Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953 film)
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.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Hoagy Carmichael
Jule Styne
Eliot Daniel
Lionel Newman
- July 1, 1953 (Atlantic City)[1]
- July 15, 1953 (New York)
91 minutes
United States
English
French
$2.3 million[2]
$5.3 million[3]
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.
Production[edit]
Although Hawks is credited as the sole director of the film, Russell and assistant choreographer Gwen Verdon contend that Monroe's iconic musical number "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" was actually directed by choreographer Cole. Russell said, "Howard Hawks had nothing to do with the musical numbers. He was not even there."[4] Hawks later confirmed this in an interview with author Joseph McBride: "I did a musical called Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and I didn't do the production numbers. I didn't have any desire to."[5] According to Monroe's last interview before her death, Russell was paid $200,000 for the film, while Monroe was paid her usual $500-per-week salary.[6]