REVIEW: How To Marry A Millionaire (1953)

Title: How To Marry A Millionaire
Release Year: 1953
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Cast: Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable
Plot: Three New York models make a master plan to trap rich men and marry them, but things don't quite go as planned.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

Review: I feel like I say this on almost every review, but this really is one of my favourite films of all time. It is one of the most glamorous films of the fifties and truely is the definition of Hollywood's Golden Age.

Of course, having three big glamourous Hollywood stars in one film brought with it some drama, but it was certainly not by the stars themselves. Many columnists at the time, wrote about non-existant arguments between the stars and wrote about how one star had more privileges over the other two, but Nunnally Johnson - the writer and producer of the film - confirmed that it was all a lie and an attempt by the media to stir up some drama. Personally, I think it was actually a type of advertising tactic that maybe people at the time didn't understand.

When I first watched How To Marry A Millionaire, I actually thought I could get some pointers on how to land a millionaire husband hahaha just kidding...or am I?

But anyway, the film took a different turn and a beautiful turn it turned out to be hehe.

I loved the opening credits with the orchestra playing and the first sequence showing some iconic views of New York City. I think most of the films back then, portrayed locations as muses to the films, making characters of the cities. While Paris was always portrayed as the fashion and romance capital, New York was where dreams were made.

Characters:

Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable are three gold digger models who got tired of earning a living, so they decide to move into a luxurious flat in New York city and devise a plan to trap three unsuspecting rich men into marriage.

Bacall plays Schatze Page, the mastermind behind the plot and the most determined of the three. She has a strong personality, much like most of Bacall's roles. Schatze is my favourite character in this film because her stubbornness was amusing.

Monroe plays Pola Debevoise, the dumb blonde who believes everything anyone tells her.

Grable plays Loco Dempsey the dumbest blonde who is also the most resourceful amongst them. When I first saw this film, I wasn't happy with Grable as one of the girls because I felt she was too old for the part. After all, she's only two years younger than Fred Clark. Plus I think she was overrated. Still she didn't ruin the film for me because the lines were great, so she was still funny no matter how wrong she looked in the whole set up.

The ladies' love interests weren't the best choices either, but they too were helped by the lines I guess.

Each of the women had two love interests:

• Bacall had William Powell and Cameron Mitchell
• Monroe had Alexander D'Arcy and David Wayne
• Grable had Fred Clark and Rory Calhoun

While I loved Powell for Bacall, I really wished Mitchell wasn't in the picture. I think although he was great, I felt the film was big enough to handle a bigger name instead. I loved both characters though.

D'Arcy was perfect for one of  Monroe's men but Wayne wasn't, for the same reason as Mitchell. Mitchell was still a better actor though.
 
Clark was great, I really loved to hate him and Rory Calhoun was alright. I didn't feel he was suitable for Grable because he looked much younger, but then who wasn't. Anyway I didn't like his character because he seemed a bit rude I think and snobbish for someone in his social class. I don't know if that was what was intended of his character or it was just his acting heheh still I can't complain because it was Calhoun after all.

Design:
Fashion designer William Travilla, who styled most of Monroe's films, was also behind the styling of this one. I loved Bacall and Monroe's wardrobes and appreciated that each character had outfits that reflected their personalities. I think the only mistake was Grable's unflattering evening gown that she wore when she first met Clark.

Stuart A. Reiss and Walter M. Scott were in charge of the set designs. The interior design of the women's flat is gorgeous. I especially loved the sofas and lamps!.

References:

One of the things I enjoyed the most while watching were the many references that were related to the stars in the film:

1. Lauren Bacall, while talking about her love for older men says:
"I've always liked older men, look at that old fellow what's-his-name from African Queen. I'm absolutely crazy about him" referring to her real life husband, Humphrey Bogart.

2. Betty Grable, while listening to a song on the radio answers:
"I know that's Harry James, because it is Harry James" referring to her real life husband, Harry James.

3. Marilyn Monroe, while modelling, her outfit was presented as:
"You know, of course, that diamonds are a girl's best friend" referring to the song Marilyn's most famous for from the film "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" that was released in the same year as this film.

I love films that refer to people or things of that specific era. That's probably one of the things that make this film such a classic. 

Awards:
I was very surprised to know that no awards were recieved for this film, not even for costume design. There were nominations but none have won.

The only award given was to Marilyn Monroe. It was the Look Award for “Most Promising Newcomer of 1952” awarded by Look Magazine. The award was presented by her co-star Lauren Bacall.

Adaptations:
There were many versions of this film over the years but until now I haven't seen one as good as this. I think there are two more I haven't watched. I'll probably talk about the similarities on another post later on.

I also found out that there is a Cantonese version of the film in 1960 called Kuang Lian. Curiouser and curiouser!

In 1957 there was a television adaptation of the film with the same name. It ran for two seasons and Barbara Eden starred in it! You can watch the first episode here:

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I highly recommend you watch this film if you want a glimpse into old glitzy Hollywood in technicolor, but I warn you, you'll be craving burgers after watching!