How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)

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

Director:

Jean Negulesco

Writers:

Nunnally Johnson (screen play), Zoe Akins (plays)

Stars:

Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, Lauren Bacall

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

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

Storyline

Three New York models, Shatze, Pola and Loco set up in an exclusive apartment with a plan....tired of cheap men and a lack of money, they intend to use all their talents to trap and marry three millionaires. The trouble is that it's not so easy to tell the rich men from the hucksters - and even when they can, is the money really worth it?

---

Plot Keywords:

manhattan new york city | remake | millionaire | comedy of errors | mistaken identity | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Latin Arabic

Release Date:

20 November 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Wie angelt man sich einen Millionär

Filming Locations:

36 Sutton Place South, Sutton Place, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,870,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$8,000,000, 31 December 1953

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (1959 Reissue) (Western Electric Recording) (Stereo) Stereo (1959 Reissue) (Stereo)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The theme for Betty Grable and her husband the forest ranger was "You'll Never Know" (music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Mack Gordon) which was introduced by Alice Faye in Hello Frisco, Hello (1943) and it won the Oscar for Best Song. Betty Grable replaced Alice Faye as Fox's blonde comedy star. In this picture Marilyn Monroe became its blonde comedy star, surpassing Grable.

---

Goofs

As the car drives past on the snowy highway en route to the lodge in Maine, you can see where the snow has been removed to facilitate the setting up the camera equipment off to the side of the road.

---

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
[...]

---

Connections

References The African Queen (1951)

---

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

User Reviews

HILARIOUS!

This movie is great. I don't care what people say about it, you can't deny that it is very entertaining! I really don't know what goes through peoples minds when they say Betty Grable wasn't good in this movie, or was too old for the part. I can't imagine the story without her to make it what it is. I personally thought she looked the same age as her co-stars, and not a bit older.

Lauren Bacall was perfect for her role, and as always, so was Marilyn Monroe as another dumb blonde character. But I hate when most people think that just because she portrayed a ditzy girl, that it means she was like that in real life too - SHE WASN'T! Marilyn Monroe was an intelligent natural dark-brown haired brunette.

Anyway, HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE is really good in my opinion, and anyone that is a Monroe, Bacall or Grable fan absolutely MUST see it! I personally am a HUGE Marilyn Monroe fan, and enjoyed this movie as much as her others.

The storyline was great, and it had some very funny moments. I give this movie 9.5/10, losing a half-mark only because of the extreamly prolonged and unnecessary musical feature at the beginning, which makes you lose interest and want to fast forward 5 minutes worth of inactive classical music. An overall fabulous movie.