Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

Showgirls Lorelei Lee and Dorothy Shaw travel to Paris, pursued by a private detective hired by the suspicious father of Lorelei's fiancé, as well as a rich, enamored old man and many other doting admirers.

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writers:

Charles Lederer (screen play), 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:

bechdel test failed | screwball comedy | dancer | based on stage musical | song | 

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Taglines:

You've never seen so much fun!

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

August 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Howard Hawks' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Filming Locations:

MGM Studio Borehamwood London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$2,260,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$12,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

For this film Gwen Verdon coached stars Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe in both their dance and walk - Monroe with less sex, Russell with more. It's rumored that at one point in the film, Verdon dubs both Monroe's and Russell's swaying bottoms.

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Goofs

During her confrontation with Lady Beekman at the hotel, Lorelei calls Piggy "Lord Beekman". Later in the courtroom, the Magistrate calls Piggy "Lord Beekman", and Pritchard addresses Piggy as "Your Lordship". Piggy holds a knighthood, not a peerage, and would never be addressed as anything other than "Sir Francis".

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Quotes

Lady Beekman: You'll find I mean business!
Dorothy Shaw: Oh, really? Then why are you wearing that hat?

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Connections

Spoofed in The Man Who Saved the World (2014)

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Soundtracks

Anyone Here for Love?
(1953)
Music and Lyrics by Hoagy Carmichael and Harold Adamson
Performed by Jane Russell (uncredited) and the Olympic Team

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…