Les hommes épousent les brunes

As the brunettes that gentlemen prefer to marry Jane Russell and Jeanne Crain at least got a working vacation in Paris. The cinematography of the city of lights is dazzling..

A rather thin plot with many flashback sequences and one dream sequence are packed into Gentlemen Marry Brunettes. Jane and Jeanne play themselves a pair of sister showgirls who are tired of the New York scene and go to Paris hoping to strike it big as their motherand aunt did back in the Roaring 20s.

One remnant of the 20s is in Paris. Rudy Vallee is there and he remembers the old sister act well. With his patronage and a rich secret admirer the new sister act hits it big.

They even pick up a couple of earnest courters, Scott Brady and Alan Young. t all ain't quite enough.

A bit more of a coherent story and Gentlemen Marry Brunettes would have been a classic.

Okay, first let me come clean with my biases: I'm a Jane Russell fan. Even recognizing how amazing Marilyn Monroe was, etc, etc... Even in 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes', I've personally always preferred Jane Russell's 'wise-cracking dame' screen persona to Marilyn's blowsy bubble-head. But that said...

While I agree that "Gentlemen Marry Brunettes" is by no means a great film, even if one lowers the bar to generic 50's musical standards. Still, I do think its greatest sin is in not being "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". It wouldn't seem half so bad if it didn't instantly invite comparison to a classic 'relative' ("Gentlemen Prefer Blondes").

Yet and still the production values are generally very high. Costumes by Travilla, additional fashions by Dior, and the period location filming in Paris and Monte Carlo alone really is (almost) worth sitting through the movie for.

As an earlier commentator pointed out, I do think it was a mistake to make Jane play an 'air-head'. One of her strenghts as a performer/film personality is that her basic integrity usually shone through on screen. It's a shame to hide that.

The biggest mistakes (in my opinion) are that neither Jane, nor Jeanne Crain were given a 'solo-number'. It may seem a small thing, but if one reflects on the shining moments of "Blondes", one's mind immediately goes to Marilyn's "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" and Jane pushing the muscle men around in "Ain't There Anyone Here For Love?". It's in these two scenes where both performer's personalities (Marilyn, the 'sizzling' blonde bombshell; and Jane, the raven-haired, self-effacing flirt) really shine. No such scenes exist in "Brunettes" for either character.

Further, while I like Jeanne Crain as a performer, I can't help feeling that the story needed another kind of 'contrast' to replace that dynamism between blonde Marilyn and brunette Jane in "Blondes". Playing the 'what if' game for a moment: imagine (with a slight plot shift)a young RITA MORENO as Jane Russell's Cuban 'half-sister' or 'cousin'? Just a little 'twist' like that would have added an element of thematic and visual tension that is missing in "Brunettes". OR... since the film was set in Europe, how about Gina Lolobrigida as Jane's Italian cousin, giving the movie added continental flair? Still... I say take "Brunettes" for what it is: a handsomely-mounted relic of Hollywood's last fling with pure, unadulterated fluff musicals! Put cotton in your ears and soak in the costumes and location shooting!

In this sequel to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Jane Russell maintains first billing and takes Jeanne Craine as her sidekick. As the title song tells you, men may go crazy for blondes, but they marry brunettes. Needless to say, Marilyn Monroe is not in this movie.

As is the case with most sequels, this isn't nearly as good as its predecessor. The songs are okay, instead of adorable and catchy, and Jeanne Craine is no Marilyn. I sat through it, because the original is one of my favorite old movies and I wanted to give the sequel a chance. However, if you're looking for a better "sequel" to the 1953 classic, try The French Line. Jane Russell plays a girl from Texas-instead of Arkansas-who goes on an ocean liner to France and tries to dodge smooth players while singing about it. Sounds like a sequel, doesn't it?

Give this movie a break! It's a spoof of the 50's musicals that were practically unspoofable in the first place. Enormously over-the- top it's nonetheless a great deal of fun; loud, brashy, colorful and vulgar. Travilla's costumes should give you a clue that it wasn't to be taken seriously. Monroe's principal costumer, he purposely spoofed himself with this picture. Relax and enjoy. Enjoy Paris in 1955 and delectable Jane and Jeanne in their final days as major movie stars.

Jane would disappear after 57's Fuzzy Pink Nightgown while Jeanne wasn't far behind in The Joker Is Wild. After that is was A.C. Lyles westerns and TV.

Jane Russell proved to be a delightful musical-comedy performer in the similarly titled "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes"… but, sadly, this film squanders those skills. There is a budget, and nice Paris photography, but the film just doesn't work. Ms. Russell seems to be playing Marilyn Monroe. That leaves nobody to adequately play Jane Russell. Some of the other players are WAY out of their element.

There are several embarrassing scenes; most of all, be warned: there is a musical number where boneheaded African cannibals "cook" the brunettes in a pot, after Alan Young sings in a gorilla suit.

This is an interesting, at times embarrassing, waste of resources.

*** Gentlemen Marry Brunettes (10/29/55) Richard Sale ~ Jane Russell, Jeanne Crain, Alan Young, Scott Brady