How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)

Director:

Jean Negulesco

Writers:

Nunnally Johnson (screenplay)
Zoe Akins (plays) ...

Release Date:

5 November 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

The Most Glamorous Entertainment Of Your Lifetime in CinemaScope. You See It Without Glasses!

Plot:

Three women set out to find eligible millionaires to marry, but find true love in the process.

Plot Keywords:

Fashion Show | Mistaken Wealth | Social Climber | Women | Male Female Relationship

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Betty Grable	...	Loco Dempsey
Marilyn Monroe	...	Pola Debevoise
Lauren Bacall	...	Schatze Page
David Wayne	...	Freddie Denmark
Rory Calhoun	...	Eben
Cameron Mitchell	...	Tom Brookman
Alexander D'Arcy	...	J. Stewart Merrill (as Alex D'Arcy)
Fred Clark	...	Waldo Brewster
William Powell	...	J.D. Hanley

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

France:U | USA:Approved (PCA #16443) | Iceland:L | Canada:G (video rating) | South Korea:12 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | West Germany:12 | Norway:7

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

When listening to Harry James on the radio in Maine, Betty Grable's then husband, the song playing is "You'll Never Know," which later becomes a large portion of the film's score. The song was one of Grable's many hits from her peak in the 1940's.

Goofs:

Continuity: The fur wrap that Pola picks up from the bed at the wedding party and drops on the floor is back on to the bed while she and Schatzie are talking.

Quotes:

Schatze Page: I can't shack up with a dame I've never met before and she's crazy too!
Pola Debevoise: You don't have to. She'll come up and you'll see if you like her. If you don't...
Schatze Page: Is she any help to this?
Pola Debevoise: Let's see
[over the phone to Loco]
Pola Debevoise: Hey Loc, how much money you got?
Loco Dempsey: [on the phone] I got a quarter.
Pola Debevoise: Great. Pick up lunch on your way over.
Loco Dempsey: Ok, how many.
Pola Debevoise: Three
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Cheers: How to Marry a Mailman (#8.4)" (1989)

Soundtrack:

Bridal Chorus

Entertaining

I enjoyed this cute story of gold-diggers on the prowl. I agree with those who said that musical prologue was way too long -- it was eight minutes before the opening credits came on! This seemed the perfect setting for Marilyn Monroe to sing "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend," but that gem was in another of her films. I don't agree with those who said Betty Grable was too old for her part. She merely *looked* old. I tried to figure out why. She was only 35 years old. She was still slim (possibly even slimmer than Lauren Bacall, who'd recently had her second child) and her face looked relatively youthful. So why did she look 45? I concluded it was the hair. That poodle cut was unflattering and added years. I also enjoyed Grable's coy reference to real-life husband Harry James and Bacall's to Bogart. All in all, a charming movie and a fun way to spend an hour and a half.