one for the books.
I had no idea, not even a clue that the feud existed between Marlon and Frank. I do know this about Sinatra - he was a piece of work. Ava Gardner was the love of his life, and he was hers. But astrologically speaking, the only thing that goes well in love relationships with the 2 signs, is sex. Passionate, long lasting, multiple times a day, jungle sex - sometimes even violent. Interestingly enough, they die without each other, but it's practically impossible for them to live together unless there is a high degree of emotional maturity. If you haven't read it, look for Ava Gardner's authorized biography. It's a great read, and in it, she spends a great portion retelling her relationship with Frank. By the way, a great uncle of mine was a Maitre d' at a famous cabaret in Cuba, The Montmartre, he had an autographed photo of Frank and Ava from when they honeymooned in Havana. They stayed at Hotel Nacional which is a short walk from where the Montmartre is, was.
I can't remember the name of it or what channel it's on but somewhere here is a vid that shows the apartment in London Ava Gardner lived in in her later years and that the rent was always paid for by Frank Sinatra ... right up until she died . I don't think they show the interior ... I think they showed the outside of it and the lovely Garden with the statue Ava Gardner really enjoyed .
@@gardensofthegods yes, she enjoyed London very much. I think the statue you are referring to is a sculpture of her from the 1954 movie Barefoot Contessa. It could also be from a movie she made earlier, 1948, A Touch of Venus.
@Dino Coccodrillo всего лишь актер затер великолепного,не даром его бесило, потому что он знал,соперник стоящий,и боялся его таланта,что не видно как Синатра с кожи вон лезит , хочет переиграть Брандо,а Брандо спокойно, без всяких вылазинь из шкуры берет верх Слава великому Брандо
Incredible man. I've read everything available on him, and interviews, discussions with his friends, and fellow actors. Very simplistically complicated, awesome man!
You missed a step there. Frank was belittling Brando's slur. So, during Frank's absence on the set, Brando invited Ava Gardner (Frank's gf at the time) into his trailer, seduced her, made her walk out bowlegged. Frank found out and set his Mafia goons after Brando. They gave him an offer he couldn't refuse!! Brando was a sex addict. Frank should have chosen his enemies carefully. Another embarrassing incident was on the set of GI Blues. Juliet Prowse (Frank's gf at the time) did most of her "dancing" in Elvis Presley's trailer. Elvis had his buddies (the Memphis Mafia) patrolling outside in case Frank showed up. Poor Frankie!!
One of my favourite musicals to see live, but the movie doesn't work for me, and this is largely due to Brando being miscast, and the direction being flat... The Music Man is equally enjoyable to watch live, but it is a far superior movie
On the other hand, Sinatra, in "Guys and Dolls" makes self-deprecating humor by stepping on a barbershop scale that shows he weighs only 125 lbs, less when he takes off his jacket. He was probably not such a bad person at all.
James below doubted Cary Grant ever advised Brando to take the role just to piss off Sinatra. So I looked it up. While Cary and Frank were indeed very close, the story is nonetheless true. Cary did call Brando. I found it in several sources.
I was one of the 3 guys who kidnapped Brando. He did not shit his pants as a result. He had already shit them before we got there. We did tell him we were gonna either cut off his balls or kill him. He said "Please don't kill me." So we did off his balls. He left that part out when he told Carlo about what happened. We never could understand how he kept having kids. Anyway, this is why he eventually never learned his lines or cared about shit because we cut off the head that did the thinking.
I doubt very much that Cary Grant wanted Marlon Brando to play the Sky Masterson role to piss off Frank Sinatra. Cary and Frank were extremely close friends for decades and Cary would never have crossed Frank. IMO, the great Frank Loesser's Guys and Dolls would have made a much finer and more memorable picture if MGM would have had the sense to cast Frank as Sky Masterson and Gene Kelly as Nathan Detroit. The female leads of Jean Simmons and Vivian Blaine were already perfect. But Frank, Jean, Gene, and Vivian together would have been movie magic.
@Salini Teri Apodaca I think Brando was extremely wooden in his performance. He did almost nothing except stand there and recite his lines-when he was moving, he was even worse.
Gene Kelly's role would have been Sky, and according to what I've read he came very close to getting it. Kelly campaigned hard for the role and it was a longtime regret of his that he never did it. Apparently MGM refused to loan him out and then to add insult to injury they distributed the film. In my opinion he would have been much better in the role than Brando. Frank would also have been a better choice.
THANK YOU for giving a shout out to songwriter Frank Loesser! Lost in all this gossip and star worship is any mention of the father of the mind-blowing array of top notch songs in G & D. Mr. Loesser created the ride all these Hollywood and Broadway performers took to the top.
@@kennethlatham3133 Absolutely right! It's just a shame that some good songs from the show couldn't be used in the film just because Goldwyn didn't like them.
I just watched a clip of another Brando friend saying Brando had 17 children. It's amazing he ever had spare time to make movies.I couldn't take my eyes off any shot he was in. He was gorgeous before his weight got the better of him.
The only actors that were willing to stand up to Frank, were Dean Martin, and the British actor Peter Vaughn ( with Frank in the film Naked Runner) Peter Vaughn best known today as the blind mystic in the Game Of Throwns.
I read somewhere that when Brando and Sammy Davis Jr went to join Martin Luther King in Mississippi for a Civil Rights March they travelled on Frank's LearJet.
Brando posed well in the film. The role called for a hunk, and he delivered. As for mumbling, Brando was known for it - and rightfully so. The director got him past it in this film. As for the singing... well the contrast made Stubby Kaye look even greater than he was - and that was considerable.
The famous crime investigative novelist (mental lapse at the moment) who wrote several true crime novels, such as the Black Dahlia, etc. He became one after his own daughter was raped/killed and the perpetrator only served a few years in jail. Like Killgallen, he wrote something about Sinostra that he didn’t like and had a waiter at a prominent restaurant they just happen to both be attending and had the waiter go and punch the novelist square in the face. The novelist also did series on t.v. called, I believe, the Lives of the Rich and Famous. Sinostra was a scrawny chicken shit egoist who used his goons to do his fighting for him.
Desi Arnaz. Desilu produced "The Untouchables" and Frank confronted Desi about the Italian stereotypes. Desi just laughed and said, "I remember when you couldn't get a job".
@@hectormata449 Oh you mean Dominick Dunne . Yes years ago I read his first autobiography and it was really great ... and I absolutely recall the part about Sinatra having the waiter or maitre d punch Dominic in the face . They should make a movie or miniseries about Dominic Dunne's life . There was also a series of short vids where Dominick Dunne would talk about his life and his work . He even spoke about his drug addiction ... one where they were at a party in someone's house and they went in the closet to get high and I think he said the guy died ? ... I'm not sure if the guy died but I remember him saying something about the blood coming out of the guy's nose and Dominick got out of there . I can't recall what channel the vids were on but I think they had something to do with Film and TV Academy or some type name like that ?
Brando had his brush with "Button Men" but 20 years later he will be the Don ordering Luca Brazi to "Make an Offer you Can't Refuse" to thumb the nose at Sinatra.
Don't forget prior to Guys and Dolls... Brando was given the role of Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront over Sinatra who had a verbal agreement for the the part (Sinatra was even fitted for the costumes). To add insult to injury, Brando had to be convinced to take that role after initially flat out refusing it. 😆
@@FactsVerse "What other types of video would you like to see?" The truth about the cause of death of Sara Miles' lover/admirer on the set of "The Man Who Liked Cat Dancing". We all suspect who the real killer was but the the truth was covered up.
he TRULY WAS 😳 MY GAWD! 😏 I think Marlon was the HAWTEST man 😍 I've EVER seen iml 🥵🔥🥵 when I first saw him APPEAR in Streetcar 😍🔥😱🥵 I about STRAIGHT UP FAINTED 😂 I've NEVER seen SUCH a DROP DEAD GORGEOUS man before 😩🔥😍😱💖😏🤩😲🥵🥰
I knew about the feud, but no details. I don't know what Frankie's problem is; Nathan Detroit is an awesome part with great scene stealing potential. That said, I think he WOULD have been better as Sky Masterson. For me, I would have been happy with either part. It's still a great movie in spite of Brando and Mankawitz. Yeah, Gene Kelly would have been a good choice too. Let's not forget Robert Alda created the role on Broadway.
Brando has the rep of being the greatest actor. But Sinatra despite being mostly a singer was actually a really good actor in things like the man with the golden arm (in which he plays a recovering junkie) or the thriller the Manchurian Candidate
Sinatra not only hated Brando , he also detested Mario Puzo , the author who wrote "The Godfather". Puzo drew a very poor portrait of an Italian singer who didn 't get the leading man role in Hollywood, so he put some mobsters in charge to force the producer regretting his decision! Remarkable scene in the movie! Sinatra felt humiliated and got into an argument with Puzo trying to beat him up!
Do check out "Guys and Dolls" where both actors were terrific. It's free with ads on RU-vid. Sinatra shows to be a sport in his character as Nathan Detroit, without a tinge of a grudge against Brando's Sky Masterson, the lead character. You'd think they were the best of friends. Sinatra even shows self-deprecating humor by stepping on a barbershop scale that shows he weighs a mere 125 lbs. (Perhaps the same weight as Jean Simmons whose character, a drunken Sarah Brown, has to be hauled off by the Brando character from a bar fight. Something which I doubt Sinatra could do.) It's a fantastic movie. Highly recommended.
Brando did some very good acting in 'The Night of the Following Day' which came out in '68 or '69. The movie didn't do huge box office $, but Brando was compelling to watch. This was before he got fat.
Thankfully, Marlon wasn't killed or seriously harmed. I didn't know about Frank having him kidnapped but, I would not have put it pass Frank to have had it done. Frank, may have also been jealous of his co star's looks because, he was a good looking guy that would very easily catch women's eye.And,probably did Frank's ex-wife.
If you read any Brando bio, including his own autobio, "Songs My Mother Taught Me," you'd agree a lot of people might have wanted him castrated. Brando was a sex maniac.
@@marietta1335 Thanks, for sharing this. I wasn't aware of this as they say one learns something new everyday. Marlon sounds sadly like my Grandfather he could never stay faithful to my Grandmother nor any woman. I am sure there was men liked to had my Grandfather unable to have sex with their wives. He did get chased home a few times as well as my Grandmother when she was in the garden or her flower beds working, got told by a couple of men "that she was to keep her husband at home away from their wives" which my Grandmother could never have done.
I don’t think Frank was jealous of gay Marlon. No competition. Although, Marlon married a few times, was seen with women. Gays back then always had to cover.
I AGREE! 😱 I 💖 Marlon 😍 he was SOO OUTRAGEOUSLY out of this WORLD 🥵🔥🥵 HOT 🥰 and super UBER 😲 TALENTED! 🤩 it made me FURIOUS hearing this that he was ALMOST seriously injured or WORSE 😥😡😫 while filming Guys and Dolls 😔 I'm GLAD he was OKAY! 🥺 dear GOSH
I never liked Frank Sinatra’s Mob lifestyle that scare some stars if something isn’t right for the movie. Marlon can learn to sing.🎵 as he asked favor to Frank Sinatra nicely when first meeting. Frank Sinatra is kinda jealous of Marlon Brando
Geez, if Brando hadn't landed the Don Vito part, imagine the realism he could have brought to the Tom Hagen role. Sollozzo: "Marone, did you crap in my car!?". Tom: "Mmh, I'll take the fifth".
And now we have learned from the Paramount+ series "The Offer" based on the memoires of Godfather movie producer Al Ruddy, that a big reason Brando decided to play Vito Corleone in The Godfather was to piss off Sinatra. Frank hated Mario Puzo for creating the character of Johnny Fontane in his novel based on Frank's life, and Sinatra also hated Vic Damone (who was the original choice to play Johnny Fontane in the movie) for "stealing Frank's act." Brando apparently decided if he could play a good role and piss off Sinatra at the same time, it was a two-fer.
This is NOT true. Nathan Detroit , the role Sinatra played, is the lead. To prove this, Nathan Lane played Nathan Detroit on Broadway and won Best Actor in a musical. Same with Sam Levene who originated the role on Broadway. Frank was ill informed if he believed SKY MASTERSON wa the lead.
I was acquainted with Frank Sinatra Jr who was a man of great character and would always shoot it straight with you. Many if not most of the tough guy stories about Sinatra were simply not true according to Frank Jr including the Brando one. As a matter of fact Frank loaned Brando and Sammy Davis Jr his Lear jet to fly to a Martin Luther King Memorial. Yes, Frank Sr had a temper but if you had him as a friend he would never let you down. He goes down in history as a legendary singer and Brando as a legendary actor. It is that simple.
I like Brando but having a guy who couldnt sing or dance in a song and dance production definitely sucked the fun out of it. Also Brando took the part and himself way too seriously as usual.
I never cared for either person at all. However, should it have come to fisticuffs, Marlon would've body slammed Frank. Frank Sinatra had an ego bigger than the Pacific Ocean....he once got into a verbal altercation with Desi Arnaz at the opening of his new Western resort hotel in Palm Desert back in the 1950's....both Frank & Desi had their bodyguards with them, but Desi's were much bigger and muscular than Frank's, so Frank backed down and walked off. Later, Frank apologized to Desi and they became good friends. As for Marlon and method acting....most Hollywood A-listers back in those days couldn't stand method acting. Many considered it non-acting and it did require a lot more time to get through a scene and nail it down. I remember how actor Glenn Ford couldn't stand method acting and became one of the biggest opponents of the style. I can't stand it, either.
As far as a fight, Frank was a welterweight, Brando a light heavyweight. No contest. Brando could throw a punch. Method acting? Depends on your definition. Look at some of the acting from some of the stars in the '30's and '40's, and in many cases it's stagey and laughably phony. There are exceptions, yes. Method changed movies, I think for the better. Glenn Ford didn't like it? Well, Ford didn't think an American actor could do Shakespeare.
@@jamesanthony5681 I'm not sure you understand what method acting is. It isn't dependent upon "definition". It's a distinct style of performance that involves going to the extreme or absurd, even unhealthy lengths, in order to evoke some character state. An example would be going without sleep for 4 or 5 nights because your character is suppose to be "exhausted". In Hollywood, it was considered the hallmark of childish, over-indulgent artistes of which Marlon Brando was the poster child. By far, Ford wasn't the only actor who disdained this type of so-called "acting" that was evolved from Stanislavsky (a Russian); in fact, one who is considered by many as probably the best actor of all, Laurence Olivier, was not a proponent of method and didn't like it, either. If Olivier didn't like it, I'm sure Shakespeare would have disapproved of it, as well!
@@gabrielhalston6726 I know what it is and I hear what your saying, but method acting as practiced and applied by say, Paul Newman or Cloris Leachman (both students at the Acting Studio) is probably different from that of Brando, perhaps. Newman was a smart guy who probably got into his character using some of the techniques as taught to him, but I'm sure even he would have thought going 4, 5 nights without sleep is ridiculous, IMO. That's not the 'method' that works for him. I don't think Ford would have had any trouble with Newman or Leachman. Yes, some actors went to extreme lengths as you said, and there is that famous exchange that Olivier had with Dustin Hoffman during the filming of Marathon Man.
Marlon Brando was NEVER a method actor; on the contrary he had only contempt for method acting and also disliked Lee Strasberg; to Marlon the "Method" was no more than a great business idea
The egos and superficial nature of certain actors is pretty sickening, but it’s that same magnetic charismatic presence that sets some screen actors apart. Honestly Brando and Sinatra both sound like pricks so it kind of equals out.
Those Two Monument Egos! I don't know how those two were able to be on the same Soundstage without it going nuclear!! Guys and Dolls was OK, but when it comes to the musicals of that time I prefer Rogers and Hammerstein.
