Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953).

Review #2549: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

Cast: 

Jane Russell (Dorothy Shaw), Marilyn Monroe (Lorelei Lee), Charles Coburn (Sir Francis "Piggy" Beekman), Elliott Reid (Ernie Malone), Tommy Noonan (Gus Esmond Jr), George Winslow (Henry Spofford III), Marcel Dalio (the magistrate), Taylor Holmes (Mr. Esmond Sr), Norma Varden (Lady Beekman), and Howard Wendell (Watson) Directed by Howard Hawks (#951 - The Big Sleep, #1352 - His Girl Friday, #1399 - Rio Bravo, #1687 - O. Henry's Full House, #1773 - Red River, #2060 - Bringing Up Baby)

Review: 

Sure, Howard Hawks made a musical. Apparently, Hawks had one more film he owed to 20th Century Fox, so it fell to this. The film is based on the 1949 Broadway musical of the same name (with the book by Joseph Fields and Anita Loos, lyrics by Leo Robin, and music by Jule Styne), which in turn was based on the hit 1925 novel (originally serialized as sketches in Harper's Bazaar) that had been written by Anita Loos about, well, a blonde gold-digger and a flapper. Sure, the film was not going to retain the original Broadway duo of Carol Channing and Yvonne Adair as the two stars, because Fox wanted Betty Grable and Ginger Rogers, but what they saw from Niagara (1953) with Monroe led to them going with her. Hawks stated he did none of the production numbers on purpose, which were staged by Jack Cole, once called the "the Father of Theatrical Jazz Dance"; he ultimately worked with Monroe on several films all the way to his last with Let's Make Love [1960]. In his book Hawks on Hawks, he described Monroe as "the most frightened little girl who had no confidence in her ability", with filming basically relying on the patience of Hawks and Russell, although he said he did have fun on the film. In 1955, United Artists released Gentlemen Marry Brunettes (as based on, what else, an Anita Loos novel) that had Russell in a different role paired with Jeanne Crain that had Cole involved but with Richard Sale as director, which did not end up as a major success.

This is one of those movies that I find myself waffling over how good it is, mainly because my patience for musicals is not nearly as great as I wish it was (I think when I was younger I never really got off the high of Singin' in the Rain). With this movie, it rides well on the shenanigans from a fairly game duo of leading women that make worthwhile friends from the jump that is far more curious than, say, seeing where the actual ending goes. It zips along with a few musical numbers of varying quality (mostly good, but I think we know which one is the most discussed) that has some glamour (along with mostly authentic singing* from the actual stars) for 91 minutes. To be honest, for me, Russell is the more interesting of the two leads when it comes to timing*, because she is quite funny without having to strain at actually having fun with the people around her or the good friendship with Monroe, because they exchange the type of pleasantries and hijinks that is alluringly curious. Monroe is just as fun, a real go-getter with the natural ability to just exude bubbly charm without being swallowed up in ditzy generalizations, which helps when considering the ditzy qualities that actually around with the prominent men in the film (Reid, Coburn, Noonan, although at least Holmes is supposed to be stuffy and Winslow, well, he's a kid). Basically, both Russell and Monroe glide through the film as if they were laughing the whole way through. Hell, they both get to do renditions of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" (Russell in a wig for a delightfully funny scene near the end and, well, you know the sequence with Monroe in a pink dress), what's not to like? The diamonds may be somebody's best friend, but it's the dynamic between the two in that authentic sense of self that makes it all go together far more than wondering what the fuss about tiaras are about. As a whole, it's basically a movie that freewheels on the charm of Russell and Monroe with a few fine songs and some sparkly glamour to basically ride to the finish line with excitement for those who buy into its charms.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Song of the day (obvious choice)!

*Yes, the last musical I saw in theaters was Cats (2019), why do you ask?

*Varied claims say that Gloria Wood and Marni Nixon provided a bit of help with "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend"

A Star Is Born (1954).

Review #974: A Star Is Born.

Cast: 
Judy Garland (Esther Blodgett / Vicki Lester), James Mason (Norman Maine), Jack Carson (Matt Libby), Charles Bickford (Oliver Niles), Tommy Noonan (Danny McGuire), Amanda Blake (Susan Etting), Lucy Marlow (Lola Lavery), Irving Bacon (Graves), and Hazel Shermet (Libby's Secretary) Directed by George Cukor (#479 - Travels with My Aunt)

Review: 
It's interesting that George Cukor (who had made What Price Hollywood?) decided to direct the remake of A Star Is Born, which had been made seventeen years earlier and was featured just one review ago on this show. There are quite a few differences between the two versions, namely the decision to make it a musical along with the omission of the grandmother character, turning Esther from a farm-girl wanting to be an actor into an aspiring singer in a band, changing Danny from assistant director to a bandleader along with a few other things. If this had been handled in the wrong hands, it might've felt unnecessary, but the film has the right tools to succeed. This is a finely constructed piece of entertainment, with the biggest highlight being Garland and her performance on screen. There is just something magnetic about her presence that is easily watchable along with easy to care for throughout the movie. She handles both singing and acting as well as one would expect, where neither overshadow each other. Notably, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance; though she was pregnant and could not attend the ceremony, a camera crew was set up at the hospital room in case she won, but she lost to Grace Kelly for her performance in The Country Girl (1954). Mason captures the downward spiral of the character he's playing about as well as you'd expect, doing so with a fine amount of spirit. Carson does a fine job with his character as well, capturing the smarmy nature that Lionel Stander had done in the original film and improving on it. The rest of the cast is fine as well. It's not every day that I watch a film with an intermission, nor one that has a song as memorable as "Born in a Trunk" to get to that point, and it is a fine song in a film with a bunch of entertaining and show-stopping songs, and the music score by Ray Heindorf is also a useful standout.

The film's length was shortened from its premiere version of 182 minutes to 154 for general release in order to erase fears of having less number of daily showings. It was the efforts of Ronald Haver and his research into the Warner Bros archives that led to the finding of most of the missing footage. For the parts that were not found, production stills and accompanying dialogue was used, with that particular version lasting 176 minutes. In any case, this is a fine classic that manages to be a grand showcase for Garland while being a great piece of entertainment. This is a remake that manages to make the material seem fresh and useful without trampling over the original, being a fine-tuned improvement.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.