Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writers:

Charles Lederer (screenplay)
Joseph Fields (musical comedy) ...
(more)

Release Date:

18 July 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

The Two M-M-Marvels Of Our Age In The Wonder Musical Of The World!

Plot:

Lorelei and Dorothy are just "Two Little Girls from Little Rock", lounge singers on a transatlantic cruise...

Plot Keywords:

Singer | Diamond | Surveillance Device | Drugged Drink | Pier

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jane Russell	...	Dorothy Shaw
Marilyn Monroe	...	Lorelei Lee
Charles Coburn	...	Sir Francis 'Piggy' Beekman
Elliott Reid	...	Ernie Malone
Tommy Noonan	...	Gus Esmond
George Winslow	...	Henry Spofford III
Marcel Dalio	...	Magistrate
Taylor Holmes	...	Mr. Esmond Sr.
Norma Varden	...	Lady Beekman
Howard Wendell	...	Watson
Steven Geray	...	Hotel Manager
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Aladdin	...	Musician (uncredited)
William Cabanne	...	Sims (uncredited)
Peter Camlin	...	Gendarme (uncredited)
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Winslow - Olympic team (uncredited)
George Chakiris	...	Dancer (song "Diamonds") (uncredited)
Jack Chefe	...	Proprietor (uncredited)
John Close	...	Coach (uncredited)
George Davis	...	Cab driver (uncredited)
Jean De Briac	...	Gendarme (uncredited)
George Dee	...	Gendarme (uncredited)
Jean Del Val	...	Ship's captain (uncredited)
Charles De Ravenne	...	Purser (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Chez Louis Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
Robert Foulk	...	Passport official (uncredited)
Alex Frazer	...	Pritchard (uncredited)
Robert Fuller	...	Featured Dancer (uncredited)
Ed Fury	...	Olympic Team Member (uncredited)
Chuck Hicks	...	Boxer (uncredited)
Larry Kert	...	Featured Dancer (uncredited)
Henri Letondal	...	Grotier (uncredited)
Alphonse Martell	...	Headwaiter (uncredited)
Matt Mattox	...	Featured Dancer (uncredited)
Ray Montgomery	...	Peters - Olympic team (uncredited)
Alvy Moore	...	Winston - Olympic team (uncredited)
Leo Mostovoy	...	Phillipe (uncredited)
Fred Moultrie	...	Boy dancer (uncredited)
James Moultrie	...	Boy dancer (uncredited)
Noel Neill	...	Well-Wisher (uncredited)
Robert Nichols	...	Evans (uncredited)
Ron Nyman	...	Featured Dancer (uncredited)
Alfred Paix	...	Pierre (uncredited)
Ralph Peters	...	Passport official (uncredited)
James H. Russell	...	Olympic Team Member (uncredited)
Rolfe Sedan	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Harry Seymour	...	Louie, Captain of Waiters (uncredited)
F. Philip Sylvestre	...	Steward (uncredited)
Charles Tannen	...	Ed - Malone's contact (uncredited)
Lee Theodore	...	Featured Dancer (uncredited)
Dick Wessel	...	Chez Louis Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
Max Willenz	...	Court clerk (uncredited)
James R. Young	...	Stevens - Olympic team (uncredited)

Directed by
Howard Hawks

Writing credits
Charles Lederer		(screenplay)
Joseph Fields		(musical comedy) and
Anita Loos		(musical comedy)

Produced by
Sol C. Siegel	....	producer

Original Music by
Leigh Harline		(uncredited)
Lionel Newman		(uncredited)
Hal Schaefer		(uncredited)
Herbert W. Spencer		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Harry J. Wild		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Hugh S. Fowler

Art Direction by
Lyle R. Wheeler		(as Lyle Wheeler)
Joseph C. Wright

Set Decoration by
Claude E. Carpenter		(as Claude Carpenter)

Costume Design by
Travilla

Makeup Department
Ben Nye	....	makeup artist
Allan Snyder	....	makeup artist: Miss Monroe (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Paul Helmick	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Roger Heman Sr.	....	sound (as Roger Heman)
E. Clayton Ward	....	sound

Special Effects by
Ray Kellogg	....	special photographic effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Clyde Taylor	....	gaffer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Charles Le Maire	....	wardrobe director
Sam Benson	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Editorial Department
James Blakeley	....	post-production coordinator (uncredited)

Music Department
Eliot Daniel	....	vocal director
Earle Hagen	....	orchestrator
Bernard Mayers	....	orchestrator
Lionel Newman	....	musical director
Herbert W. Spencer	....	orchestrator (as Herbert Spencer)

Other crew
Jack Cole	....	choreographer
Leonard Doss	....	technicolor color consultant
Herman Levin	....	stage presenter
Oliver Smith	....	stage presenter
Marni Nixon	....	voice double: high notes for Marilyn Monroe (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (presents) (as Twentieth Century-Fox)

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1953) (USA) (theatrical) (released by)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1962) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2004) (Brazil) (DVD) (English, Spanish & Portuguese subtitles)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Howard Hawks' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (UK) (complete title) (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:14A (Ontario) | South Korea:15 | Canada:G (video rating) | Portugal:M/6 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #16244) | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Judy Holliday turned down the role of Lorelei Lee because she felt no actress other than Carol Channing (who played the part on Broadway) should be cast.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Loreli and Dorothy are in New York, it is announced that the ship is bound for Cherbourg. Yet, when they dock, they are in Paris which can't accommodate large ocean liners.

Quotes:

Ernie Malone: [complaining to the steward as he's lead from the girls' room after their "dinner party"] It's just not fair. Two against one. Take a man's pants.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend (1987)

Soundtrack:

Ain't There Anyone Here for Love?

Enjoyable no-brainer of a musical with Monroe and Russell at their peak...

Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell are so terrific in their musical comedy roles that they make the men (Elliot Reid and Tommy Noonan) look even more pallid than they are. But let's fact it. Nobody's watching them anyway when the spotlight is on Monroe and Russell as just "two little girls from Little Rock".

Fox knew what to do with the two lovelies when they cast them as the gold diggers aboard a ship bound for France with nothing on their minds but the pursuit of men with money. Jane has a wonderful song-and-dance routine with Olympic hopefuls in "Ain't There Anyone Here For Love?" and Marilyn gets to do a now-classic routine with "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend". Charles Coburn has some amusing moments as an old-timer with a yen for Marilyn who has a yen for his wife's tiara. "I just love finding new places to wear diamonds", she says in that sweetly innocent Monroe voice. And Russell tops everything off with an imitation of Monroe in a courtroom that's guaranteed to draw chuckles.

It's all done up in vivid technicolor. The girls wear eye-popping costumes and look ultra glamorous together (exact opposites), and the songs aren't bad either. Pure escapist entertainment of the '50s kind with enough humorous moments to keep you entertained by the silly shenanigans. Fans of Monroe and Russell will love this one.

One of the funniest moments: Monroe stuck in a ship's porthole while a little boy holds a blanket around her as she makes small talk with Charles Coburn.