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How to Marry a Millionaire

  • 1953
  • Approved
  • 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
26K
YOUR RATING
How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)
Trailer for this black and white classic in wonderful CinemaScope
Play trailer2:26
3 Videos
99+ Photos
Romantic ComedyScrewball ComedyComedyDramaRomance

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

  • Director
    • Jean Negulesco
  • Writers
    • Nunnally Johnson
    • Zoe Akins
    • Dale Eunson
  • Stars
    • Marilyn Monroe
    • Betty Grable
    • Lauren Bacall
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.8/10
    26K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Jean Negulesco
    • Writers
      • Nunnally Johnson
      • Zoe Akins
      • Dale Eunson
    • Stars
      • Marilyn Monroe
      • Betty Grable
      • Lauren Bacall
    • 138User reviews
    • 57Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 1 win & 6 nominations total

    Videos3

    How To Marry A Millionaire
    Trailer 2:26
    How To Marry A Millionaire
    How To Marry A Millionaire: what's your name?
    Clip 1:50
    How To Marry A Millionaire: what's your name?
    How To Marry A Millionaire: what's your name?
    Clip 1:50
    How To Marry A Millionaire: what's your name?
    How To Marry A Millionaire: glasses
    Clip 1:33
    How To Marry A Millionaire: glasses

    Photos129

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    + 123
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    Top cast60

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    Marilyn Monroe
    Marilyn Monroe
    • Pola Debevoise
    Betty Grable
    Betty Grable
    • Loco Dempsey
    Lauren Bacall
    Lauren Bacall
    • Schatze Page
    David Wayne
    David Wayne
    • Freddie Denmark
    Rory Calhoun
    Rory Calhoun
    • Eben Salem
    Cameron Mitchell
    Cameron Mitchell
    • Tom Brookman
    Alexander D'Arcy
    Alexander D'Arcy
    • J. Stewart Merrill
    • (as Alex D'Arcy)
    Fred Clark
    Fred Clark
    • Waldo Brewster
    William Powell
    William Powell
    • J.D. Hanley
    Robert Adler
    Robert Adler
    • Cab Driver
    • (uncredited)
    Merry Anders
    Merry Anders
    • Model
    • (uncredited)
    Jan Arvan
    Jan Arvan
    • Tony
    • (uncredited)
    Charlotte Austin
    Charlotte Austin
    • Model
    • (uncredited)
    John Breen
    • Cook
    • (uncredited)
    Benny Burt
    Benny Burt
    • Reporter
    • (uncredited)
    Harry Carter
    Harry Carter
    • Elevator Operator
    • (uncredited)
    Jack Chefe
    • Waiter at Wedding
    • (uncredited)
    Oliver Cross
    • Restaurant Patron
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Jean Negulesco
    • Writers
      • Nunnally Johnson
      • Zoe Akins
      • Dale Eunson
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews138

    6.825.8K
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    Featured reviews

    Fiona-39

    baked Alaska

    An over excited critic once wrote that seeing Monroe in Cinemascope was like being smothered in baked Alaska, and seeing this movie, you know exactly what he (I assume he was a he) was on about. The movie opens on the extreme verticals of New York skyscrapers and narrow city streets, then cuts to a wonderfully elongated horizontal Monroe streeeeeeeetched across the scene in an increasingly empty apartment (the girls sell their furniture to be able to pay the rent). This movie is dated and fluffy, but has several interesting elements that make it worth a look for anyone interested in movie history, any of the leads, or in passing a wet Sunday afternoon in a pleasant way. This was Grable's last performance. She knew Monroe was about to usurp her, but the two women both dealt with an uncomfortable situation in a professional way. There is a great narrative twist in the film too - Monroe plays a short sighted girl who finally meets the man to marry her when he tells her he likes her in her glasses. Unlike the usual cliched plot line, it is when Monroe keeps her glasses on that she is revealed to be beautiful. Her acting is this film is among her best, especially her vulnerable scene in the gold aeroplane, and the moment in the powder room when she looks at herself in the mirrors and explodes into five, raspberry satin dress covered Marilyn's is a visual pleasure the film and the viewer revel in (Monroe can't, not wearing her glasses at that point). This film is creamy, smooth, warm - just liked baked Alaska!!
    7Nazi_Fighter_David

    'Keep the change, Mac.'

    Three models (Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall) pool their resources to rent an expensive penthouse apartment in New York, each girl hoping to catch a wealthy husband...

    Cameron Mitchell helps Betty Grable with groceries one morning and meets and falls in love with Bacall… But she rejects him, thinking he is a 'gas pump jockey.'

    The girls are nearly broke when Grable introduces them to an oil tycoon, a widower (William Powell) who becomes interested in Bacall… Grable takes a trip with wealthy and married Fred Clark, under the impression that they are going to a convention in Maine… Once at his lodge, she realizes they will be alone and is set to return to New York when she suddenly felt sick… A forest ranger named Rory Calhoun comes into her life, and they fall in love…

    Marilyn leaves by plane to meet her one-eyed playboy Alex D'Arcy in Atlantic City, but because she refuses to wear glasses in public to correct her nearsightedness, she gets on the wrong plane… On board she meets David Wayne, the owner of their penthouse apartment, who is on his way to Kansas City to find his tax accountant because of whom he is in trouble with the revenue department…

    Bacall, left alone and without money, agrees to marry the oilman Powell…

    "How to be a Millionaire" was the second CinemaScope film ever made, the first being "The Robe." The film marked David Wayne's last movie appearance with Marilyn… He made four pictures with her, more than any other actor
    7hitchcockthelegend

    Caustic and sweet go hand in hand.

    Loco Dempsey, Pola Debevoise and Schatze Page, each one a pretty model, their goal in life?, to marry millionaires. They set themselves up in a top apartment and set about wooing any potential suitors, trouble is is that it's hard to tell the rich from the normal, and love may just have a say after all.

    Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe and Lauren Bacall play our three dubiously motivated ladies, each one putting a delightful stamp on each respective character. Filmed in CinemaScope, New York {and the girls Manhattan apartment}is beautifully realised and with the restored DVDs available, the colour positively gleams on the screen. The story itself is a fun one, tho at its core it's of course greedy and selfish, but this is a romantic comedy that plays out with delightful ease, and thankfully doesn't contain pointless filler scenes to purely showcase the actresses on show.

    Monroe has never looked as pretty as she does here, some of her other films are obviously more famous, but she radiates sexiness and with her character being vision impaired, she gets to show the wonderful comedic talent that she definitely had. Bacall clearly is the best actor on show, so it's no surprise that she gets the best written part, at times bitter, intelligent and determined, her Schatze Page character is the glue binding the picture {and the girls} together. Betty Grable is solid without really impacting a great deal, with the boys {notably Rory Calhoun} offering entertaining support. How To Marry A Millionaire is simply a delightful movie that never over tries your patience, it's a fun ride with a little something for everyone, and it cheerily pays you off at the end. 7/10
    7utgard14

    "Wealthy men are never old."

    The opening prologue is an orchestra performance that has nothing to do with the rest of the movie. I began to wonder if I was watching the wrong movie. I've read they did this because it was the first movie shot in Cinemascope and they wanted to highlight the new stereophonic sound system. Seems to me it was unnecessary but times were different then I guess. Anyway, the plot is about three women on the hunt for husbands. Naturally, they would prefer rich husbands. Lauren Bacall plays the leader of the three -- she's the smart, sophisticated one. Betty Grable plays the ditzy, naïve one. A role Marilyn Monroe probably would have played just a few years later due to typecasting. Here Marilyn plays a sort of middleground between Bacall and Grable's characters. Not too bright and not too dumb. She wears glasses but frequently takes them off because she thinks men don't like girls who wear glasses. There are several amusing gags that come as a result of her poor eyesight. All three ladies are beautiful, of course. They are also very funny and immensely appealing. The men in the film are pretty good, too. Even the ones playing jerks, like the great Fred Clark. Cameron Mitchell, David Wayne, and Rory Calhoun play the three primary love interests and are all likable. William Powell, in his second-to-last film, is as classy as they come. The themes are a little dated but it's all light and fluffy so nothing to get indignant about, for those of you who might. It's a fun, enjoyable romantic comedy. Fans of the three leads will love it most.
    BLG-2

    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.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Lauren Bacall's character, Schatze, says, "I've always liked older men . . . Look at that old fellow, what's-his-name, in The African Queen (1951); absolutely crazy about him." She is referring to her then real-life husband, Humphrey Bogart.
    • Goofs
      While eating at the hamburger place, the cigarette in Brookman's left hand changes into a napkin between shots.
    • Quotes

      Schatze Page: What I'm trying to tell you , J.D., is that I've always liked older men. Look at Roosevelt, look at Churchill, look at that old fellow, what's his name, in "African Queen". Absolutely crazy about him!

    • Connections
      Featured in Marilyn (1963)
    • Soundtracks
      The Twentieth Century-Fox Symphony Orchestra's 'Street Scene'
      Composed and Conducted by Alfred Newman

      Performed by The Twentieth Century-Fox Symphony Orchestra in the prologue

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    FAQ18

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • November 20, 1953 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
      • Latin
      • Arabic
    • Also known as
      • Cómo pescar un millonario
    • Filming locations
      • 36 Sutton Place South, Sutton Place, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA(the girls' apartment)
    • Production company
      • Twentieth Century Fox
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • $1,870,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $1,482
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 35 minutes
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.55 : 1

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