How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), starring Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable. Written by Nunnally Johnson. Directed by Jean Negulesco.
ANGELA SAYS:
The premise of the movie makes the three husband hunters seem like gold diggers who are out to make a killing. However, the attitude is more that men are unpredictable, and you’ll probably get a dud. Since that’s the case, it’s much easier to be unhappy and have money, than not. If you take it in that lighthearted, 1950s era vein, you can laugh at the antics our trio gets into. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough of them, in my opinion. Bacall, Grable and Monroe all received top billing, but in reality, Bacall was the lead and the other two were supporting actresses. This is a shame because Pola Debevoise (Monroe) and Loco Dempsey (Grable) are hilarious characters that would have shone had their foibles been exploited more. In contrast, Schatze Page (Bacall) is a world weary woman who married for love and was burned.
With the exception of J.D. Hanley (William Powell), the male characters are all one note and pretty interchangeable. The men that Page and Dempsey marry are not given much screen time, while Debevoise’ catch isn’t introduced until the final third of the movie. The only thing we know about him is that the IRS wants him for tax evasion, of which he may or may not be guilty. The movie covers several months, but, disappearing furniture aside, it feels like a few weeks. It would have been funnier had scatter brained Dempsey and vain Debevoise been given more screen time to strut their stuff. This movie could have been laugh out loud funny, but the jokes and gags often fall flat or are only mildly amusing. This is underscored by the five or ten minute orchestra intro BEFORE the opening credits. That screen time could have been used to flesh out the movie a little more.
On another note, Monroe could ACT. This movie came out the same year as Gentleman Prefer Blondes and before her blond bombshell, sex kitten persona was solidified. I wish she’d had the time to grow and expand her repertoire, and avoided the drugs and other poor life choices.
All told, this isn’t one of my absolute favorite old time movies, but there aren’t many movies from this era I would condemn as a complete waste of time. While I think it could have been better, it was still a funny movie that provided an entertaining ninety minutes. Unless you have a husband like Tim who will watch romantic comedies, especially if they are in black and white, this is a good movie for girl night with popcorn and your favorite beverage. You remember those sleepovers as a kid where you watched silly girl movies and ate far too much junk food and soda? That is this movie.
TIM SAYS:
This won't be a very dramatic or marriage-threatening blog entry, because I pretty much agree with Angela. It's a silly and entertaining film, but could have been much funnier if it had given more time to Monroe and Gable, amping up the screwball feel of the whole story. What we get is good and there's a steady supply of good laughs, but nothing ever reaches the "gut-busting funny" feel that seems to be hiding right below the surface.
Monroe's character is a perfect example of this. Pola Debevoise is blind as a bat, but refuses to wear glasses because she's convinced they make her look unattractive. This allows us to see that Marilyn did indeed have a talent for comedy and slapstick, but we just don't get enough of it.
Her scene on an airplane with David Wayne's character is perhaps the best in the film. It's very funny. But also, it's the only time in the movie that we feel one of the girls is really connecting with her guy. David Wayne was an excellent comedic actor and he plays off well against Monroe, giving them a chemistry that the other guy/girl match-ups in the film never quite achieve.
So I'm glad Angela picked this one and I enjoyed watching it, but it does leave an aura of WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN behind.
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