In Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, the Monroe
mannerisms all combine in a very sexy explosion of music, comedy, and
romance unequalled in the rest of her career. Marilyn turned Anita
Loos's quintessential gold-digger Lorelei Lee into a parfait of dizzy,
delectable delight singing Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend,
and Jane Russell matched her every move as her brainy brunette
roommate Dorothy.
Charles Coburn is delightful as Piggy, a horny old
millionaire Marilyn sets her sights on ("I just love finding new
places to wear diamonds, " she gushes while the old man blushes)
and six-year-old George Winslow, as a precocious kid who helps Marilyn
squeeze her derriere through a ship's porthole, is hilarious. But it's
really the genius casting of the two stars, igniting the screen with
their particular appeal, and the lavish Jack Cole dance numbers
created for them, that made Gentlemen Prefer Blondes a smash.
Marilyn Monroe
Jane Russell
Charles Coburn
Tommy Noonan
Elliot Reed
George "Foghorn" Winslow