Let's Make Love (1960)

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Norman Krasna
Hal Kanter (additional material)
(more)

Release Date:

8 September 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

MARILYN MONROE and YVES MONTAND the French entertainment sensation! doing what they do best in LET'S MAKE LOVE

Plot:

When billionaire Jean-Marc Clement learns that he is to be satirized in an off-Broadway revue, he passes himself off as an actor playing him in order to get closer to the beautiful star of the show, Amanda Dell.

Plot Keywords:

Billionaire | Actor | Theatre | Speaking Italian | Statue Of Liberty

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Marilyn Monroe	...	Amanda Dell
Yves Montand	...	Jean-Marc Clement / Alexander Dumas
Tony Randall	...	Alexander Coffman
Frankie Vaughan	...	Tony Danton
Wilfrid Hyde-White	...	George Welch (as Wilfrid Hyde White)
David Burns	...	Oliver Burton
Michael David	...	Dave Kerry
Mara Lynn	...	Lily Nyles
Dennis King Jr.	...	Abe Miller
Joe Besser	...	Charlie Lamont
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Oscar Beregi Jr.	...	Chauffeur (uncredited)
Milton Berle	...	Himself (uncredited)
Leonard Bremen	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Harry Cheshire	...	Minister, Amanda's Father (uncredited)
Richard Collier	...	Doorman (uncredited)
John Craven	...	Comstock (uncredited)
Bing Crosby	...	Bing Crosby (uncredited)
Dick Dale	...	Elvis Presley impersonator (uncredited)
Ray Foster	...	Jimmy (uncredited)
Richard Fowler	...	Van Cliburn impersonator (uncredited)
Michael Fox	...	Actor auditioning for Clement role (uncredited)
Jerry Hausner	...	Counterman (uncredited)
Gene Kelly	...	Himself / Gene Kelly (uncredited)
Madge Kennedy	...	Miss Manners, Clement's Secretary (uncredited)
Marian Manners	...	Maria Callas impersonator (uncredited)
Mike Mason	...	Yale (uncredited)
Bill McLean	...	Street Sweeper (uncredited)
Byron Morrow	...	Executive (uncredited)
Larry Thor	...	Wilson (uncredited)
Geraldine Wall	...	Wales' Secretary-Receptionist (uncredited)

Directed by
George Cukor

Writing credits
Norman Krasna
Hal Kanter		(additional material)
Arthur Miller		uncredited

Produced by
Jerry Wald	....	producer

Original Music by
Lionel Newman
Earle Hagen		(uncredited)
Cyril J. Mockridge		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Daniel L. Fapp

Film Editing by
David Bretherton

Art Direction by
Gene Allen
Lyle R. Wheeler

Set Decoration by
Fred M. MacLean
Walter M. Scott

Costume Design by
Dorothy Jeakins

Makeup Department
Ben Nye	....	makeup artist
Helen Turpin	....	hair stylist
Allan Snyder	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David Hall	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Warren B. Delaplain	....	sound
W.D. Flick	....	sound

Editorial Department
Hoyningen Huene	....	color coordinator (as Hoyningen-Huene)

Music Department
Jack Cole	....	staging of musical numbers
Earle Hagen	....	music associate
Lionel Newman	....	musical director (uncredited)
Herbert W. Spencer	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)

Other crew
Gene Allen	....	main title and prologue designer
Robert Banas	....	dancer (uncredited)
Evelyn Moriarty	....	stand-in (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century Fox (presents)
• Company of Artists, The

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1960) (USA) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1963) (USA) (TV) (original airing) (pan/scan)
• Actions Cinémas/Théâtre du Temple (????) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Centfox (1960) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Fox Films (1960) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Fox Films (1960) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1974) (Finland) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2002) (Brazil) (VHS) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (Canada) (DVD)
• Abril Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Epoca (????) (Argentina) (VHS)
• FS Film Oy (2002) (Finland) (DVD) (11-disc Marilyn Monroe: The Diamond Collection)
• FS Film Oy (2006) (Finland) (DVD) (1-disc edition)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1969) (1997) (2006) (Finland) (TV)
• TV3 (1990) (Finland) (TV)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1983) (Finland) (TV)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

119 min | Germany:109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | German | Chinese | Italian | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (35 mm mag-optical prints) | 4-Track Stereo (magnetic tracks)

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:11 | UK:U | West Germany:12 | USA:Approved (certificate #19576) | Canada:PG (video rating)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Twentieth Century Fox

Trivia:

Writer Norman Krasna initially viewed the male lead as one the audience would view as a kind of a "shitkicker" - a Gary Cooper or a Jimmy Stewart. Cary Grant, Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston, Rock Hudson, James Stewart and Yul Brynner all turned down the male lead. Yves Montand was cast after starring in The Crucible (1957) (US title: The Crucible), based on a play also written by Miller.

Goofs:

Continuity: Amanda's hands during her dinner with Jean-Mark.

Quotes:

Jean-Marc Clement:Show me what I can do with a woman.
Milton Berle:After what I read about you, I'm sure that you could show me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Backstory: The Seven Year Itch" (2000)

...but is it really that bad?

Released in 1960 after Marilyn's super turn in the fantastic 'Some Like It Hot', LML has often been cited as Monroe's worst movie.

There is plenty to work against the film: Cukor's almost non-existent direction, the rather dreadful musical numbers, Yves Montand's irritating performance and the wasted opportunities of the star cameos.

However, Let's Make Love is a reasonably inoffensive way to waste an afternoon. The plot is slight and therefore doesn't require too much brain power to follow and Monroe is, as usual, cinema gold. Despite the fact that she is slightly overweight here and nothing much has been done with her in terms of make-up, hair or wardrobe she is eminently watchable. She gives a convincing, assured performance in her role turning the simple character of Amanda into a sweet, likable woman.

As I have mentioned before in Monroe reviews, I always find it interesting to see Monroe in films in the 1960s, being very much an icon of the 1950s.

So, is LML really that bad? Well, to be honest no, it isn't. It's lightweight fluff that doesn't really mean anything but is watchable non the less. It is unfortunately placed between the sublime 'Some Like It Hot' and Monroe's bravura performance in the following year's 'The Misfits' but don't hold that against it. Make up your own minds!