Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Classic musical comedy directed by the great Howard Hawks and starring Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell. Marilyn's determined to marry a rich heir but his father has hired a private detective to prove the beautiful blonde's just after his money. Jane tries to protect Marilyn and keep her out of trouble while the two travel to Paris.

Marilyn's pitch-perfect as the gold-digging Lorelei Lee. She played the 'dumb blonde' better than anybody in movie history. It's impossible not to like her, even when she's doing things you might not agree with. Jane's never been better than here playing Marilyn's sassy man-crazy best friend. Charles Coburn is the horny owner of a diamond mine. Child actor George Winslow steals every scene he's in. Tommy Noonan is fun as Marilyn's fiancé. Elliott Reid is the weakest part of the cast as the private detective who falls for Jane. He's just so stiff and corny that I couldn't see what a great dish like Jane Russell could see in him. He looks like a Fed.

Lots of great lines and scenes. Possibly the best thing about the movie is just how gorgeous it looks. I'm not just talking about the leading ladies, who are both stunning. The Technicolor just pops off the screen. One of my favorite movies of all time. It'll make you smile from start to finish. Colorful, funny, sexy, with enjoyable performances and wonderful songs. Includes one of Marilyn's defining moments - "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend." An absolute must-see classic.

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

As a demonstration of Hawks' versatility, this picture stands out. It's anything but a faithful adaptation of the Anita Loos story, but in Hawks skilled hands, it's as delightful and silly as his best screwball comedies, and an evocative example of the sexpot exploitation prominent in it's day. Monroe and Russell complement each other nicely as glamour babes beyond belief. The flamboyant musical numbers are deliriously fetishistic and there are some particularly hilarious bits involving a hoarse-voiced little boy and a dirty old man. Sensationally staged and provocatively primitive.

You don't need to be a Marilyn fan to enjoy this wonderful film.

A great light hearted comedy that pairs up Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe in their prime.

The performances are outstanding- Marilyn's precision comic timing along with Jane's dead-pan delivery make for an unforgettable comedy team.

At a time where men were leading the field for comedy pairings along comes Russell and Monroe and a better combination there is not!

The musical numbers are terrific especially Bye-Bye Baby and the classic Diamonds are Girls Best Friend.

The supporting roles are also well cast with the Charles Coburn as the Multimillionaire "Piggy" who has eyes only for Diamonds and Marilyn and the wonderful late Tommy Noonan as Marilyn's nerdish and gullible love interest Gus Edmond.

If you look beyond the surface which makes this film at first appear to be a seemingly stereotypical tale of young helpless women looking for rich husbands you will actually see a story of two strong and self-sufficient women looking for what they want in life, going out to get it and not settling for less!

But let's not make this any deeper than we need to... this is a FUN FILM... not meant to change the world but just to entertain you for a few hours-- AND THAT IT DOES!

High ranks from young and old... Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is great family entertainment.

Now, might I close with an Anita Loos quote about Marilyn Monroe in GPB:

"I did not write the role Lorelei Lee as Marilyn performed it in the film, but I sure as hell wish I had!"

Anita Loos's famous novel and play Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was done as a musical and ran for 740 performances during the 1949-1951 season. It was the breakout role in the career on Broadway for Carol Channing. But for the screen version a pair of pulchritudinous sex symbols were cast as the showgirls looking for husbands, Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe.

Two things were done for the film, most of the Jule Styne-Leo Robin score was scrapped and two numbers written by Hoagy Carmichael and Harold Adamson were added. Retained from the original score was Bye Bye Baby, Two Little Girls from Little Rock and the famous theme of goldiggers everywhere, Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend.

The second thing was to update the story from when it was originally written during the Roaring Twenties to the current Fifties. Still the two basic characters of Russell and Monroe remained the same. Both would like husbands, but Russell wants to marry for love, money would be nice though, but Monroe it's strictly mercenary.

The two men they have an eye on are millionaire son Tommy Noonan for Monroe and Russell has her eye on Elliott Reid. Monroe's mercenary ways nearly sink the two of them, but it all kind of works out in the end.

Lorelei Lee was Marilyn's breakout role as well. No big male star names are opposite here, she's only in a friendly competition with fellow sex symbol Jane Russell. Russell's contribution to the film is too often overlooked with Marilyn's legend looming over all. She more than holds her own against Marilyn and in fact unlike in some of her films, there was no friction at all with the two women.

I can see why Howard Hawks was attracted to this film. The women he has in his films are tough minded and more than capable of dealing in a man's world. That Jane and Marilyn are in abundance and boy do those women have a lot of abundance.

And in all the right places too.