In marilyn Monroe's films, Gentleman Loves Blonde is a lavishly produced comedy song and dance film that sharply satirizes social phenomena such as money worship and materialistic girls.
Today, Xiaoge Film will review this early masterpiece of Marilyn Monroe with you, and also talk about some of the little-known behind-the-scenes stories of this movie.
The film tells the story of the song and dance actress Lolila Lee and Dorothy Shaw as a good pair, Lolila is interested in rich men, and Dorothy likes handsome men. Lolila travels to Paris to marry Esmond, the son of a wealthy family, and on a cruise to France, they meet a group of Olympic athletes, private detective Marlon, businessman Bickerman and others. After all the irony events, Lolila marries Dorothy and her crush.
Produced by Twentieth Century Fox, the film features a charismatic duo starring Marilyn Monroe (as Lolila Lee) and Jane Russell (as Dorothy Shaw). There are wonderful song and dance scenes in the film, there are dazzling jewelry costumes, and most importantly, Monroe's genius performance, this is really a classic movie that is super good in any era!
1. Adapted from Anita Ruth's novel of the same name
The film is based on Anita Ruth's novel of the same name, Gentleman Loves Blonde, which was made into a film as early as the silent film era and later adapted into a Broadway musical.
2. The original lead actor was Betty Grabble
Fox originally bought the Broadway script for Betty Graber, one of the top ten american blockbuster movie stars from 1942 to 1951. Due to Marilyn Monroe's successful performance in the film Niagara, Fox decided to replace Graber with a younger actress with a lower-paid young actress, Monroe.
3. Monroe's second collaboration with Howard Hawkes
"The Gentleman Loves the Blonde" is marilyn Monroe and director Howard Hawkes' second collaboration after the film "Magic Spring Love", which is also their last collaboration.
4. Double heroine setting
In the film, the characters are set as two heroines, and Fox invites film star Jane Russell to co-star Marilyn Monroe. The film was shot from November 17, 1952 to January 22, 1953, when Russell was 31 and Monroe was 26.
5. Monroe and Jane Russell's remuneration
Marilyn Monroe wasn't paid much for "The Gentleman Loves Blonde" because Monroe signed a seven-year contract with Fox before she became famous, and the weekly salary on the contract was $500, which increased year by year. Another actress, Jane Russell, was paid $100,000 for being a free actress.
6. The director immersed himself in creating the image of Monroe
Director Howard Hawkes brings a unique sense of humor to the film, and he also pays tribute to Fox owner Daryl Hawkes. F. Zanuk suggested changing Marilyn Monroe's screen image to make Monroe more like a good actress, not just a sexy blonde beauty.
7. Monroe sings songs with Jane Russell
In the early years of Hollywood song and dance films, in order to make the actors' singing voices sound more beautiful, the producers usually asked professional singers to sing instead of the actors but did not sign their names. Darryl M. F. Zanuk originally planned to do the same, but in the end he chose to let Monroe and Russell sing in the movie. The film features seven cabaret performances, including Monroe's "Diamond is a Girl's Best Friend," a song that was later voted the 100 Best Movie Song of a Hundred Years by the Motion Picture Association of America.
8. Screenwriters are indispensable
Screenwriter Charles Ledler adapted the original stage play into a lively and entertaining film, reinforcing the dialogue part of the film's roles of Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell. In Charles Ledler's conception, monroe's comic inspiration for the character lolila came from his aunt, the silent film era star Marianne Davis.
9. Choreography to create a classic dance scene
Since the mid-1940s, choreographer Jack Cole has designed stage movements for actresses who are not good at dancing, emphasizing the movements of the actors' hands, arms and hips in his steps. In the film, he designs the dances of Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell, who have no dance experience, very charmingly.
10. The song and dance scene highlights the blonde
During the filming of the song and dance "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," choreographer Jack Cole insisted that Laurel, played by Marilyn Monroe, should be the only blonde on stage, while the female dancers should be black or red haired, and the male dancers should have gray hair on both sideburns. For this reason, Cole asked the female dancers to wear black wire mesh on their heads to cover their faces, so that their hair color looked closer to that of black hair.
11. Jane Russell's fall into the pool was an accident
While filming Dorothy singing and dancing with a group of Olympic male athletes, Jane Russell's scene of Dorothy falling into the swimming pool was an accident, and director Howard Hawkes finally put the shot in the film.
12. MGM releases the soundtrack album for the film
Although Gentleman Loves Blonde was produced by Twentieth Century Fox, the film's soundtrack album was released by MGM's record label, the first time MGM Records has released an original soundtrack album for a non-MGM-produced film.
13. Monroe had a great time working with Jane Russell
The film was the only one in which Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell worked together, and some gossip columnists at the time tried to create a "feud" between Monroe and Russell, but the reality was that the two of them got along very well during the film's filming.
14. Monroe and Betty Grabble collaboration
Although Fox in order to win marilyn Monroe, let Monroe play the original betty Grabble "Gentleman Loves Blonde", but soon Fox arranged for Monroe, Betty Graber, Lauren Whitecall three actresses to co-star in another movie "How to Marry a Millionaire".
15. Monroe gave up starring in "The Amazing Phoenix Climbing the Dragon"
Due to the success of the duo of Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell, Fox wanted them to collaborate on another film called "The Dragon Climbs the Dragon", but eventually gave up acting because Monroe did not like the script. Filming began in January 1955, with monroe and Jane Russell's characters being played by Serry Nosse and Betty Graber.
16. Leave a mark in front of a Chinese theater
On June 26, 1953, to promote the upcoming release of Gentleman Loves Blonde, Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell left their signatures, handprints, and shoe prints on the wet cement floor in front of the Grauman Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. On July 1, 1953, the film premiered in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA.
Conclusion: In 1953, Marilyn Monroe ushered in her first career peak, a year in which she had three films released, namely "Niagara", "Gentleman Loves Blonde", and "How to Marry a Millionaire", which made Monroe the most popular Hollywood film star of the time.
In "Gentlemen Love Blondes", Monroe is sometimes innocent and romantic, sometimes charming. Her confident and charming performance makes people have no dislike for the gold worship girls in the film, maybe this is Monroe's unique charm!