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Bacall, Grable, and Monroe, along with fabulous fashions and sets, and a few epic shots of NYC all contribute to making an otherwise very thin film just plain fun to watch. I'm not going to spend time analyzing the different personalities each of the three leads and their men are supposed to represent. The title pretty much tells the story and I will just say that this was a fun, easy, and pleasant way to spend a couple of hours.

This entertaining film has the three girls (Pola, played by Marilyn Monroe in specs; Schatze, played by Lauren Bacall and looking rather mumsy; and Loco, played by Betty Grable with those fabulous legs) setting up shop in an apartment, ready to reel in wealthy husbands.

The boys in question include David Wayne, Rory Calhoun, Cameron Mitchell, William Powell, and Alex D'Arcy. Trying to figure out the scheming girls is hard for them, especially when the girls are going all out to hide their real personalities!

This glitzy fluff is enlivened by real-life in-jokes - Betty Grable doesn't recognise a Harry James record (she was married to him at the time), and Lauren Bacall says she's mad about 'that old man in The African Queen'(real-life husband Bogart of course). Bacall comes out best of the girls although Monroe is always worth watching and Grable was effective decoration even towards the end of her career, as she was here (having been on screen for over twenty years at this point - her first appearance was in her teens in 'Hold 'Em Jail', I think).

The film, the first filmed in CinemaScope, although the second to be released, remains as slick and witty as ever. While the three girls chase rich husbands they somehow end up marrying for love.

Personally for me it is Lauren Bacall and William Powell that standout...their witty knowing conversations are a true delight. Mr Powell shows just why he was so highly regarded. He has a magnificent calm and dignified presence beautifully complimented by Mrs Bogart's cool chic.

The film shows all the problems of early CinemaScope of course ...the lack of closeups because of optical distortions that would occur and enough light to sunbake under being necessary on the sets and a sound scheme with the stereophonic image shifting from side to side as characters moves across the screen.

The film is beautifully restored on the DVD with fine colour and sound.

The use of a 1:2.55 ratio means a truly WIDE screen ....which is shown off by the location shots of New York and the girls apartment which seems enormous!

The opening sequence/overture of course was designed to show off both the brand new wide screen and stereo sound. It seems slightly redundant now but is still a fabulous piece of music by Alfred Newman.

So turn the lights down, turn up the stereo and step back to 1953 and watch a consumate piece of entertainment

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

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.

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

Back in the early 50's, I was road manager for the Harry James band. As you know, Harry was married to Betty Grable. I also did special work for Betty outside of 20th Century Foxes eyes & ears. In February 1953, Buddy Rich, the great drummer joined the band and one evening, we had a small party for Buddy at the Hollywood Paladium where the band was working. Betty Grable & Marie Rich got to be friends and Betty invited Buddy & Marie to the studio where she was working on the movie, How to Marry a Millionaire. Harry & I picked up Buddy & Marie at the Beverly Hills Hotel and went to the studio. At the studio, we were all in Bacall's dressing room having coffee & danish and waiting for the queen, Miss Monroe to arrive. She had a habit of being late quiet a bit and keeping a lot of people waiting for her. Bacall, who is known for her salty language, gave her quite a verbal tongue lashing, but it just rolled off her back. When Betty passed away with cancer, I flew from my home in Fort Lauderdale, Fl. to Vegas for the funeral, then again for Harry's funeral.

How to Marry a Millionaire is one of the brightest and wittiest comedies of the fifties and certainly quite an eyeful when you've got three leads of the caliber of Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, and Betty Grable.

These three lovely girls, following the cue from Lauren Bacall, chip in and get a long term lease on a swank apartment where the owner has had to leave the country because of income tax problems. The post World War II years saw a lot of that happening. The idea is to set up a mantrap, put up a good front in the hopes of attracting men with wealth. And all three come up with men of all varieties.

Betty unfortunately takes up with the already married, but not working at it too hard Fred Clark. His plans for a romantic getaway with her are spoiled by her coming down with an adult case of the measles and Grable catching sight of Forest Ranger Rory Calhoun. You will love the way the scheming Fred Clark gets nailed.

Marilyn meets up with David Wayne, the guy whose apartment the women have taken over. In Marilyn fashion she gets on the wrong plane with Wayne, thinking it was Atlantic City instead of Kansas City.

And Bacall the most determined of all to marry a millionaire. She has her choice between elderly sophisticated William Powell and earnest young Cameron Mitchell.

The irony of this film is that all three women set out to trap a bankroll, yet all three fall for people themselves. No telling what fate has in store for you.

How to Marry a Millionaire is the next to last film of William Powell and his first after leaving his long term contract at MGM. He's the picture of elegance and sophistication. Listening to every line from his mouth is a joy.

Nunnally Johnson's screenplay and Jean Negulesco's direction make How to Marry a Millionaire one of the best films of the Fifties. Catch those lines referring to the celebrity husbands of Bacall and Grable.

Fox released this one right after THE ROBE did smash box-office when it opened at New York's Roxy theater. Likewise, HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE featured an opening orchestral number under Alfred Newman's baton before the credits began--and then the wide screen became the source for watching BETTY GRABLE, LAUREN BACALL and MARILYN MONROE put their own personal stamp of sex appeal on the CinemaScope screen.

This one is probably best enjoyed in the widescreen version rather than the pan and scan shown on some TV stations. It's a witty delight from start to finish, with Monroe doing a delightful impersonation of a near-sighted blonde ashamed to wear glasses and always walking into walls; Grable as a snappy charmer who gets hooked into a trip to Maine thinking she's going to a convention; and Bacall as the know-it-all sophisticate with the sharp tongue who's good at bossing others around.

While Bacall is great in the role, it's really an alienating part and she can't always disguise the fact that her character--in real life--would be considered an annoying bitch. True, she has some of the best lines, but the sarcasm stings a little too much at times and her treatment of doormen and furniture movers is very condescending.

So, it's up to Grable and Monroe to keep things light and breezy, and that they do. Also on hand for some sophisticated charm is WILLIAM POWELL in one of his last screen roles, RORY CALHOUN as a forest ranger who attracts Betty's eye, and CAMERON MITCHELL as a man who turns out to be someone Bacall should have treated with more respect.

It's fun all the way, easy to take and easy on the eyes whenever the three stars cavort around the screen in assorted fashion ensembles.

Three ladies seek to plunder a small fortune, by marrying a man who they can then prune, but he must be, very wealthy, one would assume not too healthy, these girls are hoping things get opportune. So they lease or fleece a place where they can stay, a place to entertain, have fun and play, taking advantage of what's offered, all the things that they are proffered, one by they find that love don't come their way. It's not the deepest film that you have ever seen, rather shallow to be fair, and rather lean, not that funny, rich or charming, of the sexes it's quite harming, imagine watching this upon the silver screen (and finding it entertaining!).

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!!

It's loaded with charm, color, glamour, and quite a bit of wit - and not much else. The plot is, of course, ludicrous, but it doesn't really matter. This is one of those movies that has no pretense of being anything but the lightest of entertainment. And what a treat to watch three of Hollywood's most glamorous gals having fun! So just give in and enjoy.

Lauren Bacall, Betty Grable and Marilyn Monroe play three blonde bombshells who set out to set themselves up with millionaires, only to find, predictably, that true love isn't something that can be bought.

The film goes down easy, mostly because of the talents of its three leading ladies. But its primary reason -- or two reasons -- for existence are as a showcase for a non-stop parade of fashionable gowns (designed by Charles LeMaire and Travilla) and the at the time new cinematic technique of Cinemascope, which uses such a wide aspect ration that every single interior -- a living room, a diner, a country cottage -- looks as big as an airline hangar. I don't think a single actor in the film is shot at anything closer than a medium closeup so that director Jean Negulesco can have expanses of frame left on either side which he chooses to fill with vast arrays of tacky 1950s decor.

The film does prove that Marilyn Monroe looks adorable in glasses.

Grade: B

Even though this film may be in the Marilyn Monroe collection I have to say her performance was not all that great. It was alright, but just decent. She is a stunning beauty with a nice figure, but is a rather bad actress.

Betty Grable I don't know very well. She did okay too, but seemed a little boring to me. I guess it was just her character Loco. She has beauty too and is an okay actress.

Lauren Bacall steals this show literally. She is the one who truly defines grace and glamour. Her character is witty and sly. Bacall's beauty is great too. I love her voice and how in the end she is the lucky girl!

The movie is about three roomates who go hunting for millionaire husbands. Will they suceed or not? If you are a fan of Lauren Bacall I suggest you see this one. She looks great in the fashion show!

While the premise of three women trying to find Rich men to marry while falling in love along the way may not be that special of a story especially in today's standards, it's the stellar writing, stunning camera work, and of course the 3 leads that makes this truly a 50s comedy classic. Lauren Bacall is excellent as the snake tongue Schatze & honestly has the best lines to me. Betty Grable as the snappy and lively Loco is always fun to watch and who could forget her hilarious hot dog dream. And of course Marilyn as the ditzy and sometimes vulnerable Pola stuns us with her beauty while at the same time makes us burst out laughing without her glasses. Though i wouldn't say one of the greatest comedies ever made, it's no doubt fun fluff I like to pop in every now and then.

This is a confection of a movie, although those who dislike the era or dislike classic movies generally won't take to it.

Admittedly, the basic premise -- 3 good-looking women set themselves up to land at least one rich spouse -- is pretty nauseating. But the performances are chiseled to perfection (and so over the top), and the era captured so evocatively that the movie is a joy to watch.

If you can suspend your social conscience and your dislike of the restrictive roles that paralyzed everyone (especially women) during that era, then settle onto the couch with a bowl of popcorn and enjoy the sets, the clothes, the music, the oddly drawn characters and the sedated/flattened 1950s version of screwball humor.

I'll say up front this film was fascinating to me for its cast, and what seemed to be an improbable pairing of Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, and Betty Grable, as well as including William Powell in his second-to-last film. The subject, three gold diggers who are out to marry rich men, takes some time to warm up to, as between Bacall's hard conniving and Monroe's dizziness, there is not an awful lot to like early on.

However, it grew on me. There is a playfulness in the dialogue and I liked expressions like "sounds creamy to me" as well as the references to Bacall's real-life relationship to that "that old fella what's his name in The African Queen", and Grable's real-life husband Harry James, whose music she can't recognize in the film. Monroe plays her part very well, blending sweetness and seduction as only she could, and aside from seeing her in a bathing suit as part of a modeling show, the shot that captures her image in five mirrors in a washroom is fantastic. There is such a nice sense of fashion in the film, and I loved Grable in a purple dress towards the end. Powell at age 61 is smooth, sophisticated, and stoic, and a joy to watch. I'm not so sure about Bacall, who isn't as strong comedically and less endearing, but overall, it's a strong cast with obviously lots of star power.

Director Jean Negulesco tells the story well, sometimes simply informing of us events on one of the three story lines instead of showing them, which keep things moving and is effective. (On the other hand, it was a little tedious at the beginning, as things only get going after an interminably long orchestra piece). He also gives us some nice shots of New York and the snow in "Maine" (apparently actually Sun Valley, Idaho). I doubt the film will blow you away or anything, as it's predictable and light, but it's also entertaining.

You may wonder "Why does Marilyn Monroe,Betty Grable & Lauren Bacall keep spreading across a lounge in so many scenes?" the answer is not vain- pleasure-seeking body language but CINEMASCOPE lens requirements.I watched this film on a old released Video Tape & delighted that it was a full-screen fixed camera issue & not a letterbox reduction release.I delighted in NOT seeing the person speaking & only the stilted recipient's reactions. You have to observe all the action as there are no camera angles or close ups.This was too 'startling' to a cinemascope theatre audience. What other film can boast a full orchestra opening with every member of that orchestra in full view of the cinema audience:-like in a live concert. The first Cinemascope film was 'The Robe' followed by 'How To Marry A Millionaire'. As the other reviewers has said;A 'feel-good' film with nostalgic 'old-time'high society values. Did anyone spot the 'moral' of the tale?.'Better to love for love's sake than for money'.

HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE is a sparkling 1953 comedy about three single gals who rent an elegant Manahttan penthouse apartment as a lair in order to snare rich husbands (and they have given themselves a one-year time limit in which do it). Lauren Bacall is smart and stylish as Schatze Page, the brains of the trio who organizes the whole scheme and finds herself torn between an older rich guy (William Powell, in his usually classy turn) and another guy (Cameron Mitchell) who she thinks is a "gas pump jockey." Marilyn Monroe shines as Pola Debovoise, flighty but vain beauty who won't let any man know that she wears glasses and therefore bumps into furniture a lot. Betty Grable plays Loco Demsey, a dim-witted model who has a knack for meeting men at the grocery store. David Wayne is amusing as Monroe's near-sighted boyfriend and Rory Calhoun has definite hunk appeal as the eventual object of Grable's affections. But the real fun of the film is watching these three female superstars on screen together. Monroe was often quoted as saying she stole her acting techniques from Grable and if you watch the two of them acting together, you can see that it's true. They don't make 'em like this anymore and with Grable and Monroe both gone, this is a classic to be cherished and enjoyed during several repeated viewings.

First, a warning. 'How to Marry a Millionaire' comes prefaced by an apparently random five minute orchestral performance of 'Street Scene', a Gershwin-lite piece treated with the full pomp and ceremony of, well, Gershwin. Sitting through it takes some patience. If you have the DVD, rest assured, you can skip forward. You won't miss anything.

The film itself is one of the perpetual disappointments of 50's Hollywood, a movie so bolstered by major star-power, opulent mise-en-scene and perfect high-concept that failure seems inconceivable. The title alone is perfect. Generation after generation, however, are forced to ask themselves - how is this so limp? The script is an albatross about the production's neck, a dead, smelling thing that chokes everything and everyone before they can really spark to life. There are no comic situations, just isolated moments that play for laughs. Whenever an actual comedy scene threatens to develop, the movie quickly moves on to other, less interesting things. A case in point - the scene where the three leading ladies each bring a date to the same fancy restaurant. One of them, short-sighted, refuses to wear her spectacles out of vanity. One of the dates is married. A classic Hollywood farce set-up, surely, complete with mistaken identity, angry wife, and probably a pie in the face for somebody? Well, no. Instead, we cut between the three dates as the ladies react 'comically' to things their partners say. Hit the punchline, and cut to the next limp joke. If in doubt, have Marilyn walk into a wall. Where's Billy Wilder when you need him?

The three stars are almost a perfect diagram of the life cycle of the classic Hollywood screen goddess. This was one of Marilyn Monroe's breakout films, and the camera just eats her up, even though the script gives her nothing to do. She's so luminescent she almost seems newly hatched. Lauren Bacall, on the other hand, had been a major star for nearly a full decade, and she knows how to dominate the screen even when in frame with Monroe. She gets the only thing passing for a real role, and delivers the few good lines with a cynical snap - given the right material, she could have brought this thing to life. She's a curiously ageless actress - when she lies about her age in the film and claims to be forty, it isn't instantly ridiculous - and far less girlish than her co-stars, giving her a convincing authority. Betty Grable was far from ageless, and had a good eight years on her co-stars, putting her near the end of her Hollywood career. There's an air of desperation about her at times, stranded on screen with nothing but a toothpaste smile and a few scraps of comic timing, unable to play her real age but fooling no-one as a contemporary of this new, sharper generation of actresses, relying on the same old schtick that had served her throughout her career (for Marilyn-doubters, seeing the two juxtaposed in this movie helps to throw Monroe's subtlety and - yes - intelligence into sharp relief). She's also lumbered with the dead wood in terms of male co-stars (although all of the men - even the great William Powell - are guilty of lazy performances); she's unable to strike any comic sparks off them. Better to have given her role to the under-utilised Monroe, who could be funny all by herself, and left Grable with the repetitive Mr. Magoo routine.

That the movie is as enjoyable as it is can be put down to the luscious Hollywood production, the sort that renders even the twee likes of 'By the Light of the Silvery Moon' watchable. But somewhere, buried beneath the flabby jokes and professionalism, lies the rough outline of a sharp, cynical comedy about the business of marriage that Bacall could have made sing - and new generations of movie viewers will sit down with 'How to Marry a Millionaire' in expectation of that movie, ready to be disappointed all over again.