“Sometimes your brain amazes me.”
What’s it all about? Showgirls Lorelei Lee (Marilyn Monroe) and Dorothy Shaw (Jane Russell) are the best of friends but two very different personalities. Money-grabbing Lorelei is engaged to Gus Esmond (Tommy Noonan), a man willing to buy anything for her. The feisty Shaw, on the other hand, is content to enjoy the company of her many less-wealthy admirers. When Lorelei and Gun decide to sail to France and get married, Gus’ disapproving father stops his son from going, leaving Lorelei to spend her time looking for a suitable husband for Shaw. GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES also stars Charles Coburn as Sir Francis “Piggy” Beekman and Elliott Reid as Ernie Malone.
Half the enjoyment fostered from GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES is from all the pot-shots at Lorelei’s (and indirectly Marilyn’s) intelligence. In the first ten minutes of the film, Lorelei’s fiancé Gus somewhat-genuinely comments that she is the smart one between her and her showgirl partner, Shaw. In the same breath, however, he says that Lorelei has a great capacity to learn (read: her head is somewhat empty). This is smack-dab in the middle of a sequence that begins with Marilyn pointing to portholes and announcing with a pout, “Oh, look! Round windows!”, and ending with Marilyn’s jumping on a bed while her husband is trying to have a serious conversation about fidelity with her. If you are not onboard GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES at this moment, I doubt you ever will.
It is Lorelei’s goal of the voyage to attach her friend Dorothy Shaw with a wealthy suitor and not one of her regular handsome yet poor companions; Lorelei explains herself, saying she wants Shaw to “be happy and stop having fun”. But Shaw is a stubborn bird and one who appreciates the companionship of a good-looking man — and sometimes these men are Olympians wearing skin-coloured hot pants. I adore the 1950s for all their saucy, boldly-sexual yet intelligent dames, and after watching the below musical number, it’s hard not to fall in love with Dorothy Shaw. Oh, and then there’s her whole scene where she impersonates Marilyn’s Lorelei.
Favourite Scene: Marilyn’s attempts to find a suitor for Shaw don’t go as well as she hopes. At dinner one night, she invites a promising gentleman by the name of Mr. Henry Spofford III to be Shaw’s date. Mr. Spofford, however, turns out to be a young boy no more than ten-years-old (played memorably by George Winslowe). Marilyn’s deer-in-headlights look of surprise coupled with Henry’s frank, dead-pan delivery made this movie for me. Just imagine these lines being said by a very young sophisticate: “I am old enough to appreciate a good-looking girl when I see one. This promises to be quite a trip.” Also, the below exchange had me laughing so hard I had to pause the movie because I was missing plot points:
Henry Spofford III: All right. I’ll help you. I’ll help you for two reasons.
Lorelei Lee: Never mind the reasons. Just help me.
Henry Spofford III: The first reason is I’m too young to be sent to jail. The second reason is you got a lot of animal magnetism.
Notes: Directed by Howard Hawks; Produced by Sol C. Siegel; Written by Anita Loos, Joseph Fields, Charles Lederer; Starring Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell, George Winslowe, Charles Coburn; Music by Hoagy Carmichael, Eliot Daniel, Lionel Newman; Cinematography by Robert Taylor; Editing by Hugh S. Fowler.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Love this flick. LOVE IT.
I was blown away by how much I enjoyed this movie!
Ha! I haven’t seen this movie in so many years but it is memorably enjoyable. Definitely time for a rewatch.
jane russell is smokin’!
Heck yes!