Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953 film)

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (known in Spain and Latin America as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) is a comedy 1953 musical directed by Howard Hawks and starring Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe. It is based on the novel of the same name by Anita Loos and on the Broadway musical by Loos and Joseph Fields.

Synopsis

Dorothy Shaw (Jane Russell) and Lorelei Lee (Marilyn Monroe) are two singers from Arkansas. Lorelei plans to marry Gus Esmond (Tommy Noonan), a millionaire hopelessly in love with her whose father believes he is being victimized by a gold digger. Detective Ernie Malone (Elliott Reid), who has the mission to unmask Lorelei, will end up falling in love with Dorothy, which will cause all kinds of entanglements and comical situations aboard a luxurious ocean liner.

Cast

• Jane Russell - Dorothy Shaw
• Marilyn Monroe - Lorelei Lee
• Charles Coburn - Sir Francis «Piggy» Beekman
• Elliott Reid - Ernie Malone
• Tommy Noonan - Gus Esmond Jr.
• George Winslow - Henry Spofford III
• Marcel Dalio - Judge
• Taylor Holmes - Mr. Esmond, sir.
• Norma Varden - Lady Beekman
• Howard Wendell - Watson
• Steven Geray - Director of the hotel
• Henri Letondal - Grotier (without crediting)
• Noel Neill - Passenger (without crediting)

Production

Cast

Originally 20th Century Fox intended to use the film as a vehicle for Betty Grable. However, after the success of Niagara (1953), a film that made Marilyn Monroe known, the studio considered that it had discovered a more powerful and cheaper sex symbol since Grable earned a salary of $150,000 per film versus Monroe's $18,000. For her part, Judy Holliday turned down the role of Lorelei because she felt that no actress other than Carol Channing (who had brought the character to life on Broadway) should play it.

Shooting

Shot between November 17, 1952 and January 22, 1953, Gwen Verdon coached Russell and Monroe in both dance steps and gait, reducing Monroe's sensuality and increasing Russell's (It is stated in turn that Verdon herself came to double the buttocks of both while they walked). Howard Hawks had suggested to Darryl F. Zanuck that he slightly vary Marilyn's appearance and personality in order to show her more of an actress and less of a sultry blonde; the film's success nevertheless made Marilyn a big star and cast her forever in the role of a sexy blonde with little brains (during the process of adapting the stage production, Charles Lederer was inspired by his aunt, the actress of silent film Marion Davies, for the comic overtones of the character of Lorelei). Jack Cole, a Hollywood choreographer since the 1940s, groomed Russell and Monroe by designing intricate choreography for the musical numbers; Russell was so satisfied that she would hire Cole for the film Gentlemen Marry Brunettes (1955).

While filming the song "Ain't There Anyone Here for Love?", Russell was accidentally hit by a dancer and fell into a swimming pool, a moment Howard Hawks decided to include in the film. According to Russell, “It was an accident and we had to go back and reshoot the entire number, but they ended up using that footage. We had a lot of time in those days to rehearse the numbers and we worked every day for a couple of months. It wasn't supposed to end up in the pool at all, but it ended up being better the way it happened, even though the poor dancer got fired." According to actor Ron Nyman: "The guy's name was Ed Fury, he grabbed it by accident, and the reason he got fired is because he insisted on a co-choreographer credit." For her part, Marilyn suggested for her character the famous phrase "I can be smart when I have to, but men don't like it". Similarly, when Monroe was told that she would not be the star of the film, she declared, "Well, whatever it is, I'm the blonde" (Russell affectionately called her "Blondie" and they were so close that they Russell was often the only one able to talk Monroe out of her dressing room to shoot.) Russell was paid $200,000 for her part in the feature film, while Monroe only received $500 a week.

Marilyn was in the habit of demanding retakes even when they had been approved by Hawks; when Fox asked the director how production could be sped up, he replied, "Replace Marilyn, rewrite the script and make it shorter, and get a new director." At least one scene was filmed and cut from the final cut, as in the trailer Russell and Monroe appear among dancers climbing the steps of a slide at a children's playground during a performance of a French version of "Two Little Girls from Little Rock". Likewise, in France the film was released without the number of the bar in the center of Paris because Monroe and Russell appeared dancing with some young people of North African descent, which was then considered inappropriate by the French authorities. To give the film a more comedic twist, the character of Henry Spofford III, originally Dorothy's love interest in the stage play, was retconned as an eight-year-old boy for the film version.

The model ship shown in the film was previously used in Titanic (1953) and revamped to resemble the SS Île de France (this piece is now housed at the Fall River Maritime Museum in Massachusetts). In addition to the above, some sets from Titanic were reused for this film. In terms of costumes, at least one item of clothing from another film was also used: the gold lamé suit Marilyn wears in one scene had been worn by Ginger Rogers in Dreamboat (1952).

"Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend"

Photo of the film during the musical number «Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend».

For the iconic musical number "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," Marilyn was originally going to wear several black velvet sashes and lots of rhinestones, creating the illusion of wearing a diamond necklace. diamonds the size of a woman. However, this design was considered too daring, so the studio rejected it in favor of the famous pink dress. On the other hand, it stands out the fact that two of the dancers are George Chakiris and Robert Fuller, then unknown. According to Chakiris: "If there was ever a cut for any reason, [Marilyn] would never return to her trailer to check her makeup. She would stay there […] ready for the next take ».

Fox initially wanted Marni Nixon to voice Monroe on the songs; Nixon described the idea as "horrible" as she considered Marilyn's voice to be ideal for her character. Finally, Nixon, according to statements to the New York Times in 2007, dubbed Monroe in two moments of the musical number: when the character says "no" several times at the beginning of the song and in the verse "these rocks don't lose their shape». The idea of voicing both actresses had already been initially considered by Zanuck, although he changed his mind when music director Lionel Newman successfully assembled a vocal rendition of the opening number from several takes. Even so, an alternative recording was made with Eileen Wilson dubbing Russell, although both actresses eventually used their own voices. After the success of the film, the possibility of dubbing Russell or Monroe was never raised again (Russell would even have a successful run on Broadway as a replacement for Elaine Stritch in Company in 1971).

The scene would be shot again in cinemascope in order to test the new format in March 1953. Zanuck told Variety that filming with this system took only three and a half hours compared to four. days necessary for the filming of the scene included in the feature film. Audiences would not see the cinemascope version until ten years later in the documentary Marilyn Monroe: Marilyn (1963).

Soundtrack

Although the film was a Fox production, the original soundtrack album was released on MGM Records, marking the first time the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer record label had released a soundtrack album for a film outside the studio. Likewise, only three of the nineteen songs from the stage play would be included in the film: "A Little Girl from Little Rock", "Bye Bye Baby" and "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend".

Reception

Fundraising

The film grossed $5.3 million at the worldwide box office, doubling its budget and becoming the eighth-biggest successful film of 1953, earning $5.1 million in North America. Monroe's next film, How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), would be the fifth highest grossing of the year.

Criticism

The film received positive reviews. Monroe and Russell drew acclaim even from critics who were unimpressed by the film (both characters would eventually become part of pop culture). Bosley Crowther of the New York Times described the direction of Hawks as "uncomfortably clumsy and slow", finding Russell's gags "devoid of charm and personality", although in his conclusion he would state that "still, there is something about Miss Russell and Miss Monroe that keeps you watching them even when they have little or no to do.” Variety reported that Hawks “maintains a racy edge that enhances the musical excellently at a pace that helps disguise the fact that it's fairly light but sexy stuff. Not much more is needed, however, when customers can see the Russell-Monroe lines as they are displayed in sleek suits and Technicolor." Harrison's Reports wrote: " Both Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe are hardly sensations in leading roles. Not only do they act well, but the sexy way in which they display their singing, dancing, and neatness values almost sets the screen on fire and is certainly a crowd pleaser, judging by the thunderous applause in the preview after each of the well staged musical numbers." John McCarten of the New Yorker reported that both characters "have plenty of zest, and occasionally their exuberance offsets the tedium of a long series of variations on the sort of anatomical joke that used to amusing Minsky's clients so inordinately". The Monthly Film Bulletin hailed Russell for her "amusing Dorothy, full of taste and good nature", although it stated that the film had been compromised "by the casting of Marilyn Monroe, for the abandonment of the 1920s period and incongruous modernization, for inflating some brilliant and witty songs into lavish production numbers, and for ending it all tamely letting two true lovers flowers are conventionally made true. There is also a lack of understanding in the handling of Howard Hawks, who is rudimentary and uninventive."

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 98% based on 45 critics, with an audience rating of 83%. According to the general consensus: "Anchored by the sparkling magnetism of Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a deliciously entertaining 1950s musical." Director Rainer Werner Fassbinder stated in turn that this is one of the ten best movies ever made.

Acknowledgments and Awards

Monroe and Russell were invited to leave their footprints at the entrance to Grauman's Chinese Theater on June 26, 1953, an event that brought widespread publicity for the film.