There's a famous story where Marilyn and a very good friend were walking through Los Angeles, but no-one was taking any notice of her. When her friend asked why, she replied "Because I'm not Marilyn at the moment, I'm Norma-Jean. Watch." Within seconds, the walk changed, the expressions and looks appeared and her friend always said "All of a sudden Marilyn appeared". They were mobbed by so many people, they had to get a cab to escape!
She actually did this all the time! She got a big kick out of it, and vice versa, once in New York she was hanging out with a recently married male friend of hers, Eli Wallach I think, and asked him to hold her hand and he protested bc he was newly married and didn’t want any publicity/trouble at home over it, so she said “watch, we’ll go into this coffee shop and nobody will recognize me” and then they did and not even the barista who was inches away from her could tell who she was, so when they left the coffee shop he held her hand.
@bonobanos @thefetchNZ @thisnigerianlovesdrinking4522 All of you are right, I’m sure Jane Russell saw it happen, and Debbie Reynolds, and Amy Greene, it was one of her famous little games
In a way, Marilyn was the female equivalent of Cary Grant. They both were so good at playing the stage personas they had created for themselves that it became the public's perception of them.
“In the "Ain't There Anyone Here for Love?" sequence, Jane Russell's fall into the pool was an accident. When Howard Hawks saw the dailies, he kept it in the film.”
“For the "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" musical number, Marilyn Monroe was originally going to be dressed in nothing but bands of black velvet and masses of rhinestones, creating the illusion of a woman-sized diamond necklace. However, this design was deemed too revealing and vetoed by the studio in favor of the now iconic pink dress.”
Yes! And the costume designer was told to change it because of the recent awareness around Monroe’s time posing nude. They didn’t want any more attention on her sexuality than there already was
Marilyn's facial expressions are only hers. Anyone who ever tried to copy her would just wind up looking silly. She could pull off practically anything somehow. I think it was her on-screen personality that sold it. (With the exception of Jane Russel here, of course.)
Though I don't like Michelle Williams, she managed to portray her in My week with Marilyn. A very accurate approach to what was like to work with her, a person with so many inner conflicts who'd put everyone's patient to the limit or even lose it, but someone they just couldn't help fall in love with. A must watch film.
I always liked the scene where Marilyn defends herself about marrying for money. Men who have money, marry beautiful women, you don’t see them with homely women, and that is not frown upon.
Well the better comparison is the womanizer and the gold digger. Both are extreme manifestations of gender-specific innate instincts. And both are criticized. What was Marilyn Monroe's character in this movie, was she a gold digger? A diamond digger. Same thing.
“In a 1999 interview with Mark Cousins on his show, "Scene by Scene", Jane Russell admitted that "Gentleman Prefer Blondes" co-star, Tommy Noonan admitted on set that he didn't like kissing Marilyn Monroe, and when Monroe overheard his comment, she burst into tears and locked herself in her dressing room. It took a while before the crew were able to get her to come out.”
I saw that interview question to Jane Russell last week. The guys on the set asked him what it was like kissing Monroe and he commented something such as "I felt like she was going to suck me all in." Jane went on to comment - saying it about 3 times in a row, different ways - that she (Jane) grew up with brothers and around boys. But Monroe did not. So Monroe did not know how boys were. Jane was obviously nonplussed by the comment. However now I wonder if Jane didn't give a "cleaned up" version of his comment.
“When Charles Lederer was adapting the stage production for the screen, his inspiration for the comic aspects of Lorelei Lee character played by Marilyn Monroe was his aunt, the silent-screen superstar Marion Davies.”
I was in elementary school when Marilyn Monroe died. I read about it in a magazine - I think it was Life Magazine. I had never seen any of her moves, but I could tell from the story and photos it had of her working on "Something's Got To Give" that she had been an iconic star and that she really was beautiful. A short time later, I saw in a pictorial promo in TV Guide that "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" was playing on TV, so I decided to watch it and find out what was so special about Marilyn, and I when I saw her in the movie, I had an instant crush on her.
LOVE LOVE LOVE this film. I'll be 50 in a few months. Saw this film for the first time when I was 8 or 9. My older brother introduced me to Marilyn films and music. To this very day, we still yell 'SPOFFORD!" out to each other for no reason other than that kid was a hoot! This movie has so many fun moments, and a cast that brings it all home.
Jane Russell had become a sex symbol 10 years earlier in The Outlaw, so that's probably why they had such a connection. She knew exactly what she was going through.
“According to Marni Nixon, the studio initially wanted Marilyn Monroe's entire voice dubbed, as they thought her voice was silly. Nixon thought that was "awful," as she felt Monroe's voice suited her persona so beautifully. Nixon told The New York Times in March 2007 that she ended up only dubbing the operatic "no, no, nos" at the beginning of the song and the phrase "these rocks don't lose their shape."
Actually, Marni Nixon is wrong on both counts. Her "no, no, no" was dubbed by a delightful singer, Gloria Wood, who had a four-octave voice range. Marilyn herself sang the other phrase you referred to.
So happy you enjoyed this classic. It's one of those movies which can cheer you up on a rainy day, and can be watched over and over. It has some basic truths for both sexes, but it's still up to the viewer to decide how they want to react. Anita Loos, listed as one of the screen writers, actually wrote the original book this is based on, which is also titled "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". She, like Dorothy Parker, were female writers who swirled around the social circles of New York plays and Hollywood movies in the first part of the 20th century. Both had quick wits, sharp minds, and the advantage of being "outsiders" in a man's world. Loos broke into showbiz early with her mind and her scripts, not her looks. She wrote several screenplays in the silent era, some became big hits. While taking a train to Hollywood, she noticed her friend, famous critic and writer H.L. Mencken, was pursuing a vapid blonde. She seemed to be the type of woman who had looks, but no brains. Apparently, this wasn't the first time she had noted this behavior in intellectual men. She noted ""High-IQ gentlemen didn't fall for women with brains, but those with more downstairs". She went on to write the book "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". It was a huge best seller, and translated into 14 different languages, including Chinese. There is actually a silent movie version of it, since it was written in the 1920's.
The wardrobe choices in the film are awesome -- I read somewhere that they would make Marilyn do multiple takes but upon reviewing her on the film they would often end up choosing to use the first take --- The camera loved her -- I believe thats why she developed needing reassurance by her coach -- They kept second guessing her instincts and made her feel insecure
During the filming of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Russell tried to convert Marilyn Monroe; Monroe later said, "Jane tried to convert me (to religion), and I tried to introduce her to Freud". Corroborates your point that the “dumb blonde” pose was an act - perhaps her best acting job.
I also love the friendship between Dorothy and Lorelei!! They were like the 50’s Thelma and Louise - female buddies! They had each other’s back and were very loyal friends. And you can see the chemistry between these ladies was genuine. Cannot fake that. ❤️❤️❤️
The "Daddy" thing was actually done by some women, back then. Since 1910, some women would refer to their boyfriends or husbands as "Daddy." It was probably less sexual, back then, because it was usually thought of as the man who was "taking care" of the woman... though, before that, it was used to refer to pimps. >.>
I think also the woman starts calling the husband daddy and the man will call the wife momma after they have kids rather than using their Christian names so the women would start using the daddy name as that form of endearment
"I like how they use Technicolor!" Actually, up through the 50's, Technicolor was a private company, and contracts said that any studio that used it also got a credited "Technicolor Consultant" (usually Natalie Kalmus) who would advise the director and art/costume director on how MUCH to use it. That's why Dorothy had ruby slippers in Wizard of Oz, for one.
“One of the male dancers in the "Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend" number is an uncredited George Chakiris. Eight years later, he would win an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for West Side Story (1961).”
“Much of the film's success was due to the distinctive sense of humor director Howard Hawks brought to the project, as well as a sharp and witty screenplay by Charles Lederer, who wisely bypassed much of the original stage script in favor of dialogue and situations tailored specifically to the strengths of Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe, and Charles Coburn. Lederer also dramatically reimagined the character of Henry Spofford III, originally written as Dorothy's love interest on stage and reconfigured as an eight-year-old boy on screen, played by George Winslow.”
Hey Mia! I just wanted to say I love you so much!! We have the same adoration for diving into old films and analyzing them! I imagine we both have old souls! You inspire me so much! I’m gonna subscribe to you because you’re so iconic! And I’m gonna love and comment on each and every video I come across from now on! 🩷🩷🩷
The one MM movie I recommend to anyone without reservation. Great Monroe performance, even "iconic" (if we must), and, imho, a great musical. What I know about musicals could fill a pamphlet, but I know good songs, and the 5 songs in this movie are ALL bangers. Marilyn was very much like Lorelei Lee - it was a side of herself. "Smart when it was important" - like when she brought Zanuck to his knees twice with favorable contract renogs. I do tend to disagree with the notion that they studio "made her" do things - she was entirely self-created, and, honestly, the good, "Ingrid Bergman" roles, all went to Ingrid Bergman. (Or Bette Davis.) For everyone else back then, there were housewife roles, damsel roles, and showgirl roles - MM took what was available. What she DID fight against was the lowest-common-denominator roles, like in "The Girl in Pink Tights" - the movie she refused to do. Anyway, glad you enjoyed it - "Blondes" has more life and vitality for today than many other, "grander", musicals.
I love your reaction! I love it when women see just how empowering this movie, and other older movies are when they are assumed to be lacking in feminism. I say they’re more feminist than a lot of movies that come out nowadays. Keep up the awesome work!
I love this gorgeous movie! The color, costumes, songs, lines, and the friendship between the two women. Howard Hawks also directed Only Angels Have Wings (1939) and the original Scarface (1932). Both so different from this movie, and His Girl Friday. I hope you get to see them someday!
“The diamond tiara that Marilyn Monroe is falsely accused of stealing in this film was later worn by Patricia Medina as the "evil queen" in Snow White and the Three Stooges (1961).”
Always a joy to watch you enjoy these films. I hope your list includes The Seven Year Itch, the great Some Like it Hot and Marilyn*s last film, The Misfits, which has a very different Marilyn performance. Can't wait for How to Marry a Millionaire, the first film shot (but not released) in Cinemascope.
Marilyn was a great actress period! She was fantastic in comedy and gave stunning dramatic performances - namely Don’t Bother To Knock - in her short career…
I think Marilyn's best dramatic performance was in her final film,"The Misfits", directed by the great John Huston. It is a shame she had so many insecurities ttjat grew out of her childhood and teen years.
@@briane3657 That’s an excellent performance from her, but Don’t Bother To Knock was such a great psychological performance for her, wish she could have done more dramatic roles… Bus Stop, Prince And The Showgirl, The Misfits were stunning performances from her…. Also Niagara was such a departure, wish she would have been able to work with Hitchcock… Her comedic performances were also wonderful!
I have to say the reason I love your reaction channel above others. If you take the time to name the characters what you like in the plot, what you like in the costumes, you know who the directors were in the writers were most of the people who react to things have no clue what they reacting to. It’s nice for change of someone who knows what they’re talking about.
I loved your little girl reaction to this wonderful movie! One of my favorites truly beautiful and light hearted! There's nothing but beauty throughout! Slot of Marilyn Monroe's charm was coached by Natasha Lytess! She was also a by product of old silent film technique and modern brilliance married together! Her lovely facial gestures are all beautifully managed with a meticulous consciousness!!! Amazing!!!🎇🎇🎇💄🎉
This was so adorable to watch! I know this is an older video and you're on to Westerns, so I won't leave a million remarks but I so, so enjoyed this one, and I'm seeing Marilyn in a new way, and I already have tons of interviews with her and documentaries, and books, etc. It's very interesting having a woman watch Marilyn and break down things that I would never notice or occur to me, just about how she "works" her face or her sexuality, her vulnerability, etc etc. Seeing you admire Jane Russell in this movie made me love Jane Russell in a way I never had. And kudos for spotting George Chikaris! Ok, I'm already writing too much so I'll stop here......I'm really enjoying going through this, in order. A very well-programmed Marilyn retrospective, I must say! And beautifully presented. THANKS, MIA!!!! :D
Thank you so much for watching, Tic Toc Melody! I am so glad you like the Marilyn Series! And please, by all means, feel free to write as much as you’d like, even on the older videos! I love reading the comments (even if I can’t reply to them all 😅)!!
Hi Mia....love your reactions to "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes"....your observations are "dead on"!! A note on Anita Loos. She wrote the novel of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes in 1925 and also adapted a stage and screenplay in 1927. It was revised on stage in 1949, and made into another film in 1953. She wrote many plays and screenplays from 1912 through to 1942. She wrote quite a few Jean Harlow screenplays in the 1930's (Red-Headed Woman, Hold your Man, The Girl From Missouri, Riffraff, Saratoga). I highly recommend another Anita Loos screenplay/ film "The Women" (1939)...all female cast...very witty, cutting dialogue with many famous female stars of the 1930's -1940's. Many of her screenplays have the theme of a "woman's buddy film", with the accent on clever, witty lines. I have heard "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" referred to as the "Thelma & Louise" of the early 50's....without the violence. PS: When I was growing up in the 1950's, my father always called my mum "mother"...eg: "Mother, have you got anymore of that apple pie?"......didn't "freak us out".....just sayin"........ Keep up the good work...it is a joy to watch.
Thank you 😊 Yes, I will definitely check out more of Anita Loos’ plays I definitely want to watch The Women! I will put that on the list 😊 thank you so much
“The ship model shown is the one used previously in Titanic (1953) and was refurbished to resemble the SS Ile de France, which is clearly named in the film. The model (2009) resides in the Marine Museum in Fall River, Massachusetts. Some of the ocean liner sets used were also left over from "Titanic".
This film is an expectation defying palooza to its core. At the time I'd first seen it I'd already seen enough 50s films to know not to automatically assume sexism but the title had me "oh brother"-ing just a bit, and I was also poised to kind of be against it because given the most famous number I thought it was going to be emptily glorifying that extravagant consumerist lifestyle without much self-awareness. But both of these fears were trumped pretty hard. Not only is the focal point of everything Lorelei and Dorothy's rock solid friendship, but it takes a defensive stance against people who judge those who like those finer things (The fact that Dorothy herself is a counterpoint in that she couldn't care less helped too, I identified with her character quite a bit). Even Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend, in its full context, gave me a wholly different conclusion than I expected: This is not a number celebratory of materialism per se, but a surrender to the society that rewards a materialistic streak. Taking into consideration all that talk about growing older and men paying less mind to you, she's....not wrong. You can understand how it's possible to think the way Lorelei does whether you agree or disagree. On top of this, her speech in the end about what does it matter if she wants those things out of life as long as she loves her fiance too lowkey made me feel remorseful about having jumped to conclusions about her character. Running theme of course....I had so many preconceived notions about what Marilyn's films and her characters would be like be it due to popular culture portraying these things in a certain light or it just being a matter of my own oopsie but I definitely treasured my time getting to know her better through her work. I'm reliving it watching you and that's been a thrill so far. Before I go, if anybody here has watched Rocky Horror, doesn't Russell's number remind you of I Can Make You a Man at least a little? Those are the vibes I got rewatching it. The eroticized athleticism, interest in that hypermasculine physique, the confidence of the singer cutting through glass....and the "breakdown" in particular is very like what that song also offers. I'd be shocked if they weren't directly inspired by it.
That one I’ve never gotten to actually, have to find time before that video comes out. My first impulse was to say “yes” actually but I was spacing and thinking of How to Steal a Million with Hepburn and O’Toole. 😅
Really is! Capers like this just aren’t done anymore, sadly. People go on about her and Finney in Two for the Road, say, but I much prefer the chemistry these two have in this one. Not much depth there sure, but I would’ve loved more team-ups with them based on the strength of this.
@@bespectacledheroine7292 It isn't that Audrey had better chemistry with Finney... I don't think that's true at all. They are different movies with different strengths. Personally I don't value a movie more highly just because it has more "serious" themes. A confection like "How to Steal A Million" can be great too, it all depends on execution and whether they can capture that lightning in a bottle that can happen in a collaborative art form. I do think it's important for a movie to have some wit/intelligence, perhaps most of all when the characters are doing silly things. Sadly, I find a lot of more "modern" flicks to be just plain dumb or crude.
We went to the Christie’s auction of Marilyn’s possessions. It had the “Happy Birthday JFK” dress (amazing ⚡️) and her dresses, pots and pans, shoes, and especially her books 📚. Her jewelry, except for wedding ring 💍, Was costume jewelry. She was insecure about her lack of education so read constantly. Marilyn was always insecure & it did take many takes for one line which irritated the director, but when he saw what she considered her best take- he had to agree that she was perfect. 💨
“During a story conference for this film with Darryl F. Zanuck, director Howard Hawks suggested to Zanuck that the studio change Marilyn's look and screen persona a bit, so that Marilyn would be more of an actress and less of a blonde bombshell type. The results in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes made Marilyn a massively huge film star in the 1950s and early 1960s.”
“At the finish of "A Little Girl From Little Rock," Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe grab a hold of the back curtains and charge the footlights, which involves scaling two small flights of stairs in high heels. Upon close inspection, Russell can be seen eyeing the next flight of stairs at each plateau, while Monroe storms both flights without looking down once.”
“The film was a rarity: a Hollywood version of a hit Broadway show that bowdlerized the stage score yet ended up improving on the original. Indeed, only three songs were retained from the stage production, but the quality of those songs -- "A Little Girl from Little Rock," "Bye Bye Baby" and "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" -- is head and shoulders above any others in the score, while the two numbers that were interpolated for the screen version by another songwriting team -- "Ain't There Anyone Here for Love?" and "When Love Goes Wrong" -- are both bona fide showstoppers. In all, there are only five numbers in the film -- each of which remain iconic-- as opposed to nineteen in the stage show, sixteen of which have been largely forgotten.”
I don't know which I love more - watching Gentlemen Prefer Blondes or watching your wide-eyed wonder as the movie progresses and evolves. Don't take this the wrong way but you're like a child on Christmas morning! Don't ever lose that as it's as much a joy for the viewer as it is for you. I only subscribed the other day and here I am - having watched my umpteenth movie reaction video - and I still have correspondence I need to attend to. I almost can't watch a movie without expecting you to interject at some point. Yes, that's right, you have ruined watching movies for me!!
Bravo on such a good review. It was great that you did a lot of research on the behind the scenes activity. This 1952 film was made for the big screen as few people had TV sets in 1952 and video and DVD were yet to be invented. I had the fortune of seeing Gentlemen Prefer Blondes on the big screen as one of the AMC movie theatres was showing this film on their big screen as part of their film festival. Gentleman Prefer Blondes can only really be appreciated on the big movie screen as that what it was intended for.
The original 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' was a comic satire novel written by Anita Loos, who started as a screen writer in the early silent days. Someone told her that the film script hardly had anything from her book in it, but when Anita saw the movie she said that Charlie Lederer had made a perfect adaptation of her work. The Lorelei Lee character showcases Marilyn's comic talent. I'm sure Marilyn understood the point of it all from her own life experiences.
Hello, and thank you for this video, ..watching it a year later as just come across it………… I love Marilyn Monroe 🌹and Jane Russell 🌹in this film. I .think they’re both beautiful women. They’re fantastic on screen together ..it’s an all-round funny film …………kim🇬🇧PS personally I think Jane Russell did help Marilyn Monroe a lot through this film that’s what made it a success …. Love them both.🌹🌹
“For this film Gwen Verdon coached stars Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe in both their dance and walk - Monroe with less sex, Russell with more. It's rumored that at one point in the film, Verdon dubs both Monroe's and Russell's swaying bottoms.”
I love the fact that, in the “Ain’t There Anyone Here for Love” number, the entire Olympic team is seemingly oblivious to the obvious charms of Jane Russell. Gay vibe?
Just watched this movie last week. However watching Mia's review now, I am struck by just how racy the movie is for 1953. And SOME of the lines!!!!! Monroe: "Did you notice? His pocket was bulging."
@@MoviesWithMiaHa ha. I don't know either but knowing Hollywood.... Watch some classic Groucho Marx's You Bet Your Life or some of the episodes of What's My Line and notice how clean but hilarious some of their humor is - leaving almost all of it up to the imagination.
Marilyn had a stutter her whole life, I don't know if you ever notice it, but I sometimes notice the little things/techniques she uses to overcome it. She's really something. Jane Russell was really amazing too, beautiful and with a huge presence. I remember like 15 years ago getting a bit infatuated with MM. haha, she has this magnetic innocence and beauty about her, always so vulnerable..you just want to protect her
FWIW, the color of the sequined, halter dress Russell wore for the first shipboard dinner is midnight blue. Midnight blue has the property of appearing to be a very rich cool black under artificial light while the blue of it only shows in daylight. Midnight blue was popularized for men's evening wear by the Duke of Windsor. Before he started having his evening clothes made in midnight blue men's evening wear was invariably black.
You should react to some Vincente Minnelli like The Bad and The Beautiful, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Band Wagon, Gigi, An American in Paris, The Long, Long Trailer, and Father of The Bride.
You can tell the studio era was about to end with television competing for consumer dollars. In 1954 Hollywood studios had to divest their ownership of movie theater chains. To attract audiences to the theater when they had free program viewing at home they made widescreen, technicolor musicals like this one. I always feel a little sad when I think of Marilyn, she was so pretty and talented and unhappy. She had several failed marriages and died too young.
I love how you loved this movie. This is the first time I have seen any of your content. I prefer Marilyn in comedy. I think it was her gift. Her comedic timing was perfect. I have watched her in all if her serious leading roles, but I never watch those movies multiple times. I have watched her comedy films countless times. I act very similar to you about the humor, and skilled writing, I get very excited. The 50's and early 60's era of tecnicolor, costuming and set decorations can not be equaled. Marilyn was desperate to be taken seriously as an actress. It is so sad she doubted the superior skill she had, that shined so brightly in her comedy roles. A bit of trivia on this movie for you. The Jane Russell, swimming pool scene was not written for Jane to be knocked into the pool by the man who was supposed to dive over her. He accidently hit Jane, causing her to fall in the pool. As the consumate actress she was, she finished the scene ad lib. Hawks decided to keep the ad lib scene in the movie, rather than reshoot.
In regards to your comments about Marilyn calling her beau daddy, I don’t know when that came in vogue but I do know that Cole Porter wrote a song about it in the late thirties for Broadway called My Heart Belongs to Daddy. Yes, Marilyn sang it in a movie. If you just want to hear the song it has been covered by everybody from Ella Fitzgerald to Ariana Grande
Just saw this just starting this and I subscribe to you.I love how you present it.. The one playing Dorothy that's Jane Russell, who was discovered by Howard. Huglose and you are correct, Marilyn Monroe apparently had a very high. IQ, but she was very, very insecure of herself. She didn't have a father. Her mother was an immense institution. She was passed around and in foster care. So I think she went through so much. And she married joe demojo and then , of course , arthur miller , the writer , she was extremely red well red actually
“At least one other number was shot, then cut. In the original theatrical trailer, Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe were shown among dancers climbing the steps of a slide in a children's playground. The song was a French version of "Two Little Girls from Little Rock." Marilyn and Jane wear the costumes when Tommy Noonan corners them backstage in the French nightclub.”
Each time I have rewatched this film the more I recognise much of the camaraderie and general feel good tone of this movie can be credited to the casting of Jane Russell. Monroe is like a startling special effect and Russell counter plays as the steady, warm & witty heart of the film.
Love this movie so much and glad you finally got to experience it! One of the things that impresses people about Hawks was his versatility. He made a few great Westerns to! Oh, as I recall, Hawks based most of the women in his films on his VERY strong wife!
"A man being rich is like a girl being pretty" is the line from this movie that I often cite as being the definitive statement of the principle of hypergamy.
Marilyn was so important to women’s empowerment and doesn’t get enough credit. She knew that men ruled the world and she knew they loved her. So she showed women that if they are going to use us then why not use them. It might sound terrible now, but for her time it really was a different world then. A lot of us forget when Marilyn was famous women couldn’t purchase a house in their name very easily, couldn’t buy a car without a man’s signature in most places, and women couldn’t even have a credit card without a man co signing. Marilyn is more than an actress, she changed culture.
35:07 Marilyn wasn't stupid either - I mean she was married to Arthur Miller who wrote the Crucible and she had James Joyce in her personal library! Only more proof of how ridiculous Warner's "I need to marry a Jackie, not a Marilyn" line from 'Legally Blonde' was, not only because it's actually extremely offensive to both Jackie and Marilyn - both stylish, intelligent women who both were put through the ringer, adored by the public (even though plenty of people were willing to talk behind their backs), both of whom were well read and wore fantastic clothes who's look everyone was trying to imitate and over both of whom lots of tears were shed when they died.
26:56 And if that two-bit private detective had actually listened to that recording then he'd have known that Piggy was lying and that he knew all about the tiara and agreed to give it to her. This movie also raised an important question to me - how is spying on strangers for money any better, morally speaking, than marrying them for money? And of course when he looks at her he sees a gold digger, she's already been described to him as a gold digger so he's already made up his mind about her.
The book is narrated by Lorelei, and it's easy to hear Marilyn and Jane's voices. There could not be better casting for Lorelei and Dorothy. They achieved in this movie the characters and relationship you see in the book. Anita Loos initially didn't intend for this to be a novel. At first she wrote it to parody her friend, H.L. Mencken. Mencken was considered a sharp guy except... he became a fool around blonde chorus girls. Loos cited other experiences too, such as the time she struggled to carry her luggage through a train (as a brunette) then saw a dozen men leap to pick up a book that a blonde dropped. I think that's why Loos wasn't too worried about the movie adhering to the details of her book; it hit the target of the satire just the same. And the book does concern itself with some of the same plot points: Piggy and the tiara and the accusation of theft. Her initial story was so good, her friends (including its chagrined target, Mencken) urged her to write more. At first it was serialized in a magazine, and the magazine's subscriptions quadrupled. When the book was published, the first printing sold out in one day. It went through 20 printings the first year, to keep up with demand. Edith Wharton called it the great American novel. Heavyweights like James Joyce and Faulkner were smitten with it. Like Wizard of Oz, it's an important piece of US literature that's been overshadowed by its film version. In the 60s, a TV interview with Loos was abruptly cut short when she was asked if she'd ever write a follow-up to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and its sequel, But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes. She said the modern version would be called Gentlemen Prefer Gentlemen.
“The teaming of Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe proved to be so successful, critically and commercially, that "Fox" wanted to re-team the duo. A December 1954 item in the Hollywood Reporter's "Rambling Reporter" column indicated that the studio wanted Russell and Monroe to star in the film "How to Be Very, Very Popular (1955)." Monroe passed on the project because she didn't like the script. In January 1955, the studio cast Sheree North as Curly (the part intended for Monroe) and Betty Grable as "Stormy Tornado" (originally intended for Russell).”
“The "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" number was later re-shot in CinemaScope, to be used as part of a CinemaScope demonstration held on the Fox lot in March of 1953. Producer Darryl F. Zanuck told "Daily Variety" that it only took 3-1/2 hours to shoot the number in CinemaScope versus four days for the original film version. The public finally saw the CinemaScope version ten years later when it closed Fox's documentary tribute to Marilyn Monroe: Marilyn (1963),”.
“Choreographer Jack Cole had been devising stage movement for non-dancing female stars in Hollywood since the mid-1940s, accenting glamorous hand, arm and hip movements within basic dance steps to camouflage his leading ladies' lack of ability. Cole reached his zenith with Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953). Faced with two stars who had no dancing experience whatsoever, he was determined to showcase them to their best advantage. Cole accomplished this by doubling and tripling the amount of isolations per beat, which meant that Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe were actually performing a challenging series of steps in each of their numbers, made even more so by the necessity of their executing the steps, turns and arm gestures in absolute unison, which they did brilliantly. In the end, the choreography Cole devised was as intricate as a bona fide dance number. Jane Russell was so impressed by the results that she hired Cole as choreographer for Gentlemen Marry Brunettes (1955), the companion piece that Russell financed two years later. True to form, Cole concocted dynamic, humorous movement duets for Russell and her co-star, Jeanne Crain.”
The kid was George Winslow, who as a child actor was in 10 films from 1952-1958 including 2 with Cary Grant, "Room For One More", and "Monkey Business". He was also in a wonderful film with Clifton Webb, "Mr. Scoutmaster".
Anchored by Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell sparkling magnetism Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a delightful entertaining 1950s musical, GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1953) 98/100 Certified Approved ☑️ Lorelei Lee: 🎵Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend.🎵
I love your page. I love these classic films. I watched "Blondes" in college back in 2008. The iconic pink dress number of "Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friends" is classic. Madonna's "Material Girl" music video was a tribute to that scene.
James Bond (Sean Connery) told that diamond are suppossed to be the girl's best friends during the Briefing with M previous to Diamonds are Forever (1971)!
Really had fun watching this review. I used to have a tiara... I was really broke at the time and my boyfriend and I drove up to Boulder (from Denver) for a mental health break, and we saw this gorgeous, floor-length black beaded gown with a matching cape, and the lady in the store kept dropping the price to the point where my boyfriend was like, "You can't afford not to buy it. Tell you what, if you get it, I'll chip in half." (the only time in my life a guy every bought me clothing). So, of course, I had to get elbow length black gloves, which had cut-outs along the arms, accented with rhinestones. So, to top it all off, I simply *had* to get a tirara (rhinestone, of course). So, once it was all put together, I did up my hair, put it all on, including the tiara, and we drove in my boyfriend's ancient Subaru station wagon with almost 200,000 miles on it (which would eventually take us down into central Mexico and back), and went to a posh piano bar/restaurant in Denver. Boy, did I attract attention! We couldn't afford to eat there, so we just got drinks, but they treated us like royalty.. gave us the best table right next to the piano, and the pianist kept taking our requests. What a blast! That sure doesn't happen with the way I usually dress! -- BTW, I don't know who did the costumes in this movie, but my guess would be Edith Head. She was one of the main, if not *the* main costume designers in Hollywood back then. If you want to see a movie that seems to have been made just to showcase her talent (and is actually quite an entertaining film as well), then you should watch What a Way to Go starring Shirley MacLaine, Dick Van Dyke, Dean Martin, Paul Newman, Gene Kelley and more!
Wow, what a story, kruuyai! Thank you for sharing it with us 😊 and also what an adventure!! Also, What A Way to Go sounds like it is right up my ally! I will definitely check that one out!! Thank you for recommending!!
"What A Way to Go" (1964). I don't recall that being a GOOD movie, but it's pretty to look at and maybe worth seeing just to watch MacLaine. Quite a few 1960s comedies don't do it for me, especially "racy" flicks. They're often stereotypical without the lighter touch of the 30s and 40's. Think of a Doris Day flick from the period. Of course some people love those... Anyway, if you search Utoob right now you should find a watchable copy of WAWTG so you can judge for yourself (Nostalgic Art, not the time limited YT channel). And if you're a Shirley MacLaine fan you might want to catch a free viewing of "Irma La Douce" (1963) before it goes away ruclips.net/video/ehcFrqgWFVI/видео.html That story reminds me of someone I used to know who was the image of a Gibson Girl. I never got to see her in the appropriate costume and hairdo though. A shame that most people now never have the chance to attend a fancy dress ball... not that many even know how to waltz anymore...
@@paintedjaguar lol... no, you're definitely right. It's not one of those overlooked gems that should have become a classic, it doesn't have the cutting, intelligent humour of some of the films that are being reviewed here, and I wouldn't even recommend it for a review here, but it's not a BAD movie... just a bit of fluff for a Saturday or Sunday afternoon in quarantine... what I like most about it were the costumes (which really have to be seen to be believed... and in technicolor, no less!) and the all-star parade of husbands. My favorite was Paul Newman as the up and coming artist. The chimp was so much fun... and sort of a tongue-in-cheek observation about people's taste in art. Another really interesting one for avante-garde costumes, if one is willing to venture further afield, is a French movie called Who Are You Polly Magoo? 1966. That one actually has some philosophically interesting moments and is in black and white, but the costumes still really pop (but also not a GREAT movie).
@@paintedjaguar oh yes, I've seen Irma LaDouce. Also great fun. It's a pity Shirley MacLaine and Jack Lemmon didn't team up more often. They were really good together.
There's a famous story where Marilyn and a very good friend were walking through Los Angeles, but no-one was taking any notice of her. When her friend asked why, she replied "Because I'm not Marilyn at the moment, I'm Norma-Jean. Watch." Within seconds, the walk changed, the expressions and looks appeared and her friend always said "All of a sudden Marilyn appeared". They were mobbed by so many people, they had to get a cab to escape!
i read the same story but they were in the subways of new york
Pretty shore it was Jane Russel or Debbie Renolds that told this story.
@@ThefetchNZ nope Milton Greene’s wife
She actually did this all the time! She got a big kick out of it, and vice versa, once in New York she was hanging out with a recently married male friend of hers, Eli Wallach I think, and asked him to hold her hand and he protested bc he was newly married and didn’t want any publicity/trouble at home over it, so she said “watch, we’ll go into this coffee shop and nobody will recognize me” and then they did and not even the barista who was inches away from her could tell who she was, so when they left the coffee shop he held her hand.
@bonobanos @thefetchNZ @thisnigerianlovesdrinking4522 All of you are right, I’m sure Jane Russell saw it happen, and Debbie Reynolds, and Amy Greene, it was one of her famous little games
In a way, Marilyn was the female equivalent of Cary Grant. They both were so good at playing the stage personas they had created for themselves that it became the public's perception of them.
Wow! Very well put! Yeah that make so much sense!!
I totally agree, Marilyn could turn it on and off. She was the one and only MARILYN MONROE!
Nailed it- I’ve never seen it quite like that! Well done!
“In the "Ain't There Anyone Here for Love?" sequence, Jane Russell's fall into the pool was an accident. When Howard Hawks saw the dailies, he kept it in the film.”
Yeap!
“For the "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" musical number, Marilyn Monroe was originally going to be dressed in nothing but bands of black velvet and masses of rhinestones, creating the illusion of a woman-sized diamond necklace. However, this design was deemed too revealing and vetoed by the studio in favor of the now iconic pink dress.”
That's what I remember this film for - an iconic number.
I wish they'd done some rehearsal footage in that costume before the replaced it. The pink gown is more iconic though 😊
@@LoquaciousByNature There are stills of her in the original costume.
Yes! And the costume designer was told to change it because of the recent awareness around Monroe’s time posing nude. They didn’t want any more attention on her sexuality than there already was
Marilyn's facial expressions are only hers. Anyone who ever tried to copy her would just wind up looking silly. She could pull off practically anything somehow. I think it was her on-screen personality that sold it. (With the exception of Jane Russel here, of course.)
Though I don't like Michelle Williams, she managed to portray her in My week with Marilyn. A very accurate approach to what was like to work with her, a person with so many inner conflicts who'd put everyone's patient to the limit or even lose it, but someone they just couldn't help fall in love with. A must watch film.
I always liked the scene where Marilyn defends herself about marrying for money. Men who have money, marry beautiful women, you don’t see them with homely women, and that is not frown upon.
I can't argue with you there! I really liked that part, too!
Well the better comparison is the womanizer and the gold digger. Both are extreme manifestations of gender-specific innate instincts. And both are criticized. What was Marilyn Monroe's character in this movie, was she a gold digger? A diamond digger. Same thing.
“In a 1999 interview with Mark Cousins on his show, "Scene by Scene", Jane Russell admitted that "Gentleman Prefer Blondes" co-star, Tommy Noonan admitted on set that he didn't like kissing Marilyn Monroe, and when Monroe overheard his comment, she burst into tears and locked herself in her dressing room. It took a while before the crew were able to get her to come out.”
I saw that interview question to Jane Russell last week. The guys on the set asked him what it was like kissing Monroe and he commented something such as "I felt like she was going to suck me all in."
Jane went on to comment - saying it about 3 times in a row, different ways - that she (Jane) grew up with brothers and around boys. But Monroe did not. So Monroe did not know how boys were. Jane was obviously nonplussed by the comment. However now I wonder if Jane didn't give a "cleaned up" version of his comment.
@@rharvey2124o
“When Charles Lederer was adapting the stage production for the screen, his inspiration for the comic aspects of Lorelei Lee character played by Marilyn Monroe was his aunt, the silent-screen superstar Marion Davies.”
I was in elementary school when Marilyn Monroe died. I read about it in a magazine - I think it was Life Magazine. I had never seen any of her moves, but I could tell from the story and photos it had of her working on "Something's Got To Give" that she had been an iconic star and that she really was beautiful. A short time later, I saw in a pictorial promo in TV Guide that "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" was playing on TV, so I decided to watch it and find out what was so special about Marilyn, and I when I saw her in the movie, I had an instant crush on her.
Yeah, she was definitely one-of-a-kind! There will never be another like her!
@@MoviesWithMia Me too!
LOVE LOVE LOVE this film. I'll be 50 in a few months. Saw this film for the first time when I was 8 or 9. My older brother introduced me to Marilyn films and music. To this very day, we still yell 'SPOFFORD!" out to each other for no reason other than that kid was a hoot! This movie has so many fun moments, and a cast that brings it all home.
Oh that is so sweet!! I love to hear the memories that are attached to these films! And congrats on 50 (even if it is a few months away 😉)
Finally!!! Someone’s reacting to Marilyn. 😍
Marilyn was always so amazing. Even in her earlier supporting roles (All About Eve, Asphalt Jungle), her acting really stood out.
Jane Russell had become a sex symbol 10 years earlier in The Outlaw, so that's probably why they had such a connection. She knew exactly what she was going through.
“According to Marni Nixon, the studio initially wanted Marilyn Monroe's entire voice dubbed, as they thought her voice was silly. Nixon thought that was "awful," as she felt Monroe's voice suited her persona so beautifully. Nixon told The New York Times in March 2007 that she ended up only dubbing the operatic "no, no, nos" at the beginning of the song and the phrase "these rocks don't lose their shape."
Actually, Marni Nixon is wrong on both counts. Her "no, no, no" was dubbed by a delightful singer, Gloria Wood, who had a four-octave voice range. Marilyn herself sang the other phrase you referred to.
@@KVNDV1 Thank you for clarifying this.
So happy you enjoyed this classic. It's one of those movies which can cheer you up on a rainy day, and can be watched over and over. It has some basic truths for both sexes, but it's still up to the viewer to decide how they want to react.
Anita Loos, listed as one of the screen writers, actually wrote the original book this is based on, which is also titled "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes".
She, like Dorothy Parker, were female writers who swirled around the social circles of New York plays and Hollywood movies in the first part of the 20th century. Both had quick wits, sharp minds, and the advantage of being "outsiders" in a man's world. Loos broke into showbiz early with her mind and her scripts, not her looks. She wrote several screenplays in the silent era, some became big hits. While taking a train to Hollywood, she noticed her friend, famous critic and writer H.L. Mencken, was pursuing a vapid blonde. She seemed to be the type of woman who had looks, but no brains. Apparently, this wasn't the first time she had noted this behavior in intellectual men. She noted ""High-IQ gentlemen didn't fall for women with brains, but those with more downstairs".
She went on to write the book "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". It was a huge best seller, and translated into 14 different languages, including Chinese. There is actually a silent movie version of it, since it was written in the 1920's.
Thank you for this information.
The wardrobe choices in the film are awesome -- I read somewhere that they would make Marilyn do multiple takes but upon reviewing her on the film they would often end up choosing to use the first take --- The camera loved her -- I believe thats why she developed needing reassurance by her coach -- They kept second guessing her instincts and made her feel insecure
During the filming of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Russell tried to convert Marilyn Monroe; Monroe later said, "Jane tried to convert me (to religion), and I tried to introduce her to Freud". Corroborates your point that the “dumb blonde” pose was an act - perhaps her best acting job.
I also love the friendship between Dorothy and Lorelei!! They were like the 50’s Thelma and Louise - female buddies! They had each other’s back and were very loyal friends. And you can see the chemistry between these ladies was genuine. Cannot fake that. ❤️❤️❤️
Yes, I agree.
Yes pre feminist empowering !
The "Daddy" thing was actually done by some women, back then. Since 1910, some women would refer to their boyfriends or husbands as "Daddy."
It was probably less sexual, back then, because it was usually thought of as the man who was "taking care" of the woman... though, before that, it was used to refer to pimps. >.>
I think also the woman starts calling the husband daddy and the man will call the wife momma after they have kids rather than using their Christian names so the women would start using the daddy name as that form of endearment
"I like how they use Technicolor!" Actually, up through the 50's, Technicolor was a private company, and contracts said that any studio that used it also got a credited "Technicolor Consultant" (usually Natalie Kalmus) who would advise the director and art/costume director on how MUCH to use it.
That's why Dorothy had ruby slippers in Wizard of Oz, for one.
“One of the male dancers in the "Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend" number is an uncredited George Chakiris. Eight years later, he would win an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for West Side Story (1961).”
He also danced in White Christmas (Rosemary Clooney mentions that in her commentary)
“Much of the film's success was due to the distinctive sense of humor director Howard Hawks brought to the project, as well as a sharp and witty screenplay by Charles Lederer, who wisely bypassed much of the original stage script in favor of dialogue and situations tailored specifically to the strengths of Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe, and Charles Coburn. Lederer also dramatically reimagined the character of Henry Spofford III, originally written as Dorothy's love interest on stage and reconfigured as an eight-year-old boy on screen, played by George Winslow.”
So well written and acted, so funny 🤣😂🤣
Hey Mia! I just wanted to say I love you so much!! We have the same adoration for diving into old films and analyzing them! I imagine we both have old souls! You inspire me so much! I’m gonna subscribe to you because you’re so iconic! And I’m gonna love and comment on each and every video I come across from now on! 🩷🩷🩷
The one MM movie I recommend to anyone without reservation. Great Monroe performance, even "iconic" (if we must), and, imho, a great musical. What I know about musicals could fill a pamphlet, but I know good songs, and the 5 songs in this movie are ALL bangers. Marilyn was very much like Lorelei Lee - it was a side of herself. "Smart when it was important" - like when she brought Zanuck to his knees twice with favorable contract renogs. I do tend to disagree with the notion that they studio "made her" do things - she was entirely self-created, and, honestly, the good, "Ingrid Bergman" roles, all went to Ingrid Bergman. (Or Bette Davis.) For everyone else back then, there were housewife roles, damsel roles, and showgirl roles - MM took what was available. What she DID fight against was the lowest-common-denominator roles, like in "The Girl in Pink Tights" - the movie she refused to do. Anyway, glad you enjoyed it - "Blondes" has more life and vitality for today than many other, "grander", musicals.
Her Pink Tights role was filled by Shree North, Headed, and Stard by Betty Grable. It is a LOUSY MOVIE!
"besides it's only fair I have her tiara because after all... she has you" LMAO 😂😂😂
I love your reaction! I love it when women see just how empowering this movie, and other older movies are when they are assumed to be lacking in feminism. I say they’re more feminist than a lot of movies that come out nowadays. Keep up the awesome work!
I love this gorgeous movie! The color, costumes, songs, lines, and the friendship between the two women. Howard Hawks also directed Only Angels Have Wings (1939) and the original Scarface (1932). Both so different from this movie, and His Girl Friday. I hope you get to see them someday!
“The diamond tiara that Marilyn Monroe is falsely accused of stealing in this film was later worn by Patricia Medina as the "evil queen" in Snow White and the Three Stooges (1961).”
Thank you for the info.
@@chrisjeffries2322 your welcome
Always a joy to watch you enjoy these films. I hope your list includes The Seven Year Itch, the great Some Like it Hot and Marilyn*s last film, The Misfits, which has a very different Marilyn performance. Can't wait for How to Marry a Millionaire, the first film shot (but not released) in Cinemascope.
Thank you John 😊 I am excited for the rest of this month!!!
Marilyn was a great actress period! She was fantastic in comedy and gave stunning dramatic performances - namely Don’t Bother To Knock - in her short career…
I think Marilyn's best dramatic performance was in her final film,"The Misfits", directed by the great John Huston. It is a shame she had so many insecurities ttjat grew out of her childhood and teen years.
@@briane3657 That’s an excellent performance from her, but Don’t Bother To Knock was such a great psychological performance for her, wish she could have done more dramatic roles… Bus Stop, Prince And The Showgirl, The Misfits were stunning performances from her…. Also Niagara was such a departure, wish she would have been able to work with Hitchcock…
Her comedic performances were also wonderful!
Howard Hawks was one of the most versatile directors of classic hollywood - from westerns, to musicals even science fiction and horror he did it all
Absolutely agreed! He was one of the greats!
With this one I show up for the Marilyn but stay for the Jane Russell.
Could not agree more with you, Nicholas!!
La Russell always had great comedy chops!
Agreed love her wit and beauty of course
These reviews of Marilyn's films are excellent. Really enjoying them thanks.
And of course Marilyn's "Diamonds" number being the inspiration for Madonna's Material Girl video.
I haven’t seen that yet, but I have heard about it! I need to watch it!!
@@MoviesWithMia you definitely do, because Madonna has always admired Maryland, and it shows in her iconic 80s video for "Material Girl".
Madonna is no Marilyn!
This movie belonged to Jane Russell as much as it did to Marilyn Monroe. They were co-leads for this film.
Yes! Fantastic showcase for both of them!
Absolutely
“This man looks like a bookworm what is he doing with this gorgeous woman”
me, out loud: wait til u see what her real life husbands looked like
I have to say the reason I love your reaction channel above others. If you take the time to name the characters what you like in the plot, what you like in the costumes, you know who the directors were in the writers were most of the people who react to things have no clue what they reacting to. It’s nice for change of someone who knows what they’re talking about.
I loved your little girl reaction to this wonderful movie! One of my favorites truly beautiful and light hearted! There's nothing but beauty throughout! Slot of Marilyn Monroe's charm was coached by Natasha Lytess! She was also a by product of old silent film technique and modern brilliance married together! Her lovely facial gestures are all beautifully managed with a meticulous consciousness!!! Amazing!!!🎇🎇🎇💄🎉
People see Marilyn’s character as dim in this but the character is actually very clever.
Love this Marilyn month! Can't wait for River Of No Return, Seven Year Itch and Some Like It Hot😎
lorelei calling him 'daddy' is just reminding me of how william powell calls myrna loy 'mommy' in "the thin man" .. simply iconic 💅🏻
This was so adorable to watch! I know this is an older video and you're on to Westerns, so I won't leave a million remarks but I so, so enjoyed this one, and I'm seeing Marilyn in a new way, and I already have tons of interviews with her and documentaries, and books, etc. It's very interesting having a woman watch Marilyn and break down things that I would never notice or occur to me, just about how she "works" her face or her sexuality, her vulnerability, etc etc. Seeing you admire Jane Russell in this movie made me love Jane Russell in a way I never had. And kudos for spotting George Chikaris! Ok, I'm already writing too much so I'll stop here......I'm really enjoying going through this, in order. A very well-programmed Marilyn retrospective, I must say! And beautifully presented. THANKS, MIA!!!! :D
Thank you so much for watching, Tic Toc Melody! I am so glad you like the Marilyn Series! And please, by all means, feel free to write as much as you’d like, even on the older videos! I love reading the comments (even if I can’t reply to them all 😅)!!
This is my favorite Marilyn movie of all time. That’s why she’s my favorite actress.
Another good Marilyn movie is The Seven Year Itch. Looking forward to HTMM.
One of the most enjoyable musical comedies ever- Marilyn and Jane make a great team and both do fantastic work.
Hi, Mia. I really enjoy all your synopses of films, along with your ebullient, insightful commentary. Will suggest some more films you can review.
Hi Mia....love your reactions to "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes"....your observations are "dead on"!!
A note on Anita Loos.
She wrote the novel of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes in 1925 and also adapted a stage and screenplay in 1927. It was revised on stage in 1949, and made into another film in 1953.
She wrote many plays and screenplays from 1912 through to 1942. She wrote quite a few Jean Harlow screenplays in the 1930's (Red-Headed Woman, Hold your Man, The Girl From Missouri, Riffraff, Saratoga).
I highly recommend another Anita Loos screenplay/ film "The Women" (1939)...all female cast...very witty, cutting dialogue with many famous female stars of the 1930's -1940's.
Many of her screenplays have the theme of a "woman's buddy film", with the accent on clever, witty lines.
I have heard "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" referred to as the "Thelma & Louise" of the early 50's....without the violence.
PS: When I was growing up in the 1950's, my father always called my mum "mother"...eg: "Mother, have you got anymore of that apple pie?"......didn't "freak us out".....just sayin"........
Keep up the good work...it is a joy to watch.
Thank you 😊 Yes, I will definitely check out more of Anita Loos’ plays I definitely want to watch The Women! I will put that on the list 😊 thank you so much
“The ship model shown is the one used previously in Titanic (1953) and was refurbished to resemble the SS Ile de France, which is clearly named in the film. The model (2009) resides in the Marine Museum in Fall River, Massachusetts. Some of the ocean liner sets used were also left over from "Titanic".
This film is an expectation defying palooza to its core. At the time I'd first seen it I'd already seen enough 50s films to know not to automatically assume sexism but the title had me "oh brother"-ing just a bit, and I was also poised to kind of be against it because given the most famous number I thought it was going to be emptily glorifying that extravagant consumerist lifestyle without much self-awareness. But both of these fears were trumped pretty hard. Not only is the focal point of everything Lorelei and Dorothy's rock solid friendship, but it takes a defensive stance against people who judge those who like those finer things (The fact that Dorothy herself is a counterpoint in that she couldn't care less helped too, I identified with her character quite a bit).
Even Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend, in its full context, gave me a wholly different conclusion than I expected: This is not a number celebratory of materialism per se, but a surrender to the society that rewards a materialistic streak. Taking into consideration all that talk about growing older and men paying less mind to you, she's....not wrong. You can understand how it's possible to think the way Lorelei does whether you agree or disagree. On top of this, her speech in the end about what does it matter if she wants those things out of life as long as she loves her fiance too lowkey made me feel remorseful about having jumped to conclusions about her character. Running theme of course....I had so many preconceived notions about what Marilyn's films and her characters would be like be it due to popular culture portraying these things in a certain light or it just being a matter of my own oopsie but I definitely treasured my time getting to know her better through her work. I'm reliving it watching you and that's been a thrill so far.
Before I go, if anybody here has watched Rocky Horror, doesn't Russell's number remind you of I Can Make You a Man at least a little? Those are the vibes I got rewatching it. The eroticized athleticism, interest in that hypermasculine physique, the confidence of the singer cutting through glass....and the "breakdown" in particular is very like what that song also offers. I'd be shocked if they weren't directly inspired by it.
Have you seen Monroe in
How to Marry a Millionaire?
That one I’ve never gotten to actually, have to find time before that video comes out. My first impulse was to say “yes” actually but I was spacing and thinking of How to Steal a Million with Hepburn and O’Toole. 😅
@@bespectacledheroine7292 How to Steal a Million is GREAT!
Really is! Capers like this just aren’t done anymore, sadly.
People go on about her and Finney in Two for the Road, say, but I much prefer the chemistry these two have in this one. Not much depth there sure, but I would’ve loved more team-ups with them based on the strength of this.
@@bespectacledheroine7292 It isn't that Audrey had better chemistry with Finney... I don't think that's true at all. They are different movies with different strengths. Personally I don't value a movie more highly just because it has more "serious" themes. A confection like "How to Steal A Million" can be great too, it all depends on execution and whether they can capture that lightning in a bottle that can happen in a collaborative art form. I do think it's important for a movie to have some wit/intelligence, perhaps most of all when the characters are doing silly things. Sadly, I find a lot of more "modern" flicks to be just plain dumb or crude.
Jane Russell, an under-rated comic actress is very funny in the excellent comedy, The Paleface, with Bob Hope.
We went to the Christie’s auction of Marilyn’s possessions. It had the “Happy Birthday JFK” dress (amazing ⚡️) and her dresses, pots and pans, shoes, and especially her books 📚.
Her jewelry, except for wedding ring 💍, Was costume jewelry.
She was insecure about her lack of education so read constantly. Marilyn was always insecure & it did take many takes for one line which irritated the director, but when he saw what she considered her best take- he had to agree that she was perfect. 💨
“During a story conference for this film with Darryl F. Zanuck, director Howard Hawks suggested to Zanuck that the studio change Marilyn's look and screen persona a bit, so that Marilyn would be more of an actress and less of a blonde bombshell type. The results in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes made Marilyn a massively huge film star in the 1950s and early 1960s.”
“At the finish of "A Little Girl From Little Rock," Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe grab a hold of the back curtains and charge the footlights, which involves scaling two small flights of stairs in high heels. Upon close inspection, Russell can be seen eyeing the next flight of stairs at each plateau, while Monroe storms both flights without looking down once.”
“The film was a rarity: a Hollywood version of a hit Broadway show that bowdlerized the stage score yet ended up improving on the original. Indeed, only three songs were retained from the stage production, but the quality of those songs -- "A Little Girl from Little Rock," "Bye Bye Baby" and "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" -- is head and shoulders above any others in the score, while the two numbers that were interpolated for the screen version by another songwriting team -- "Ain't There Anyone Here for Love?" and "When Love Goes Wrong" -- are both bona fide showstoppers. In all, there are only five numbers in the film -- each of which remain iconic-- as opposed to nineteen in the stage show, sixteen of which have been largely forgotten.”
I don't know which I love more - watching Gentlemen Prefer Blondes or watching your wide-eyed wonder as the movie progresses and evolves. Don't take this the wrong way but you're like a child on Christmas morning! Don't ever lose that as it's as much a joy for the viewer as it is for you. I only subscribed the other day and here I am - having watched my umpteenth movie reaction video - and I still have correspondence I need to attend to. I almost can't watch a movie without expecting you to interject at some point. Yes, that's right, you have ruined watching movies for me!!
Bravo on such a good review. It was great that you did a lot of research on the behind the scenes activity. This 1952 film was made for the big screen as few people had TV sets in 1952 and video and DVD were yet to be invented. I had the fortune of seeing Gentlemen Prefer Blondes on the big screen as one of the AMC movie theatres was showing this film on their big screen as part of their film festival. Gentleman Prefer Blondes can only really be appreciated on the big movie screen as that what it was intended for.
Your pink shirt is perfect for this review.😊
The original 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' was a comic satire novel written by Anita Loos, who started as a screen writer in the early silent days. Someone told her that the film script hardly had anything from her book in it, but when Anita saw the movie she said that Charlie Lederer had made a perfect adaptation of her work.
The Lorelei Lee character showcases Marilyn's comic talent. I'm sure Marilyn understood the point of it all from her own life experiences.
Hello, and thank you for this video, ..watching it a year later as just come across it………… I love Marilyn Monroe 🌹and Jane Russell 🌹in this film. I .think they’re both beautiful women. They’re fantastic on screen together ..it’s an all-round funny film …………kim🇬🇧PS personally I think Jane Russell did help Marilyn Monroe a lot through this film that’s what made it a success …. Love them both.🌹🌹
“For this film Gwen Verdon coached stars Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe in both their dance and walk - Monroe with less sex, Russell with more. It's rumored that at one point in the film, Verdon dubs both Monroe's and Russell's swaying bottoms.”
I'm just getting into her movies and I can't wait to see more.
Few women can upstage Marilyn, but Jane does just that!
I've just found out that the costume designer (Travilla) also worked on The 7 Year Itch with Marilyn Monroe.
Wow! That is amazing! Another iconic costume of Marilyn’s!!
@@MoviesWithMia They worked together alot!
I love the fact that, in the “Ain’t There Anyone Here for Love” number, the entire Olympic team is seemingly oblivious to the obvious charms of Jane Russell. Gay vibe?
Just watched this movie last week.
However watching Mia's review now, I am struck by just how racy the movie is for 1953.
And SOME of the lines!!!!!
Monroe: "Did you notice? His pocket was bulging."
Ahh! Very interesting observation! Yes I can definitely see that!!
@@rharvey2124 haha! I did notice that but I didn’t know if it was a double meaning or not 😂
@@MoviesWithMiaHa ha. I don't know either but knowing Hollywood....
Watch some classic Groucho Marx's You Bet Your Life or some of the episodes of What's My Line and notice how clean but hilarious some of their humor is - leaving almost all of it up to the imagination.
Marilyn had a stutter her whole life, I don't know if you ever notice it, but I sometimes notice the little things/techniques she uses to overcome it. She's really something. Jane Russell was really amazing too, beautiful and with a huge presence. I remember like 15 years ago getting a bit infatuated with MM. haha, she has this magnetic innocence and beauty about her, always so vulnerable..you just want to protect her
FWIW, the color of the sequined, halter dress Russell wore for the first shipboard dinner is midnight blue. Midnight blue has the property of appearing to be a very rich cool black under artificial light while the blue of it only shows in daylight.
Midnight blue was popularized for men's evening wear by the Duke of Windsor. Before he started having his evening clothes made in midnight blue men's evening wear was invariably black.
You should react to some Vincente Minnelli like The Bad and The Beautiful, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Band Wagon, Gigi, An American in Paris, The Long, Long Trailer, and Father of The Bride.
You can tell the studio era was about to end with television competing for consumer dollars. In 1954 Hollywood studios had to divest their ownership of movie theater chains. To attract audiences to the theater when they had free program viewing at home they made widescreen, technicolor musicals like this one.
I always feel a little sad when I think of Marilyn, she was so pretty and talented and unhappy. She had several failed marriages and died too young.
I love how you loved this movie. This is the first time I have seen any of your content. I prefer Marilyn in comedy. I think it was her gift. Her comedic timing was perfect. I have watched her in all if her serious leading roles, but I never watch those movies multiple times. I have watched her comedy films countless times. I act very similar to you about the humor, and skilled writing, I get very excited. The 50's and early 60's era of tecnicolor, costuming and set decorations can not be equaled. Marilyn was desperate to be taken seriously as an actress. It is so sad she doubted the superior skill she had, that shined so brightly in her comedy roles. A bit of trivia on this movie for you. The Jane Russell, swimming pool scene was not written for Jane to be knocked into the pool by the man who was supposed to dive over her. He accidently hit Jane, causing her to fall in the pool. As the consumate actress she was, she finished the scene ad lib. Hawks decided to keep the ad lib scene in the movie, rather than reshoot.
I don’t know if anyone pointed this out already, but the young man sitting beside Jayne Russell on her right is her younger brother
Oh no way! That is cool, I’ll have to go back and watch it to see him!
The kid in the boat, Malcolm Cassell, plays Cary Grant's son in Room For One More.. He has some truly great lines.
Strong women were very common in 1950s movies. Strong and yet feminine.
In regards to your comments about Marilyn calling her beau daddy, I don’t know when that came in vogue but I do know that Cole Porter wrote a song about it in the late thirties for Broadway called My Heart Belongs to Daddy. Yes, Marilyn sang it in a movie. If you just want to hear the song it has been covered by everybody from Ella Fitzgerald to Ariana Grande
Another song Marilyn sang was "Every baby needs a daddy" about women wanting an older rich man.
Love your reactions and analysis! I'd love to request Finians Rainbow if you haven't seen it x
Just saw this just starting this and I subscribe to you.I love how you present it.. The one playing Dorothy that's Jane Russell, who was discovered by Howard. Huglose and you are correct, Marilyn Monroe apparently had a very high. IQ, but she was very, very insecure of herself. She didn't have a father. Her mother was an immense institution. She was passed around and in foster care. So I think she went through so much. And she married joe demojo and then , of course , arthur miller , the writer , she was extremely red well red actually
“At least one other number was shot, then cut. In the original theatrical trailer, Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe were shown among dancers climbing the steps of a slide in a children's playground. The song was a French version of "Two Little Girls from Little Rock." Marilyn and Jane wear the costumes when Tommy Noonan corners them backstage in the French nightclub.”
Each time I have rewatched this film the more I recognise much of the camaraderie and general feel good tone of this movie can be credited to the casting of Jane Russell. Monroe is like a startling special effect and Russell counter plays as the steady, warm & witty heart of the film.
Love this movie so much and glad you finally got to experience it! One of the things that impresses people about Hawks was his versatility. He made a few great Westerns to! Oh, as I recall, Hawks based most of the women in his films on his VERY strong wife!
"A man being rich is like a girl being pretty" is the line from this movie that I often cite as being the definitive statement of the principle of hypergamy.
Marilyn was so important to women’s empowerment and doesn’t get enough credit. She knew that men ruled the world and she knew they loved her. So she showed women that if they are going to use us then why not use them. It might sound terrible now, but for her time it really was a different world then. A lot of us forget when Marilyn was famous women couldn’t purchase a house in their name very easily, couldn’t buy a car without a man’s signature in most places, and women couldn’t even have a credit card without a man co signing. Marilyn is more than an actress, she changed culture.
Actress playing Lady Beekman also played the housekeeper in The Sound of Music.
Ahh! That’s why she looked familiar 😅
35:07 Marilyn wasn't stupid either - I mean she was married to Arthur Miller who wrote the Crucible and she had James Joyce in her personal library! Only more proof of how ridiculous Warner's "I need to marry a Jackie, not a Marilyn" line from 'Legally Blonde' was, not only because it's actually extremely offensive to both Jackie and Marilyn - both stylish, intelligent women who both were put through the ringer, adored by the public (even though plenty of people were willing to talk behind their backs), both of whom were well read and wore fantastic clothes who's look everyone was trying to imitate and over both of whom lots of tears were shed when they died.
Very well put! I often mull over Warner’s line. He really was a bonehead 😂
26:56 And if that two-bit private detective had actually listened to that recording then he'd have known that Piggy was lying and that he knew all about the tiara and agreed to give it to her.
This movie also raised an important question to me - how is spying on strangers for money any better, morally speaking, than marrying them for money? And of course when he looks at her he sees a gold digger, she's already been described to him as a gold digger so he's already made up his mind about her.
The book is narrated by Lorelei, and it's easy to hear Marilyn and Jane's voices. There could not be better casting for Lorelei and Dorothy. They achieved in this movie the characters and relationship you see in the book.
Anita Loos initially didn't intend for this to be a novel. At first she wrote it to parody her friend, H.L. Mencken. Mencken was considered a sharp guy except... he became a fool around blonde chorus girls. Loos cited other experiences too, such as the time she struggled to carry her luggage through a train (as a brunette) then saw a dozen men leap to pick up a book that a blonde dropped. I think that's why Loos wasn't too worried about the movie adhering to the details of her book; it hit the target of the satire just the same. And the book does concern itself with some of the same plot points: Piggy and the tiara and the accusation of theft.
Her initial story was so good, her friends (including its chagrined target, Mencken) urged her to write more. At first it was serialized in a magazine, and the magazine's subscriptions quadrupled. When the book was published, the first printing sold out in one day. It went through 20 printings the first year, to keep up with demand. Edith Wharton called it the great American novel. Heavyweights like James Joyce and Faulkner were smitten with it. Like Wizard of Oz, it's an important piece of US literature that's been overshadowed by its film version.
In the 60s, a TV interview with Loos was abruptly cut short when she was asked if she'd ever write a follow-up to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and its sequel, But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes. She said the modern version would be called Gentlemen Prefer Gentlemen.
“The teaming of Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe proved to be so successful, critically and commercially, that "Fox" wanted to re-team the duo. A December 1954 item in the Hollywood Reporter's "Rambling Reporter" column indicated that the studio wanted Russell and Monroe to star in the film "How to Be Very, Very Popular (1955)." Monroe passed on the project because she didn't like the script. In January 1955, the studio cast Sheree North as Curly (the part intended for Monroe) and Betty Grable as "Stormy Tornado" (originally intended for Russell).”
“The "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" number was later re-shot in CinemaScope, to be used as part of a CinemaScope demonstration held on the Fox lot in March of 1953. Producer Darryl F. Zanuck told "Daily Variety" that it only took 3-1/2 hours to shoot the number in CinemaScope versus four days for the original film version. The public finally saw the CinemaScope version ten years later when it closed Fox's documentary tribute to Marilyn Monroe: Marilyn (1963),”.
“Choreographer Jack Cole had been devising stage movement for non-dancing female stars in Hollywood since the mid-1940s, accenting glamorous hand, arm and hip movements within basic dance steps to camouflage his leading ladies' lack of ability. Cole reached his zenith with Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953). Faced with two stars who had no dancing experience whatsoever, he was determined to showcase them to their best advantage. Cole accomplished this by doubling and tripling the amount of isolations per beat, which meant that Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe were actually performing a challenging series of steps in each of their numbers, made even more so by the necessity of their executing the steps, turns and arm gestures in absolute unison, which they did brilliantly. In the end, the choreography Cole devised was as intricate as a bona fide dance number. Jane Russell was so impressed by the results that she hired Cole as choreographer for Gentlemen Marry Brunettes (1955), the companion piece that Russell financed two years later. True to form, Cole concocted dynamic, humorous movement duets for Russell and her co-star, Jeanne Crain.”
Thank you great analysis
The kid was George Winslow, who as a child actor was in 10 films from 1952-1958 including 2 with Cary Grant, "Room For One More", and "Monkey Business". He was also in a wonderful film with Clifton Webb, "Mr. Scoutmaster".
Great detailed reaction. So many you tubers just say they liked something with out any research
Anchored by Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell sparkling magnetism Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a delightful entertaining 1950s musical, GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1953) 98/100 Certified Approved ☑️ Lorelei Lee: 🎵Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend.🎵
I love your page. I love these classic films. I watched "Blondes" in college back in 2008. The iconic pink dress number of "Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friends" is classic. Madonna's "Material Girl" music video was a tribute to that scene.
James Bond (Sean Connery) told that diamond are suppossed to be the girl's best friends during the Briefing with M previous to Diamonds are Forever (1971)!
If they were around today they would have been great in Chicago.
I am glad you called out George Chakiris and his wow worthy self
Really had fun watching this review. I used to have a tiara... I was really broke at the time and my boyfriend and I drove up to Boulder (from Denver) for a mental health break, and we saw this gorgeous, floor-length black beaded gown with a matching cape, and the lady in the store kept dropping the price to the point where my boyfriend was like, "You can't afford not to buy it. Tell you what, if you get it, I'll chip in half." (the only time in my life a guy every bought me clothing). So, of course, I had to get elbow length black gloves, which had cut-outs along the arms, accented with rhinestones. So, to top it all off, I simply *had* to get a tirara (rhinestone, of course). So, once it was all put together, I did up my hair, put it all on, including the tiara, and we drove in my boyfriend's ancient Subaru station wagon with almost 200,000 miles on it (which would eventually take us down into central Mexico and back), and went to a posh piano bar/restaurant in Denver. Boy, did I attract attention! We couldn't afford to eat there, so we just got drinks, but they treated us like royalty.. gave us the best table right next to the piano, and the pianist kept taking our requests. What a blast! That sure doesn't happen with the way I usually dress! -- BTW, I don't know who did the costumes in this movie, but my guess would be Edith Head. She was one of the main, if not *the* main costume designers in Hollywood back then. If you want to see a movie that seems to have been made just to showcase her talent (and is actually quite an entertaining film as well), then you should watch What a Way to Go starring Shirley MacLaine, Dick Van Dyke, Dean Martin, Paul Newman, Gene Kelley and more!
Wow, what a story, kruuyai! Thank you for sharing it with us 😊 and also what an adventure!! Also, What A Way to Go sounds like it is right up my ally! I will definitely check that one out!! Thank you for recommending!!
"What A Way to Go" (1964). I don't recall that being a GOOD movie, but it's pretty to look at and maybe worth seeing just to watch MacLaine. Quite a few 1960s comedies don't do it for me, especially "racy" flicks. They're often stereotypical without the lighter touch of the 30s and 40's. Think of a Doris Day flick from the period. Of course some people love those... Anyway, if you search Utoob right now you should find a watchable copy of WAWTG so you can judge for yourself (Nostalgic Art, not the time limited YT channel). And if you're a Shirley MacLaine fan you might want to catch a free viewing of "Irma La Douce" (1963) before it goes away ruclips.net/video/ehcFrqgWFVI/видео.html
That story reminds me of someone I used to know who was the image of a Gibson Girl. I never got to see her in the appropriate costume and hairdo though. A shame that most people now never have the chance to attend a fancy dress ball... not that many even know how to waltz anymore...
@@paintedjaguar lol... no, you're definitely right. It's not one of those overlooked gems that should have become a classic, it doesn't have the cutting, intelligent humour of some of the films that are being reviewed here, and I wouldn't even recommend it for a review here, but it's not a BAD movie... just a bit of fluff for a Saturday or Sunday afternoon in quarantine... what I like most about it were the costumes (which really have to be seen to be believed... and in technicolor, no less!) and the all-star parade of husbands. My favorite was Paul Newman as the up and coming artist. The chimp was so much fun... and sort of a tongue-in-cheek observation about people's taste in art. Another really interesting one for avante-garde costumes, if one is willing to venture further afield, is a French movie called Who Are You Polly Magoo? 1966. That one actually has some philosophically interesting moments and is in black and white, but the costumes still really pop (but also not a GREAT movie).
@@paintedjaguar oh yes, I've seen Irma LaDouce. Also great fun. It's a pity Shirley MacLaine and Jack Lemmon didn't team up more often. They were really good together.
William Travilla was the costume designer for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
Mia, you’ve actually watched Howard Hawks’ Bringing Up Baby, as well as this film and His Girl Friday.
Haha! I must have been drunk or something while filming this 😅 how could I have forgotten about Bringing up Baby!!
@@MoviesWithMia I normally associate Howard Hawkes with John Wayne/ Humphrey Bogart movies.
marilyn mondoe was a genius.
I’m watching the film on Monday 1:25pm on FXM! Another good film by Marilyn Monroe
21:48 This reminds me of Tinkerbell in Peter Pan. I won't be surprised if Walt stole it from this movie.
This is one of the funniest moments.