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?

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Plot Keywords:

manhattan new york city | remake | millionaire | comedy of errors | social climbing | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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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 (1939 Reissue) (Western Electric Recording) (Stereo) Stereo (1939 Reissue) (Stereo)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe was a challenge to work with. It wasn't because she was unpleasant, but rather her insecurity and total dependence on her personal acting coach Natasha Lytess for approval: "Betty Grable was a funny, outgoing woman, totally professional and easy. Marilyn was frightened, insecure--trusted only her coach and was always late. During our scenes she'd look at my forehead instead of my eyes; at the end of a take, look to her coach, standing behind Jean Negulesco, for approval. If the head shake was no, she'd insist on another take. A scene often went to 15 or more takes, which meant I'd have to be good in all of them as no one knew which one would be used. Not easy--often irritating. And yet I couldn't dislike Marilyn. She had no meanness in her--no bitchery. She just had to concentrate on herself and the people who were there only for her."

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Goofs

When Schatze is walking up and down on the roof her shadow isn't matching the shadows on the buildings behind - her shadow falls the opposite way due to the lighting not matching the supposed position of the sun.

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Quotes

Schatze Page: The first rule is, gentlemen callers have got to wear a necktie!

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Connections

Referenced in Legacy of the Hollywood Blacklist (1987)

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Soundtracks

You'll Never Know
(1943) (uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Played on the radio at the lodge and often throughout the picture

User Reviews

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!!