Style Icon: Frank Sinatra as Nathan Detroit

I know Frank Sinatra is known primarily for his singing and he's seen as an iconic singer, and I'm all about that, but, for me, Frank Sinatra is first and foremost a straight-up movie star. Specifically: Frank Sinatra is first and foremost Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls. He's a no-good gambler, but he's sweet, and he loves Adelaide, and I love them together.

Guys and Dolls is one of my favorite movies. Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra both play gamblers, and they're both more or less redeemed by two wonderful women. In the stage play, the two women actually sing "Marry the man today and change his ways tomorrow." That's a really terrible message. Here's a better message: Marry someone you don't want to change! That's the whole point of modern day marriage -- you get to pick out someone you like just the way they are! If you're desperate to change someone, maybe you shouldn't marry them. Just a little advice from me to you.

So, okay, I love "Guys and Dolls," and also go on rants about "Guys and Dolls." I can't help it. But something I feel only positively about is Frank Sinatra's style in this movie as Nathan Detroit. Really, all the men are looking super. So many pinstripes! So many hats! There's a polka-dot bow tie! (I really wish I owned a polka-dot bow tie.)

When Frank Sinatra takes off his hat and croons to his woman "So sue, sue me, shoot bullets through me, I love you," you can kind of understand why she's forgiven him all these years. He's a looker in a dapper suit with killer charm. That sort of thing? It's hard to resist.