Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Overview:

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) was a Comedy - Drama Film directed by Howard Hawks and produced by Sol C. Siegel.

SYNOPSIS

Fifties screen sirens Monroe and Russell in made-to-order roles. A pair of gold-digging showgirls from the canebrake - a sassy, street-smart brunette and a sexy, naive blonde - pursue potential husbands on an ocean cruise. Glossy, big-budget Hawks adaptation of the Broadway hit based on an Anita Loos story. Jule Styne's songs include "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend."

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

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BlogHub Articles:

Musical Monday: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

on May 9, 2022 From Comet Over Hollywood

It?s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals. In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals. This week?s musical: Gentleman Prefer Blondes ? M... Read full article


Marilyn: Behind the Icon - Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

By Gary Vitacco-Robles on Jul 6, 2020 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

Marilyn: Behind the Icon — Monroe Catapults to Global Fame in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Gentlemen Prefer Blondes signified an ideal pairing of star & role, catapulting Marilyn Monroe into global superstardom, endearing her to the public, and cementing her comedic & musical talent... Read full article


Classic Films in Focus: GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1953)

By Jennifer Garlen on Jan 21, 2020 From Virtual Virago

Marilyn Monroe became a true star thanks to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), the Howard Hawks directed adaptation of the Broadway musical hit in which Carol Channing had originated the role of Lorelei Lee. Monroe's take on "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" remains one of her most memorable moments... Read full article


COMEDY GOLD #8: The tiara scene from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

By Carol Martinheira on Aug 28, 2018 From The Old Hollywood Garden

COMEDY GOLD #8: The tiara scene from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) On August 28, 2018August 28, 2018 By CarolIn Uncategorized There isn’t one second of this movie I don’t love. On the surface, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (dir. Howard Hawks) might seem slight... Read full article


Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Jan 26, 2017 From 4 Star Films

“I can be smart when it’s important, but most men don’t like it.” ~ Marilyn Monroe as Lorelei Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell together. It’s a crackerjack combination and Howard Hawks milks it for all its worth. There’s streetwise Dorothy ?(Jane Russell) wooing al... Read full article


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Quotes from

Lorelei Lee: 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?


Lorelei Lee: A kiss on the hand may be quite continental / But diamonds are a girl's best friend. / A kiss may be grand... but it won't pay the rental on your humble flat or help you at the automat / Men grow cold as girls grow old and we all lose our charms in the end / But square cut or pear shape these rocks don't lose their shape / Diamonds are a girl's best friend!


Dorothy Shaw: You know I think you're the only girl in the world who can stand on a stage with a spotlight in her eye and still see a diamond inside a man's pocket.


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Facts about

A song written for Marilyn Monroe to perform in this picture, "Down Boy" (music by Hoagy Carmichael, lyrics by Harold Adamson), was rejected, but later sung and danced by Betty Grable in Three for the Show.
The story was based on an ocean voyage to Europe that Anita Loos took on the same boat taking the US Olympic Team. Whichever ship she actually took, the liner that is mentioned in this film was the SS Ile de France. The famous liner was actually used in the film The Last Voyage, but it has a more heroic place in history. It was the SS Ile de France that played a major role in the rescue of the passengers from the Italian liner Andrea Dorea in 1956, after the latter ship collided with the Swedish ship Stockholm off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts. The SS Ile de France was decommissioned shortly before the filming of "The Last Voyage," in which she was partially sunk for several key scenes. When filming was completed, she was towed to the scrap docks.
For this film Gwen Verdon coached stars Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe in both their dance and walk - Monroe with less sex, Russell with more. It's rumored that at one point in the film, Verdon dubs both Monroe's and Russell's swaying bottoms.
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Also directed by Howard Hawks




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Also produced by Sol C. Siegel




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