Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes | 1953 | U | Dir. Howard Hawks | US | 91 mins | IMDb 7.1

ONLY PACKAGES ARE AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE JUST NOW WHICH ENABLES YOU TO SEE ALL FOUR FILMS.

Tickets for individual Classic Cinema films will only be made available much nearer the time, if space allows.

The final film in our Classic Cinema Season is Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), featuring the one and only Marilyn Monroe.

Marilyn Monroe’s face is of arguably the most recognisable actress of all time. Her fame and global recognition is all the more remarkable considering her untimely death at just 36 years old.

The film is based on a 1949 Broadway musical of the same name, which itself was based on a 1925 comic novel Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: The Intimate Diary of a Professional Lady, by Anita Loos. The book was published the same year as The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald within a trend of books set in the Jazz Age of the 1920s and 30s.

This version of the story is filmed in glorious Technicolor and showcases the comedic and musical talents of both Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell. Entertainers Lorelei Lee (Monroe) and Dorothy Shaw (Russell) travel to Paris on a transatlantic cruise with a whole set of eligible men, including the US Olympic Team, plus a private investigator, Ernie Malone (Elliot Reid) on their tails. Lorelei and Dorothy’s very different attitudes to love and marriage are a delightful contrast, with the ladies leaving most of the menfolk in their wake in a series of hilarious comedic scenes. The supporting cast including Reid, Charles Coburn and Tommy Noonan are great foils for Monroe and Russell.

Directed by Howard Hawks, one of the greatest American filmmakers, who helmed such classic films as Scarface (1932), El Dorado (1966), Rio Bravo (1959), The Big Sleep (1946), and To Have and Have Not (1944). He is famous for portrayals of strong female characters, known as “Hawksian women”. Hawks never won an Oscar for his films, receiving an Honorary Academy Award in 1975.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes includes classic musical numbers “Two Little Girls from Little Rock”, “Ain’t There Anyone Here For Love?”and, of course, “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend”. Most of the songs were taken from the original stage musical, written by Jule Styne and Leo Robin, with new songs for the film by Hoagy Carmichael, Harold Adamson and others. The musical numbers are choreographed to wonderful effect by Jack Cole.

Monroe’s performance of “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” in her iconic pink dress and adornments has inspired many a homage, including Madonna’s “Material Girl” video - another link to our Ladies with Attitude theme for CCS3.

The film gave Monroe and Russell top-billing, with no male actors headlining, and established Monroe as Hollywood’s biggest female star of the time. However, this is not just Monroe’s film, with Russell more than holding her own, and the two leads working in harmony, In fact, one of the highlights of the film is Russell’s impersonation of Monroe’s character in the French court scene.

So two Ladies with Attitude for the price of one in the final film of our Classic Cinema season!

• Seating limited to 64 so we recommend you book in advance.

• Screen 3.

• One wheelchair space - get in touch to reserve this - at contact.harrogatefilmsociety@gmail.com

• Doors open at 6.45pm and the film will start after the introduction @ 7pm.  

• Premier seating RESERVED for Classic Cinema Package holders ONLY. All other seating is unreserved.

• Free parking in Odeon car park but you must display a parking voucher available from Odeon staff.