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How to Marry a Millionaire
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Wikipedia article
'How to Marry a Millionaire' is a 1953 American romantic comedy film directed by Jean Negulesco and written and produced by Nunnally Johnson. The screenplay was based on the plays 'The Greeks Had a Word for It' (1930) by Zoe Akins and 'Loco' (1946) by Dale Eunson and Katherine Albert.
The film stars Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe, and Lauren Bacall as three fashionable Manhattan models, along with William Powell, David Wayne, Rory Calhoun, and Cameron Mitchell as their wealthy marks. Although Grable received top billing in the screen credits, Monroe's name was listed first in all advertising, including the trailer.
Produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox, 'How to Marry a Millionaire' was the studio's first film to be shot in the new CinemaScope wide-screen sound process, although it was the second CinemaScope film released by Fox after the biblical epic film 'The Robe' (also 1953). 'How to Marry a Millionaire' was also the first color and CinemaScope film ever to be shown on prime-time network television (though panned-and-scanned), when it was presented as the first film on NBC's 'Saturday Night at the Movies' on September 23, 1961.
The soundtrack to 'How to Marry a Millionaire' was released on CD by Film Score Monthly on March 15, 2001.
Plot
Resourceful Schatze Page, spunky Loco Dempsey, and ditzy Pola Debevoise are money-hungry gold diggers. The trio rent a luxurious Sutton Place penthouse in New York City from Freddie Denmark, who is avoiding the IRS by living in Europe. The women plan to use the apartment to attract rich men. And on the day they move in, Loco carries in groceries, assisted by Tom Brookman (Cameron Mitchell), who is attracted to Schatze. She dismisses him as being poor and sets her sights on the charming, classy, rich widower J.D. Hanley. While she is stalking the older J.D., Tom pursues her. After every date, she says she never wants to see Tom again, refusing to marry another "gas pump jockey".
Meanwhile, Loco meets grumpy businessman, Walter Brewster. He is married, but she agrees to go with him to his lodge in Maine, thinking it is a convention of the Elks Club. Loco discovers her mistake and attempts to leave. However, she comes down with the measles and is quarantined. Upon recovering, she begins seeing forest ranger, Eben Salem. She mistakenly believes Salem is a wealthy landowner instead of a civil servant overseeing acres of forestlands. She is disappointed when she realizes the truth, but loves him anyway and is willing to overlook his financial shortcomings.
as J.D. Hanley prepares to marry Schatze, with Loco and Pola as bridesmaids
Pola is myopic but hates wearing glasses in the presence of men. She falls for a phony oil tycoon, J. Stewart Merrill, unaware he is a crooked speculator. When she takes a plane from LaGuardia Airport to meet him, she ends up on the wrong plane. A man sits next to her, also wearing glasses. He thinks she is "quite a strudel" and encourages her to wear hers. He is the mysterious Freddie Denmark on his way to Kansas City to find the crooked accountant who got him into trouble with the IRS. He has little luck when he tracks the man down, but he and Pola fall in love and get married.
Loco and Pola are reunited with Schatze just before her wedding to J.D.. Schatze is unable to go through with the marriage and confesses to J.D. that she loves Tom. He agrees to call off the ceremony. Tom is among the wedding guests and the two reconcile and marry. Afterwards, the three happy couples end up at a greasy spoon diner. Schatze jokingly asks Eben and Freddie about their financial prospects, which are slim. When she finally gets around to Tom, he casually admits a net worth of around $200 million, which no one takes seriously. He then calls for the check, pulls out an enormous wad of money, and pays with a $1,000 bill, telling the chef to keep the change. The three astonished women faint, and the men drink a toast to their unconscious wives.
Cast
* Betty Grable as Loco Dempsey
* Marilyn Monroe as Pola Debevoise
* Lauren Bacall as Schatze Page
* William Powell as J. D. Hanley
* David Wayne as Freddie Denmark
* Rory Calhoun as Eben Salem
* Cameron Mitchell as Tom Brookman
* Alex D'Arcy as J. Stewart Merrill
* Fred Clark as Waldo Brewster
Production
Nunnally Johnson, who adapted the screenplay from two different plays, produced the picture.
20th Century Fox started production on 'The Robe' before it began 'How to Marry a Millionaire'. Although the latter was completed first, the studio chose to present 'The Robe' as its first CinemaScope picture in late September or early October 1953 because it saw 'The Robe' as being more family-friendly and attracting a larger audience to introduce its widescreen process.
The film's cinematography was by Joseph MacDonald. The costume design was by Travilla.
Portrayal of New York
Between scenes, the cinematography has some iconic color views of mid-20th century New York City: Rockefeller Center, Central Park, the United Nations Building, and Brooklyn Bridge in the opening sequence following the credits. Other iconic views include the Empire State Building, the lights of Times Square at night and the George Washington Bridge.A song extolling the virtues of New York follows the Gershwin-like music used for the title credits, after an elaborate 5 minute pre-credit sequence showcasing a 70-piece orchestra conducted by Alfred Newman before the curtain goes up.
Music
The score for 'How To Marry a Millionaire' was one of the first recorded for film in stereo and was composed and directed by Alfred Newman, with incidental music of Cyril Mockridge and orchestrated by Edward B. Powell. The album was released on CD by Film Score Monthly on March 15, 2001, as part of Film Score Monthly's series 'Golden Age Classics'.
Release and box office
'How to Marry a Millionaire' premiered at the Fox Wilshire Theatre (now the Saban Theatre), in Beverly Hills, California, on November 4, 1953. The film was a box office success for Fox, earning $8 million worldwide and $7.5 million domestically, second highest for it that year to 'The Robe'. It was the fourth highest-grossing film of 1953, whereas Monroe's previous feature 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' was seventh.
Award nominations
Television adaptation
In 1957, the film was adapted into a sitcom 'How to Marry a Millionaire'. The series starred Barbara Eden (as Loco Jones), Merry Anders (Michelle "Mike" Page), Lori Nelson (Greta Lindquist) and as Nelson's later replacement, Lisa Gaye as Gwen Kirby. It aired in syndication for a total of two seasons.
Remake
In 2000, 20th Century Fox Television produced a made-for-TV remake called 'How to Marry a Billionaire: A Christmas Tale'. It reversed the sex roles, and had three men looking to marry female millionaires. The film starred John Stamos, Joshua Malina and Shemar Moore.
In 2007, Nicole Kidman bought the rights to 'How to Marry a Millionaire' under her production company Blossom Films, intending to produce and possibly star in a remake.[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ia76075fe469ef9a4c7607b47504d85bb Siegel, Tatiana. 'The Hollywood Reporter' 2007-04-27]
References
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