Gentlemen Prefer Blondes-1953
Director Howard Hawks
Starring Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe
Scott’s Review #384
Reviewed March 13, 2016
Grade: B+
One of the iconic and legendary stars Marilyn Monroe’s better-known offerings from her brief career is Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), a fun musical/romantic comedy.
She stars alongside Jane Russell, another popular Hollywood star from a golden era of film to create this wonderful gem.
Together they have great chemistry and an easy yin and yang relationship, which makes the film light and cheerful, but not meaningless or too fluffy.
It is just right for the genre that it is.
As mentioned before, the romantic comedy has changed in modern cinema and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes contains the innocence and charm that has since been lost. The 1950s were a perfect time for this genre of film.
Lorelei Lee (Monroe) and Dorothy Shaw (Russell) are American showgirls and best friends who perform a stage show together. Lorelei loves diamonds and rich men- she is dating Gus Esmond, an awkward yet lovable young man, who is wealthy but controlled by his father.
Dorothy is less interested in being showered in wealth but prefers handsome, in-shape men. When the girls head to Paris on a cruise ship, the adventures begin- Lorelei is observed and followed by a private investigator (Malone) hired by Gus’s father, while Dorothy is pursued by members of an Olympic swim team.
The film is entertaining and a must-see for all Monroe fans, as it was at the time when she was at her best- Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Some Like it Hot are my personal favorites and she was in the prime of her tragically short film career- sure she plays the “dumb blonde” character with gusto, but there is something innocent and fun about her portrayal of Lorelei and we fall in love with her immediately.
Dorothy is the leader- the smart one- and she compliments Lorelei’s naivety. More worldly and sophisticated she watches out for her counterpart.
What makes the film work so well is the chemistry between Monroe and Russell. The audience buys them as best friends and the two actresses (who reportedly got along famously).
Monroe shines during the legendary number, “Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend”, a number that famously inspired the 1984 Madonna video “Material Girl” that will forever live on in music history.
My favorite scene takes place on the ship as Lorelei gets into trouble as she sneaks into the private investigator’s cabin to obtain incriminating evidence and winds up stuck in the tight cabin window.
The shot of Monroe sticking halfway out the window is funny. She then hilariously enlists a young, precocious child to help her avoid recognition and fool a man with a sub-par vision.
Vision also comes into play when Dorothy disguises herself as Lorelei in a silly fashion (she appears looking more like a drag queen) in a courtroom scene over hi-jinks involving a stolen tiara.
Interesting is the scene in which Dorothy is flocked by dancing Olympic gymnasts and is as provocative as could be in 1953.
Certainly unable to show any form of nudity whatsoever, the dancers are clad in nude-colored shorts, which certainly suggests elements of sexuality, an illusion of nudity, and fits the scene perfectly as Dorothy is in testosterone heaven. It is like a big, giant fantasy for her.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) is a successful offering from another cinematic time- a time that is sorely missed. Cute, but not trivial, the film is worth dusting off for a watch every so often and to marvel at the iconic Marilyn Monroe.