Episode 40: Sweet Charity Part 1 (Fossepocalypse #5)

Sweet Charity

The poster makes the movie look weirdly…wholesome

Listeners, this week is a real treat – Vinnie and Mike watch Fosse’s film directing debut SWEET CHARITY for the first time ever!

This musical was Gwen Verdon’s combined “come back” and “swan song” – she had taken time off to have a child with Bob and be a mother, and at 41 wanted one last big starring vehicle on Broadway, before she got too old (crazily enough, this was NOT her last big starring Broadway vehicle. That would come nine years later with CHICAGO). By the time the studios wanted a film version – three years later in 1969 – Gwen was too old for a film version of the role and instead generously coached Shirley MacLaine on the role.

Shirley MacLaine – discovered while understudying for Carol Haney in PAJAMA GAME – was a huge star by the point, and used her influence to get Fosse his first gig helming a movie.  Cinematographer Robert Surtees found himself with a director eager to learn and willing to try anything and everything, and the result is Fosse all over.

So, spend a little time with us as we gush about SWEET CHARITY!

Sweet Charity (1969)
Sweet Charity poster Rating: 6.9/10 (6,600 votes)
Director: Bob Fosse
Writer: Neil Simon, Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli
Stars: Shirley MacLaine, John McMartin, Ricardo Montalban
Runtime: 149 min
Rated: G
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music
Released: 17 May 1969
Plot: Taxi dancer Charity continues to have Faith despite endless disappointments at its hands, and Hope that she will finally meet the man to romance her away from her sleazy life. Maybe, just maybe, handsome Oscar will be the one to d...

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