Thursday, August 15, 2019

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes


Released in 1953, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is probably best known today for the famous "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend' sequence. However, the rest of the film does deserve credit for being a well-made, fun, light-hearted, musical-comedy. 

Directed by Howard Hawks (who also made classics like His Girl Friday, El Dorado, The Big Sleep, Red River, and Bringing Up Baby just to name a few), the film stars Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe as two best friends that work as showgirls. Russell plays the witty, down-to-earth Dorothy and Monroe plays the diamond-obsessed, ditsy Lorelei. Early on the two board a cruise ship bound for France as Lorelei is engaged to a wealthy man named Gus (played by Tommy Noonan) who plans to marry her in Paris, and Dorothy is along to make sure she doesn't get into any trouble. Of course she does get into a bit of trouble when she learns that there happens to be a man that owns a diamond mine aboard the ship. Lorelei does her thing and begins flirting with the man while unbeknownst to her that there is a private detective hired by her fiancée's father on the ship looking to catch her in the act. The whole situation plays out in a very fun way and makes for an overall enjoyable flick.

If you've never seen the film, I do recommend checking it out. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, after all it is a musical that's nearly 70 year old. However, I think it's a fun movie and it is definitely one of the better films to star Marilyn Monroe.
I give it a 4 out of 5.

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