Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
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Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a 1953 musical based on the novel by Anita Loos. The 20th Century Fox movie is a comedy/romance starring Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe, with Charles Coburn, Elliott Reid, Tommy Noonan, Taylor Holmes, and Norma Varden. Directed by Howard Hawks, the story was adapted by Charles Lederer. It has songs by Harold Adamson, Hoagy Carmichael, Leo Robin and Jule Styne.
The movie is packed with comedic gags and musical numbers. Jane Russell's down-to-earth, sharp wit has been generally noted, but overall it is Monroe's powerful screen presence and self-ironic turn as the gold-digging Lorelei Lee that the film is remembered for. Monroe's rendition of the song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" is considered an iconic performance that has been copied by blonde bombshells ranging from Madonna to Anna Nicole Smith.
Plot Summary
Dorothy Shaw (Russell) and Lorelei Lee (Monroe) are showgirls and best friends, "just two little girls from Little Rock." Superficially, Lorelei appears to be the more vacuous of the two -- her life's dream is to marry someone rich and she will use almost any means to achieve her goal. Her persuasive powers have ensured that she is engaged to Gus Esmond (Noonan), who is willing to do anything for her ... and has the means to BUY anything for her. His father, Mr. Esmond, Sr. (Holmes), however, does not approve of Lorelei and thinks she's just a scheming gold digger.
Plans are made for Lorelei to sail to France, where she and Gus will be married once he arrives. Mr. Esmond sends private detective Ernie Malone (played by Reid) along to spy on Lorelei. Dorothy and Lorelei board the ship bound for Paris and Lorelei finds herself entangled in a series of screwball mishaps.
Malone falls in love with Dorothy while he's spying on Lorelei. He tries to warn Dorothy about her friend, but she tells him, "Now listen, Malone, let's get something straight. Nobody talks about Lorelei but me." In the meantime, Lorelei meets Sir Francis "Piggy" Beekman (played by character actor Coburn) who gives her a diamond tiara. Malone sends a bad report to Esmond, who stops the wedding and cuts Lorelei off financially. Dorothy and Malone have a falling out when she discovers his real identity and the trouble he is causing Lorelei.
Stuck in Paris without any money or a place to live, Lorelei and Dorothy get a job entertaining. Beekman cannot tell his wife, Lady Beekman (Varden), the truth about the tiara and it is reported stolen. Malone is convinced that Lorelei is a jewel thief. Beekman steals back the tiara and when Lorelei is questioned she no longer has it. It is discovered in Beekman's bag by Malone and all is resolved in the end.
Earlier Versions
This first incarnation of this musical was as a novel written by Anita Loos that was published in 1925. It then became a Broadway play produced in 1926, a Broadway musical produced in 1949, which Loos also wrote the book for, and two motion pictures. The silent movie was released in 1928, starring Ruth Taylor, Alice White, Ford Sterling, Holmes Herbert and Mack Swain, and Loos also wrote the subtitles. Anita Loos also wrote a sequel to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes entitled But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes. This was also made into the 1957 film Gentlemen Marry Brunettes starring Jane Russell and Jeanne Crain.Gentlemen Prefer Blondes as a Feminist Text
Many film scholars now regard Gentlemen Prefer Blondes as a feminist text and well ahead of its time. The film explores women's power and powerlessness in relationships and in society in general. The best-known song from the film, "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend," is a pointed commentary on a society that values women only for youth and sex appeal, and the need for women to take care of themselves (for when they are old and "can't straighten up when they bend.") The positive depiction of the friendship between Lorelei and Dorothy, which ultimately overrides the romantic sub-plots, and the somewhat cynical messages about love and romance in the film's narrative gives this argument some persuasion.
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