Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writers:

Charles Lederer (screenplay)
Joseph Fields (musical comedy) ...

Release Date:

18 July 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

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

Plot:

Lorelei and Dorothy are just "Two Little Girls from Little Rock", lounge singers on a transatlantic cruise...

Plot Keywords:

Diamond | Paris | Singer | Beauty | Father Son Relationship

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jane Russell	...	Dorothy Shaw
Marilyn Monroe	...	Lorelei Lee
Charles Coburn	...	Sir Francis 'Piggy' Beekman
Elliott Reid	...	Ernie Malone
Tommy Noonan	...	Gus Esmond
George Winslow	...	Henry Spofford III
Marcel Dalio	...	Magistrate
Taylor Holmes	...	Mr. Esmond Sr.
Norma Varden	...	Lady Beekman
Howard Wendell	...	Watson
Steven Geray	...	Hotel Manager

Also Known As:

Howard Hawks' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (UK) (complete title) (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:14A (Ontario) | South Korea:15 | Canada:G (video rating) | Portugal:M/6 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #16244) | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

In the "Ain't There Anyone Here for Love?" sequence, Jane Russell's fall into the pool was an accident. When Howard Hawks saw the dailies, he kept it in the film.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): In the courtroom, Malone introduces Piggy as Sir Francis Beekman. Minutes later, the judge addresses Piggy as Lord Beekman. As Piggy holds a knighthood, not a peerage, he would never be addressed as anything other than "Sir".

Quotes:

Dorothy Shaw: In bed by nine? That's when life just begins!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003)

Soundtrack:

When Love Goes Wrong

Wonderful film- Holds up strong under time!

You don't need to be a Marilyn fan to enjoy this wonderful film.

A great light hearted comedy that pairs up Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe in their prime.

The performances are outstanding- Marilyn's precision comic timing along with Jane's dead-pan delivery make for an unforgettable comedy team.

At a time where men were leading the field for comedy pairings along comes Russell and Monroe and a better combination there is not!

The musical numbers are terrific especially Bye-Bye Baby and the classic Diamonds are Girls Best Friend.

The supporting roles are also well cast with the Charles Coburn as the Multimillionaire "Piggy" who has eyes only for Diamonds and Marilyn and the wonderful late Tommy Noonan as Marilyn's nerdish and gullible love interest Gus Edmond.

If you look beyond the surface which makes this film at first appear to be a seemingly stereotypical tale of young helpless women looking for rich husbands you will actually see a story of two strong and self-sufficient women looking for what they want in life, going out to get it and not settling for less!

But let's not make this any deeper than we need to... this is a FUN FILM... not meant to change the world but just to entertain you for a few hours-- AND THAT IT DOES!

High ranks from young and old... Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is great family entertainment.

Now, might I close with an Anita Loos quote about Marilyn Monroe in GPB:

"I did not write the role Lorelei Lee as Marilyn performed it in the film, but I sure as hell wish I had!"