1h 31min | Comedy, Musical, Romance | 1 July 1953 | Color
Director: Howard Hawks
Stars: Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe, Charles Coburn, Elliott Reid, Tommy Noonan, George Winslow, Marcel Dalio.
Jack Cole ... choreographer
Gwen Verdon ... assistant choreographer (per AFI)
This performance is the definition of the MM persona.
The film Gentlemen Marry Brunettes (1955) is listed in IMDb as "following" this, and the source material does, and JR costars there. But it was produced by a different studio, and the character names and relationship (sisters) are different.
Songs performed (30 chapters with menu):
- ch1-2. Two Little Girls from Little Rock, sung by Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell (dubbed by Eileen Wilson) with Chorus
- ch6. Bye Bye Baby, Performed by Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe with Passengers
- ch8. Anyone Here for Love?, Performed by Jane Russell and the Olympic Team
- ch22. When Love Goes Wrong, Performed by Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell (dubbed by Eileen Wilson) with Parisians
- ch24. Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend, Performed by Marilyn Monroe with Chorus
- ch27. Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend, Also performed by Jane Russell
The AFI catalog also lists:
"You're in Love," music and lyrics by Lionel Newman and Eliot Daniel
and no mention of it being cut. But I don't find it.
I'm shocked to see a dubber for JR's duets with MM. I tried to listen hard on the first one, but I don't think she gets any solo time in that song. (I forgot by the time the second duet arrived 20 chapters later.)
This film is every bit as delightful as my prior 9 rating would indicate. The songs are catchy (but welcome to repeat in my ear) and well-staged/performed.
The wardrobe is terrific, except when the letter of credit has been revoked, and they're out on the street, both wearing conservative outfits, MM's has a spectacular collar (but the lowish neckline shows nothing), and JR's is drably accessorized with hat and matching scarf. The pink gown of the Diamonds number is gorgeous, especially the color; chorus girls are also in other shades of pink, and in the wide-skirted style with organdy/tulle fabric; MM's is sleek and memorable. (And yes, if you look for him, you can see George Chakiris in that number.)
The feminist in me has no problem with this. The women are great friends, they have a career, and are objectifying men in similar ways to the ways men do women, as MM explains in her delightful speech about it. If I weren't such a fan of MM & JR, I might be able to whip up some militant fervor, but I just can't manage.
Always welcome, and delightful here: CC. And the little boy, GW, is hilarious.
At the moment, I have 3,877 ratings, with 14 10's and 83 9's. The graph here is the easiest way to find that count: just mouseover the bars until the total appears.
Fox, dir. Hawks; 9
