Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell team up for "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," also starring Charles Coburn, Elliot Reid, Tommy Noonan, and George Winslow. Marilyn and Jane are Lorelei Lee and Dorothy, two showgirls and best friends en route to Paris. The gold-digging Lorelei intends to marry her rich, nerdy, beloved beau, Gus, but his father has a detective on board hoping to get something on her. Meanwhile, an older, wealthy man (Coburn) takes an interest in her while she takes an interest in his wife's tiara, and Dorothy starts to fall for the detective. The result is a delightful musical comedy.
Jane and Marilyn are in top form, both traffic-stopping, sexy, stunning women and wonderful performers. Russell is leggy and earthy, with a good singing voice and nice line delivery as the more grounded Dorothy. Monroe is exquisite, really shining in the number later copied by Madonna for "Material Girl," "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend." All the numbers are energetic and great.
This film really solidified Monroe's position at Twentieth Century Fox, and it's easy to see why. Though she wanted to do drama, for this viewer, her very careful enunciation limited her somewhat, though she is excellent in "Don't Bother to Knock" and "Niagara." Her characterization of Lorelei is marvelous - the dumb blonde who's not so dumb. "I can be smart when it's important," she says with a sly smile. No matter what the role, Monroe always had a sweetness about her - you could hear it in her voice and see it in her smile. It's a shame she was so insecure. During "Some Like it Hot," Billy Wilder noticed that she kept looking at Paula Strasberg for approval after every scene, and Strasberg would give her some sort of a sign. Wilder pretended not to notice until after one take, when he turned to Strasberg and yelled, "HOW ABOUT YOU, PAULA? WAS IT OKAY?" Poor Marilyn. She had it all. She just didn't know it.
Jane and Marilyn are in top form, both traffic-stopping, sexy, stunning women and wonderful performers. Russell is leggy and earthy, with a good singing voice and nice line delivery as the more grounded Dorothy. Monroe is exquisite, really shining in the number later copied by Madonna for "Material Girl," "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend." All the numbers are energetic and great.
This film really solidified Monroe's position at Twentieth Century Fox, and it's easy to see why. Though she wanted to do drama, for this viewer, her very careful enunciation limited her somewhat, though she is excellent in "Don't Bother to Knock" and "Niagara." Her characterization of Lorelei is marvelous - the dumb blonde who's not so dumb. "I can be smart when it's important," she says with a sly smile. No matter what the role, Monroe always had a sweetness about her - you could hear it in her voice and see it in her smile. It's a shame she was so insecure. During "Some Like it Hot," Billy Wilder noticed that she kept looking at Paula Strasberg for approval after every scene, and Strasberg would give her some sort of a sign. Wilder pretended not to notice until after one take, when he turned to Strasberg and yelled, "HOW ABOUT YOU, PAULA? WAS IT OKAY?" Poor Marilyn. She had it all. She just didn't know it.