Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (film)

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Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) film poster
Directed by	Howard Hawks
Produced by	Sol C. Siegel
Written by	Anita Loos (novel and play) Joseph Fields (play) Charles Lederer
Starring	Jane Russell Marilyn Monroe
Cinematography	Harry J. Wild
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	July 18, 1953 (USA)
Running time	91 min.
Country	United States
Language	English French
IMDb profile

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a 1953 film adaptation of the 1949 stage musical, released by 20th Century Fox, directed by Howard Hawks and starring Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe, with Charles Coburn, Elliott Reid, Tommy Noonan, Taylor Holmes, and Norma Varden in supporting roles. The screenplay by Charles Lederer is augmented by the music of songwriting teams Hoagy Carmichael & Harold Adamson and Jule Styne & Leo Robin. The songs by Styne and Robin are from the Broadway show, while the songs by Carmichael and Adamson were written especially for the film.

The movie is filled with comedic gags and musical numbers. While Russell's down-to-earth, sharp wit has been noted by most critics, it is Monroe's self-ironic turn as the gold-digging Lorelei Lee that the film is often remembered for.[1] Monroe's rendition of the song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" is considered an iconic performance that has been copied by the likes of Madonna, Kylie Minogue and Anna Nicole Smith.

The story line first appeared in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: The Illuminating Diary of a Professional Lady, a 1925 novel by Anita Loos. It was adapted for the stage in 1926, and then a 1928 silent movie, starring Ruth Taylor, Alice White, Ford Sterling, and Mack Swain, which, as of now, is apparently lost. John C. Wilson directed the Broadway musical with Carol Channing as Lorelei Lee that served as the basis for this screen version.

Loos wrote a sequel to her novel entitled But They Marry Brunettes, with further adventures of Lorelei and Dorothy. The 1955 Gentlemen Marry Brunettes used only the book's name and starred Russell and Jeanne Crain playing characters who were the daughters of Dorothy Shaw.

[edit] Plot Summary

Dorothy Shaw (Russell) and Lorelei Lee (Monroe) are showgirls and best friends, "just two little girls from Little Rock." Superficially, Lorelei appears to be the more vacuous of the two -- her life's dream is to marry someone rich and she will use almost any means to achieve her goal. She is engaged to Gus Esmond (Noonan), who is willing to do anything for her and has the means to buy anything for her. His father, Mr. Esmond, Senior (Holmes), however, does not approve of Lorelei and thinks she's just a scheming gold digger.

Lorelei and Dorothy sail to Paris, France, where she and Gus plan to get married. Mr. Esmond sends private detective Ernie Malone (played by Reid) along to spy on her. Onboard the ship, Lorelei gets herself entangled in a series of screwball mishaps.

Malone falls in love with Dorothy and tries to warn her about her friend, but she remains faithful to her. In the meantime, Lorelei meets Sir Francis "Piggy" Beekman (character actor Coburn) who gives her his wife's diamond tiara. Malone sends a negative report to Esmond, who stops the wedding and cuts Lorelei off financially. Dorothy and Malone have a falling out when she discovers his real identity and the trouble he caused.

Stuck in Paris without any money or a place to live, Lorelei and Dorothy get jobs as nightclub singers. Beekman cannot tell his wife, Lady Beekman (Varden), the truth about the tiara, so he reports it as stolen, convincing Malone that Lorelei is a thief. Beekman steals back the tiara. When Lorelei is questioned by the police, she no longer has it. Malone tracks it down to Beekman, regaining Dorothy's affections. Finally, Lorelei proves she's smarter than she acts, charms Esmond Senior and gets his permission to marry his son. She tells the elder Esmond, "She does not want to marry his son for his money; she wants to marry his son for HIS (the elder's) money!"

Many film scholars now regard Gentlemen Prefer Blondes as a feminist text and well ahead of its time. The film explores women's power and powerlessness in relationships and in society in general. The best-known song from the film, "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend," is a pointed commentary on a society that values women only for youth and sex appeal, and the need for women to take care of themselves (for when they are old and "can't straighten up when they bend.") The positive depiction of the friendship between Lorelei and Dorothy, which ultimately overrides the romantic sub-plots, and the somewhat cynical messages about love and romance in the film's narrative gives this argument some persuasion.

The film is talked about in the The Celluloid Closet for its scene involving a room full of male body builders who have no interest in the heroine.

[edit] See Also

• Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (musical)
• Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (book)
• Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (play)

[edit] External links

• Gentlemen Prefer Blondes at the Internet Movie Database
• Memorable Quotes