GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (DVD) DVD

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Second-billed Marilyn Monroe is the blonde in question in this second film version of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: Miss Lorelei Lee, whose philosophy is "diamonds are a girl's best friend." Together with her best human friend Dorothy (top-billed Jane Russell), showgirl Lorelei embarks upon a boat trip to Paris, where she intends to marry millionaire Gus Esmond (Tommy Noonan). En route, the girls are bedeviled by private detective Malone (Elliot Reid), hired by Esmond's father (Taylor Holmes) to make certain that Lorelei isn't just another gold-digger. When Dorothy falls in love with the poverty-stricken Malone, Lorelei decides to find her pal a wealthier potential husband, and that's how she gets mixed up with flirtatious diamond merchant Sir Francis Beekman (Charles Coburn) and precocious youngster Henry Spofford III (George "Foghorn" Winslow). Most of the Leo Robin-Jule Styne songs from the Broadway show remain intact, including Marilyn Monroe's rendition of "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend," a production number later imitated by pop icon Madonna. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast Jane Russell as Dorothy Shaw Marilyn Monroe as Lorelei Lee Charles Coburn as Sir Francis Beekman Elliott Reid as Det. Malone Tommy Noonan as Gus Esmond George Winslow as Henry Spofford III Marcel Dalio as Magistrate Taylor Holmes as Gus Esmond, Sr. Norma Varden as Lady Beekman Howard Wendell as Watson Steven Geray as Hotel Manager Henri Letondal as Grotier Leo Mostovoy as Phillipe Alex Frazer as Pritchard George Davis as Cab Driver Alphonse Martell as Headwaiter James Moultrie as Boy Dancer Fred Moultrie as Boy Dancer Jean de Briac as Gendarme Peter Camlin as Gendarme Harry Carey Jr. as Winslow Jean del Val as Ship's Capt Ray Montgomery as Peters Alvy Moore as Anderson Robert Nichols as Evans Charles Tannen as Ed Jimmy Young as Stevens Charles de Ravenne as Purser John Close as Coach William Cabanne as Sims Jack Chefe as Proprietor

Crew Joseph C. Wright - Art Director Lyle Wheeler - Art Director Jack Cole - Choreography William Travilla - Costume Designer Paul Helmick - First Assistant Director Howard Hawks - Director Hugh S. Fowler - Editor Jule Styne - Composer (Music Score) Leo Robin - Composer (Music Score) Lionel Newman - Composer (Music Score) Earle Hagen - Musical Arrangement Lionel Newman - Musical Direction/Supervision Ben Nye, Sr. - Makeup Harry J. Wild - Cinematographer Sol C. Siegel - Producer Claude E. Carpenter - Set Designer Ray Kellogg - Special Effects Roger Heman - Sound/Sound Designer E. Clayton Ward - Sound/Sound Designer Charles Lederer - Screenwriter Joseph Fields - From Musical by Oliver Smith - Play Author Joseph Fields - Play Author Anita Loos - Play Author Herman Levin - Play Author

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
On the surface, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a brassy, garish, colorful musical comedy featuring two rather lightweight actresses, Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell. Ultimately, however, director Howard Hawks uses the nature of the material and the glossy stars to an interesting, paradoxical effect. The film lacks strong masculine characters and any sort of traditional morality; it's dominated by the superficial. The two main characters are sex symbols who, in true Hawksian fashion, have their sex-appeal turned on its head. Monroe's first starring success came the year before, in Niagara, and she had also shown a flair for comedy in Hawks' Monkey Business; but Gentlemen was the first time she proved that she could truly charm an audience, something which she continued to do through 1959's Some Like It Hot. ~ Brendon Hanley, All Movie Guide
 

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General Specifications: Language Options: English, French Subtitle Options: English, Spanish Sound Processing: 1: PCM mono Additional Features: Full frame [aspect ratio 1.33:1] Newly remastered English stereo Original English mono French mono Subtitles: English, Spanish Theatrical trailer Movietone newsreel: Manns' Chinese Theater "Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell in Cement" DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1: Pre-1954 Standard MPAA Rating: NR DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 97 min Part of Series: The Diamond Collection   DVD Chapters: Side #1 0. Scene Selection 1. Two Little Girls From Little Rock [:12] 2. Main Titles [1:21] 3. Dorothy & Lorelei [2:47] 4. Off To France [3:12] 5. The Stateroom [2:09] 6. Bye Bye Baby [2:28] 7. Stop Having Fun [:57] 8. Ain't There Anyone Here For Love? [5:35] 9. Seating Arrangements [2:35] 10. Piggy [3:48] 11. Mr. Malone [1:26] 12. Lady Beekman's Tiara [:08] 13. Mr. Spofford's Table [2:35] 14. Someone Worthwhile [2:05] 15. In A Jam [2:31] 16. The Blonde Burglar [2:23] 17. Plan B [4:00] 18. Piggy's Present [3:38] 19. A Wrong Guy [4:12] 20. Paris [:51] 21. The Jig's Up [4:16] 22. When Love Goes Wrong [1:36] 23. Gus Comes To Paris [2:46] 24. Diamond's Are A Girl's Best Friend [2:08] 25. The Missing Tiara [2:39] 26. A Girl Like I [:08] 27. DIAMONDS ARE A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND (Reprise) [3:48] 28. Who's Got The Tiara? [3:14] 29. Lorelei's Logic [4:35] 30. A Double Wedding [2:59]