A Celebration of Manipulation - Watching Gentlemen Prefer Blondes For the First Time

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a 1953 American musical comedy film directed by Howard Hawks and written by Charles Lederer. The film is based on the 1949 stage musical of the same name, which in turn is based on the 1925 novel of the same name by Anita Loos. The film stars Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe, with Charles Coburn, Elliott Reid, Tommy Noonan, George Winslow, Taylor Holmes and Norma Varden in supporting roles.
The film is filled with comedic situations and musical numbers, choreographed by Jack Cole, while the music was written by Hoagy Carmichael, Harold Adamson, Jule Styne and Leo Robin. The songs by Styne and Robin are from the Broadway show, while the songs by Carmichael and Adamson were written especially for the film. Despite the film's title, Monroe was paid her usual contract salary of $500 a week, while Russell, the better-known actress at the time, earned $200,000.
Monroe's rendition of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" and her pink dress are part of popular culture and are considered iconic; the performance has inspired and been recreated by various artists as an homage.
Cast
Jane Russell as Dorothy Shaw
Marilyn Monroe as Lorelei Lee
Charles Coburn as Sir Francis "Piggy" Beekman
Elliott Reid as Ernie Malone
Tommy Noonan as Gus Esmond Jr.
George Winslow as Henry Spofford III
Marcel Dalio as the magistrate
Taylor Holmes as Mr. Esmond Sr.
Norma Varden as Lady Beekman
Howard Wendell as Watson
Steven Geray as the hotel manager
Henri Letondal as Grotier (uncredited)
Noel Neill as passenger (uncredited)
Jean Del Val as Ship's Captain (uncredited)
Critical reception
The film received positive reviews from critics. Monroe and Russell were both praised for their performances even by critics who panned the film.
Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called Howard Hawks' direction "uncomfortably cloddish and slow" and found the gags for Russell "devoid of character or charm," but concluded, "And yet, there is that about Miss Russell and also about Miss Monroe that keeps you looking at them even when they have little or nothing to do."
Variety wrote that Hawks "maintains a racy air that brings the musical off excellently at a pace that helps cloak the fact that it's rather lightweight, but sexy, stuff. However, not much more is needed when patrons can look at Russell-Monroe lines as displayed in slick costumes and Technicolor."
Harrison's Reports wrote: "Both Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe are nothing short of sensational in the leading roles. They not only act well, but the sexy manner in which they display their song, dance and pulchritude values just about sets the screen on fire and certainly is crowd-pleasing, judging by the thunderous applause at the preview after each of the well-staged musical numbers."
John McCarten of The New Yorker wrote that the two leads "have a good deal of enthusiasm, and occasionally their exuberance offsets the tedium of one long series of variations on the sort of anatomical joke that used to amuse the customers of Minsky so inordinately."
On review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 88% based on 88 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Anchored by Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell's sparkling magnetism, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a delightfully entertaining 1950s musical."
Recent reviews have noted that the film is groundbreaking for its depiction of female friendships and agency for women. Writing for Bust magazine, Samantha Mann wrote, "Throughout the entire film, the main characters Lorelei (Marilyn Monroe) and Dorothy (Jane Russell) display consistent loyalty to one another. There is no back-stabbing, shit-talking, or degrading one another to come out on top or gain the affection of a man. The women remain steadfast in their loyalty to one another, and tolerate no one speaking ill of the other. Providing support and comfort to one another takes priority over finding ways to secure their desired men." Caroline Siede of The A.V. Club wrote the story may appear to be a “90-minute misogynistic punchline about the desperate schemes of two devious social-climbing showgirls, ditzy Lorelei Lee (Monroe) and witty man-eater Dorothy Shaw (Jane Russell). Thankfully, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is quite the opposite. It’s a cheeky social satire about gender and class that doubles as a celebration of female ingenuity and solidarity, all glammed up in a ballgown and diamonds.”

[@alaenamcdonald1877]

It’s a product of its time- and I like the fact that Lorelei points out the obvious at the end- show me a straight man that doesn’t try to manipulate a beautiful woman. At least she’s honest about it. And Dorothy is honest about being a horn dog and doesn’t care about money, but she’s a loyal friend. Poor Marilyn hated how she got typecast in roles like this.

[@RandomSubjects]

I mean, you can say she's manipulative but her character never lied about her motives and if men found her so attractive they chose to ignore what she was telling them then that's on them lol.
I love this movie - I think it's so funny, and as much as I am too much of a romantic to date an ugly, rich man, I would say she's a good lead to follow if you do want money over love.

[@SweetHooligan1848]

Lordy!! 4 mins in - Calm down! Its a comedy! Its a movie! Its not real life!

[@Lensmaster1]

You don't get this movie at all. Yes, Lorelei wants to marry a rich man. She was raised to believe that that is how you secure your future. But she's not going to marry someone she doesn't love. She does love Gus. And Gus loves her. She does flirt with Piggy, but she never cheats on gus. She really feels that she is helping Dorothy by trying to find Dorothy a rich man. Dorothy sticks with Lorelei because Lorelei is her friend. Friends don't always see eye to eye, but they're loyal to each other. The detective starts out a little smarmy, but when he realizes that the future father-in-law has nothing to worry about in Lorelei, he has a change of heart.
You cut practically all the musical numbers. I know there are copyright considerations, but you didn't even include snippets of some of them. "Isn't Anyone Here for Love" is a great number. It was an accident when she gets knocked in the pool at the end, but she comes up and finishes the take.
No one has to like any particular movie, but you came out hating it right from the beginning without trying to understand what it was saying. This movie is a satire on the social and sexual expectations of women in the nineteen fifties This movie is a satire on the social and sexual expectations of women in the 1950s.

[@melenatorr]

Thank you.

[@Littlepea2890]

I’ve never seen two people misunderstand a movie more

[@slayer22452000]

exactly