Starring Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell, Charles Coburn, and Tommy Noonan
Directed by Howard Hawks
Music and Lyrics by various
This was Monroe's first musical as a star, and the first of three she did during her days as the biggest sex symbol in Hollywood. On Broadway, the 1949 hit made a star out of its Lorelei Lee, Carol Channing. Fox thought it could do the same for its up-and-coming bombshell, pairing her with the already-established Jane Russell and one of the most popular directors in Hollywood at the time, Howard Hawks. How well do the adventures of a gold-digging showgirl and her devoted best friend come off today? Let's begin right with the ladies in question as they perform "Little Girl From Little Rock" and find out...
The Story: Lorelei (Monroe) wants to marry wealthy Gus Esmond Jr. (Noonan), who is sweet, devoted, and can keep her funded in her passion, diamonds. Dorothy (Russell) doesn't care how much money a guy has, long as he's good-looking. The two take a cruise to France for a job, with Gus claiming he'll meet them there, despite his father Gus Sr. (Taylor Holmes) disapproving of their relationship. While onboard, Lorelei flirts with Sir Francis "Piggy" Beekman (Coburn), who owns diamond mines, while Dorothy pursues the male Olympic team.
Lorelei's interest in Piggy is strictly platonic...but she gets into trouble for it anyway when private detective Ernie Malone (Elliot Reid) photographs them talking together. The women manage to get the negatives off of him, with Lorelei convincing Piggy to give her a tiara as a thank-you gift. Lady Beekman (Norma Varden) isn't amused, Neither is Gus Sr. When Lorelei winds up in court for stealing the tiara, she'll need both Malone's help and her best friend's to get her out of this jam.
The Song and Dance: The ladies are the thing here, and they run with it, whether Dorothy's admiring all the muscles on those athletes, or Monroe's adorably flirting with Coburn. I really appreciate how the ladies' friendship is portrayed. They stand up for each other, to the point where Dorothy takes Lorelei's place in court, and never talk down to or back-stab each other. They're both loyal to the end, when providing for each other's happiness takes precedence over even their men. Coburn is the only one who gets near them as the English lord with an eye for the ladies and a good quality piece of jewelry.
Fox spared no expense on the production, either. They're costumed in gorgeous gowns throughout, including Monroe's iconic shocking pink ball gown during the "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" chorus number. The Technicolor is gorgeous, making that pink number and all those luscious frocks just pop on elaborate cruise ship set.
Favorite Number: "Little Girl From Little Rock" is heard twice, in the beginning as a duet for Dorothy and Lorelei in a show, and in the wedding finale. Dorothy sings "Bye Bye Baby" to all those hot athletes at a going-away party before the ship leaves...and Lorelei picks it up to sing solo for Gus. Dorothy wonders "Ain't Anyone Here for Love" as she wanders among those athletes as they practice. She tries to entice them with sports, but they ignore her, even when she ends up in the pool. After their letter of credit is cut off and they're thrown out of their hotel room, the ladies wonder about what happens "When Love Goes Wrong" in a cafe...and they attract such a crowd, they end up getting a job out of it.
Of course, the iconic number here is the first version of "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend," directed and choreographed by Jack Cole. There's dancers in cotton candy pink ball gowns and men gliding around them...but there's no denying who the real center of this is. Monroe's sheer magnetism holds every frame, and it's simply dazzling. No wonder this has been imitated many times since 1953, including in Madonna's video for "Material Girl." Dorothy gets her own awesome version later, singing it for the judge and jury at the court while dressed in a blonde wig and short, glitzy dance outfit.
Trivia: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes began life as a comic novel by Hollywood screenwriter Anita Loos in 1925. The Broadway musical debuted in 1949 and was a fair-sized hit, running three years. It didn't make it to London until 1962, when it barely ran a year. Lorelei, a revision for Channing that had the story told as flashbacks by a now-wealthy Lorelei, managed to run a year and a half despite bad reviews. A revival of the original show in 1995 did even worse, not even running a week. An Encores! concert in 2012 was slightly better-received.
Betty Grable was originally considered for Monroe's role, but she asked for too much money. (She would appear with Monroe two years later in How to Marry a Millionaire.)
Russell getting knocked into the pool during the "Anybody Here for Love?" number was an accident, but Hawks thought it worked with the song and it stayed in.
What I Don't Like: No wonder the ladies are so intent on each other. Most of the men in the film besides Coburn barely register. Noonan's so dull, you can't understand why Lorelei goes back to him for any reason besides his millions. Reid is slightly more interesting as the private eye whose eye ends up on Dorothy, and he at least has a bit more to do.
Wish they could have used more of the original Broadway show. For one thing, why is this the only version of this story not set in the 20's, when the book was originally written? In the show, Henry Spofford was Dorothy's love interest and the one with the disapproving father. Here, he's a kid who helps the ladies out on their cruise. The original show was overloaded with songs; this retains only "Bye Bye Baby," "Little Girl From Little Rock," and "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend." Admittedly, the two new additions aren't bad (I especially like "When Love Goes Wrong"), but couldn't they have brought in even a little more of the original score?
The Big Finale: If you love Monroe or Russell, or want to see where "Diamond's are a Girl's Best Friend" came from, this is by far the best of her three starring musicals and is highly recommended.
Home Media: Easily found in all formats.
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