Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953): A Review

 

GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES

This review is part of the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon. Today's star is Jane Russell.

There are some films that want nothing more than to charm and amuse. There is no great insight into the dark recesses of the human condition. There are no esoteric explanations into the current state of the world. They just want to make us smile. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is such a film, a delightful mix of music and mirth that hits the right notes. 

Charming gold-digger Lorelei Lee (Marilyn Monroe) enchants wealthy Gus Esmond (Tommy Noonan). The problem is that his father refuses to sanction their union. Unbothered and with a play at making Gus aware she can find her own meal ticket Lorelei goes off to Europe anyway with her BFF Dorothy Shaw (Jane Russell). While Lorelei is unashamed to long for diamonds and wealth, Dorothy falls for whatever handsome man comes her way. Each loves the other like a sister, but each thinks the other could and should do better.

While on the European cruise, they become acquainted with Sir Francis Beekman or as he calls himself, "Piggy" (Charles Coburn). He just happens to own the second-largest diamond mine in Africa and his wife happens to own a fabulous diamond tiara. While Lorelei's eyes light up at the prospects of diamond mining, Dorothy's eyes start shining for Ernie Malone (Elliot Reid). To their mutual displeasure, Lorelei and Dorothy discover Malone is a private eye tailing Lorelei to get the good on her. 

Lorelei's flirtations with Piggy do not help. Matters are made worse when Lady Beekman (Norma Varden) accuses Lorelei of stealing her tiara when they arrive in Paris. Lorelei does have the tiara, but no one wants to tell Lady Beekman that besotted Piggy gave it to her willingly. Now without money or shelter, our girls must take to the Parisian stage to keep body and soul together. Will Gus be able to win back Lorelei? Will Dorothy find true love? Will diamond tiaras magically pop up?

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was directed by Howard Hawks, a director who could seemingly handle any genre that came his way. It might surprise people that the man behind the Western Red River or noir The Big Sleep could film something as frothy as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes so smoothly. However, Hawks was a true master of filmmaking, and this musical showcases his great talent.

We see this in how strong the performances were. Most musicals contend themselves with the actual musical numbers, of which there are surprisingly few and with Monroe having only one solo number. Here, however, everyone is fully aware of their character. Marilyn Monroe did not have as breathy a voice as the impersonations tend to give her. While Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is nowhere near a drama, Monroe's performance was as strong and effective as something like Niagara or Some Like It Hot.  

It is because Monroe is aware that Lorelei is a gold-digger but not out of greed but of self-preservation. She knows that wealth is security and that she has to look out for herself. When she chastises Dorothy for caring about looks whether rich or poor, she does so out of genuine concern for Dorothy's well-being. Long before the term excited, Lorelei and Dorothy were BFFs, taking care of each other and looking out for the other.

It takes great skill to make the line "I want you to find happiness and stop having fun," sound logical, but Monroe does while making it funny. Later on, when telling Piggy about photographs of them that might be misconstrued, Lorelei remarks, "Lady Beekman would never believe you were being a snake". The pun is clear, but Monroe never plays up to it. She also has great comic timing with George Winslow as Henry Spofford III, a millionaire she discovers to her horror is a child. 

Monroe's best moment acting-wise is when she stands up to Gus' father (Taylor Holmes). She cooly explains that she is not marrying Gus for Gus' money, but for Mr. Esmond, Sr.'s money. Dismissing Mr. Esmond, Sr.'s suggestions that she cares only about money, she tells him essentially that men are hypocrites to judge her for looking after her own interests. "Don't you know that a man being rich is like a girl being pretty? You wouldn't marry a girl just because she's pretty, but my goodness doesn't it help?"

Monroe's best moment in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is in her only solo musical number. It surprised me that Monroe has only that one solo number, with all of her other numbers being a duet with Russell. However, the Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend number is spectacular. 

Lasting around six minutes, Monroe showcases magnetism and joie de vivre in Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend. Coquettish, elegant, alluring and sparkling, Monroe is equal to the elegance of the splash sets and costumes. She is playful, irreverent and a joy to watch. 

Russell is no slouch and more than Monroe's equal in the acting and music department. Since Monroe's Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend number is the standout section in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, some might be puzzled as to Russell being more prominent. It should be remembered that Jane Russell is billed first. As such, while gentlemen prefer blondes, brunettes hold court.

Russell has one solo number, Ain't There Anyone Here for Love, and another number where she is the dominant figure, Bye Bye Baby. The former, to be fair, is perhaps the most overtly gay musical number made during the Hays era; the cacophony of muscular men dancing wearing only shorts and thoroughly oblivious to the buxom Jane Russell makes for some wild viewing. Bye Bye Baby when Russell sings in a lower register than Monroe is fun and playful, and when Monroe joins in it becomes sweet before going back to rousing. 

The film wisely opens with an elegant number, A Little Girl from Little Rock, which gives both a chance to show them as beautiful, shrewd and sophisticated. Another duet, When Love Goes Wrong, similarly shows them as both winsome and playful.

Russell's acting was good as the wisecracking dame looking out for her bestie. She was able to rattle off quips easily, wryly commenting on the goings-on. When Gus scolds Dorothy by telling her, "Dorothy Shaw, I'm counting on you to keep those athletes to yourself," Russell replies, "What a coincidence. That's my plan too". Jane Russell was able to let out zingers without batting an eye.

Noonan was delightful as Gus, forever knocked out by Lorelei's kiss. Coburn was hilarious as the weak-willed Piggy, forever flummoxed by Lorelei's sweet machinations. When Beekman is giving Dorothy the eye, she had made a quip about pigeons. Their fellow traveling companion Watson (Howard Wendell) says, "Miss Shaw, may I present Sir Francis Beekman? A pigeon if there ever was one". Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is filled with funny lines thanks to Charles Lederer's adaptation of the Anita Loos and Joseph Fields' original stage show.

I think my one caveat about Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is Reid as Malone. I didn't think it was a great performance and frankly, I did not see the physical appeal that Dorothy was meant to have. A minor detail to be fair, but there it is.

Apart from that, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a sparkling, amusing concoction with good musical numbers and a fast pace. It's entertaining and amusing, a true sparkling diamond in film.

DECISION: A-