Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

Two singers, best friends Lorelei Lee and Dorothy Shaw travel to Paris pursued by a private detective hired by Lorelei's fiancé's disapproving father to keep an eye on her, a rich, enamoured old man and many other doting admirers.

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writers:

Charles Lederer (screenplay), Joseph Fields (based on the musical comedy by),

Stars:

Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe, Charles Coburn

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited 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	...	Magistrate
Taylor Holmes	...	Mr. Esmond Sr.
Norma Varden	...	Lady Beekman
Howard Wendell	...	Watson
Steven Geray	...	Hotel Manager

Storyline

Lorelei and Dorothy are just "Two Little Girls from Little Rock", lounge singers on a transatlantic cruise, working their way to Paris, and enjoying the company of any eligible men they might meet along the way, even though "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend." Based on the Broadway musical based on the novel.

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Plot Keywords:

singer | friend | detective | diamond | private detective | 

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Taglines:

The Two M-M-Marvels Of Our Age In The Wonder Musical Of The World!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

August 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Howard Hawks' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Filming Locations:

Stage 3, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was Jane Russell's only film with Marilyn Monroe. They got along well. Russell called Monroe "Blondie" and was often the only person on the set who could coax Monroe out of her trailer to begin the day's filming.

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Goofs

As Dorothy and Lorelei walk to their dressing room after the opening number, Lorelei removes her hat with her right hand. When they enter the dressing room, the hat is in Lorelei's left hand.

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Quotes

Dorothy Shaw: I like a man who can run faster than I can.

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Connections

Referenced in Moulin Rouge! (2001)

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Soundtracks

"When Love Goes Wrong"
(1953)
Music by Hoagy Carmichael
Lyrics by Harold Adamson
Performed by Marilyn Monroe (uncredited) and Jane Russell (uncredited) with Parisians

User Reviews

Under Howard Hawks' direction Marilyn was a sexual delight striking, in one of her numbers, a 'Gilda' pose…

Marilyn's "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" was one of the classic musicals of the 1950's... She comes into it looking like a winner, and leaves as one… The picture has been set fully by the tone of her personality… Her personality infuses every corner of the film as if she has even picked the scenery to work for her…

The movie rises above its pretext, its story, its existence as a musical, even its music, and becomes at its best a magic work, yet it is a light-hearted satire of the old adage that when a woman goes bad, men go right after her…

The film crowned Monroe in her position as the nation's new 'Love Goddess' with the promise of many sparkling hits to come, and Jane Russell's career continued, with less fanfare, but very successfully for several more years…

The story was simple: Dorothy (Jane Russell) and Lorelei (Marilyn Monroe) work together as entertainers and are also good friends… Lorelei's millionaire fiancé Gus Esmond (Tommy Noonan) sends the girls to France, but his father (Taylor Holmes) hires a private detective, Malone (Elliott Reid) on the same boat to spy on her during the trip… When the three meet, Dorothy falls for Malone, much to the chagrin of Lorelei, who cannot understand Dorothy's indifference to men with money…

On board, the girls get into trouble when they meet an old playboy Francis Beckman (Charles Coburn), a diamond merchant…