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Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
Animal Magnetism. Marilyn's Multi-Layered Sex Appeal
"Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," a light-headed comedy at first glance, is probably the most powerful, archaic, bacchanalian homage to Marilyn Monroe's raw sex appeal ever made. Legendary director Howard Hawks has costumes, make-up, and music converge to underscore Marilyn monumental self-representation as the Holy Trinity of Sex, as Artemis, Aphrodite, and the Magna Mater. My interpretation may seem labored a first, but I do believe that beneath a surface of harmless jokes and half-prudish innuendo, there is an abyss of sexual archetypes evoked by Marilyn Monroe in an enormously suggestive performance.
The plot of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" is roughly that Lorelei Lee (MM), a blonde showgirl with a hot body and an empty head, wishes to lure the rich, inexperienced bachelor Gus Esmond (Tommy Noonan) into marrying her. Since Gus's father opposes the marriage, they plan on getting married in France. Gus sends Lorelei, accompanied by fellow showgirl Dorothy Shaw (Jane Russell), ahead by ship, warning her not to produce any scandal. On the trip, Lorelei meets the senile, but lustful millionaire Sir Francis Beekman, whom she talks into giving her the diamond tiara of his wife. Lord Beekman, however, reports the tiara as stolen, so that Lorelei has to face the police upon her arrival in Paris. In a sub-plot Dorothy falls in love with Ernie Malone (Elliott Reid), a private detective hired by Gus's father to spy on Lorelei. After some twists and turns, both couples join their hands in matrimony in a final wedding scene.
There are moments in which Marilyn is a pagan Virgin divine, a goddess with the white knees, Artemis. These are the kittenish moments and the pensive ones, e.g. when she enters her cabin with Noonan and naively exclaims: "Look! Round Windows!" as she points to the portholes. You may say she's just playing dumb, which is true to a certain extent, but there really is an original sense of authentic innocence about her in that moment. The same is true of the scene in which Lorelei, immediately after being the performing the materialistic, yet grand musical number "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," in a contemplative moods explains to Dorothy that she really does love Gus.
There is, however, the second layer of archetypical allusion in those scenes in which Lorelei appears as the temptress, a goddess of venal sexuality, an Aphrodite. Needless to say that the aforesaid song, which explicitly encourages women to ask for monetary remuneration in return for sexual favors, belongs in this group. Generally all scenes suggesting the exchange sex for money are part and parcel of this layer of meaning, like the scene in which Marilyn tries on the infamous diamond tiara, exclaiming in her seductive voice: "I just love finding new places to wear diamonds!" One might also think of the initial song "Two Little Girls From Little Rock" and the subsequent scene in the showgirls' dressing room, in which Lorelei relishes in the gift of a diamond engagement ring.
The most powerful, and in a sense most dignified, group of mythic allusions is that which make Marilyn a lager-than-life mother figure oscillating between allure and authority. There are a number of scenes in which the male figures are reduced to mere boys in her presence. This is the case with Gus all along, who appears no more than a pale appendix to the luminous presence of Lorelei in virtually all scenes in which Noonan and Monroe's characters are on screen together. The delightful scene in which Marilyn is stuck in a porthole states the idea explicitly: Mr. Henry Spofford III, a mere boy, sees her and assumes that she is a burglar, but explains that he is going to held her for two reasons: "The first reason is that I'm to young to be sent into jail. And the second reason is, you've got a lot of animal magnetism." Is there any scene in any MM-movie that more clearly words the deep, dark, desperate devotional desire Marilyn's persona incited and continues to incite in the male psyche? I don't think she herself was fully aware of the power that came with her unique, radiant femininity. Just watch the musical number "When Love Goes Wrong," in which two young boys dance before Marilyn as she sings of love: The seductive glance she casts at one of the boys seems to galvanize him, like a premature awakening, a coming-of-age initiated by a mere look.
Jane Russell is a fabulous costar, and a costar who was a lot better payed than Marilyn, sad as it is to say that. In the musical duets, Russell also proves that she had a better singing voice than Marilyn. But nonetheless the movie is really built around Marilyn and her multi-layered, powerful sexual aura. From costumes (the unforgettable pink dress) through music ("Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend") to memorable quotes ("I just love finding new places to wear diamonds") it's Lorelei whose image remains engraved most lastingly in the mind of anybody who has ever seen "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." The movie has made Marilyn into the true Lorelei of the German folk legend, a mythical woman, unreachable, yet desirable, who comprises all the mentioned layers of femininity, a holy virgin, a lustful hetaera, and a mother goddess at the same time.
Désirée (1954)
Outstanding Performance by Major Actors
Marlon Brando proved his stature as one of the greatest movie actors over and over again - from "A Streetcar Named Desire" through "On the Water Front" all the way to "The Godfather." In the light of his marvelous performance as Napoleon I. in "Desiree," it seems surprising that this movie doesn't quite get the same attention as those others he starred in. "Desiree" seems even more underrated when you take into account the great acting of Jean Simmons (Desiree Clary), Merle Oberon (Josephine Beauharnais), and Michael Rennie (Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte). All four main actors deliver powerful performances giving the viewer a real sense of the powerful personalities they embody.
The story is that of Napoleon, however, seen through the eyes of his first fiancée, Desiree Clary, daughter of a wealthy Marseilles merchant, whom Napoleon leaves to wed Josephine Beauharnais. The Beauharnais's political connections facilitate the military leader's rise to political power, but Napoleon dumps her for Marie Luise of Austria when it turns out that Josephine is unable to bear children.
Meanwhile, Desiree marries Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, one of Napoleons most distinguished generals. Thus, Desiree remains in Napoleon's orbit, and the Emperor repeatedly distinguishes her amongst the ladies of his court, making it clear that his love for her never fully died out. When the Swedish parliament offers her throne to her husband, Desiree follows Bernadotte to his new country. But since she's unable to adapt to the stiff protocol of the Swedish court, Desiree returns to France, just in time to see Napoleon make the tragic mistake of leading the "grande armee" to Russia.
Marlon Brando masterfully conveys the image of a charismatic leader who believes himself chosen by destiny to fulfill a task of truly historic proportions. In every scene, Brando's Napoleon commands attention and obedience by way of natural authority. From the moment he enters the Clarys' family parlor and seizes control of the evening conversation all the way through his bitter discussions with Bernadotte about the latter's acceptance of the Swedish crown to his acknowledgment of defeat after the Battle of Waterloo Brando shows us a dignified, determined, and at times dangerous leader.
Just one - hilariously funny - example: There is a scene in which the court is rehearsing for the 1804 coronation of Napoleon and Josephine in Notre Dame with the future Emperor not present. Napoleon's sisters refuse to carry Josephine's train and bicker about their brother's not bestowing enough honors and titles upon them. All of a sudden, Brando's voice is heard "May I be of help in this difficult and strategic operation?", and the entire court bows down in deference. As Marlon Brando walks through the ranks of the lickspittles, everything seems in perfect order. He IS the Emperor in the same way that he just IS the godfather. And it's that natural authority that Brando conveys throughout the film.
Simmons's Desiree on the other hand is charming. The character is not designed to have the same powerful screen presence though it lends itself to the movie's title but nonetheless Desiree is an interesting character in that she exhibits human growth. The character starts as a naïve, flirtatious teenager infatuated by the "bovarisme" of romantic novels; she's just as overjoyed at commanding the attention of a general as she's heartbroken on finding out that Napoleon is going to marry Josephine. She then moves on to becoming the traditional mother figure as she has a son with Bernadotte; a desirable woman willing and able to bear responsibility, but without any greater intellectual ambition. And she finally reaches a stage of intellectual maturity which enables her to convince the Emperor in a grand, though highly fictionalized scene that it is better to surrender to the allied forces than to shed more blood in a futile attempt to save the bits and pieces of his shattered empire after the Battle of Waterloo. It is this development that is mirrored in Simmons's performance at all stages.
Oberon and Rennie as Josephine and Bernadotte are congenial counterparts though their characters have considerably less screen time and are of lesser importance to the plot. Particularly Oberon's air of desolation in the scene in which she speaks with Desiree about Napoleon's decision to marry Marie Louise is impressive. So, too, are the aforesaid discussions between Bernadotte and Napoleon. Brando's Napoleon commands the scene here too, but there is an authentic sense that Rennie's Bernadotte is doggedly refusing to give in to his former commander's demands.
"Desiree" is an underrated movie, especially given the comparatively low IMDb-rating, which remains mysterious to me. The performance of Brando is outstanding; those of Simmons, Oberon, and Rennie are remarkable as well. It goes without saying that the costumes are lavish and the cinematography impressive. A top movie in the genre of historic drama.
They Died with Their Boots On (1941)
A Monument to Custer and Crazy Horse
It's true that "They Died With Their Boots On" gives a highly fictionalized account of George Armstrong Custer's (Errol Flynn) life and career, but a remarkable one, especially with regard to the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Because it is not a given that a 1941 movie tries to portray both the US-American cavalryman and Native American leader Chief Crazy Horse (Anthony Quinn) in a favorable light. I'm almost tempted to say that "Little Big Man" in its unqualified anti-Custer stance seems unbalanced by comparison. Further, one should not be mislead by the title of the picture this isn't just a movie about the Battle of the Little Big Horn, it's a movie about that shows the unreliable West Point cadet, the famed Civil War hero, the Indian fighter, and, last but not least, the husband.
The movie begins with Custer's time at the West Point military academy, where his recalcitrance and insubordinate behavior lead to frequent demerits. During a punitive military exercise, he meets his future wife, Elizabeth Bacon (Olivia de Havilland), who, like Custer himself, is a native of Monroe, Michigan. Custer intends to court her, but the outbreak of the Civil War calls him away. Custer's legendary bravery is shown in a sequence of battle scenes, the greatest of which is devoted to his engagement with legendary Southern cavalry general Jeb Stuart during the Battle of Gettysburg. While on leave, he travels to Monroe and courts Elizabeth, who promises him her hand in matrimony. Immediately after the war, Custer and Elizabeth Bacon are married.
With the Civil War over, Custer is demoted, doesn't get a real command, and has to go through the painstakingly slow process of promotion in the small, professional American army. As he starts to drink, his wife intervenes in his behalf with former general-in-chief Winfield Scott. Custer is given the command of the US 7th Cavalry, which he trains to be an elite unit. Neither Custer nor Crazy Horse are desirous of battle, but greedy businessmen and corrupt politicians decide to build a railroad through Indian lands in clear violation to earlier treaties. Custer explicitly acknowledges the justice of Crazy Horse's cause, but rides into battle to do his duty as a soldier, exposing the conspiracy of the moneyed interests in a letter he writes on the eve of battle.
"They Died With Their Boots On," though short on historical accuracy, is as good as war movies and Westerns in the 1940s got: Both Custer and Crazy Horse are played by major actors, neither the Indians nor the Southern Confederacy are denigrated, and the courtship scenes with beautiful Livvy de Havilland are just charming. The only minus, and that's why I can't give this picture a full 10, is the undercurrent of racism in the portrayal of African American servants; Elizabeth's servant Callie is the stereotypical, overweight, good-natured, superstitious black mammy.
It is also interesting that the movie does not find fault with either Custer or Crazy Horse, but with the greed of the railroad companies pressuring Washington politicians with semi-criminal methods into breaking assurances they had given to the Native Americans. Just a couple of years later, the insinuation that American entrepreneurs could even think of doing anything remotely questionable would probably have been taken as a hint that the film makers were communist sympathizers.
Needless to say that "They Died With Their Boots On" omits the fact that Custer's overly aggressive tactics often bordered on the foolhardy, greatly overstates the importance of his engagement with Stuart, and doesn't mention the lack of reconnaissance prior to the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Nevertheless, Custer was seen as a war hero by his contemporaries and had some spectacular exploits to point to in the Battles of Brandy Station, Gettysburg, Trevilian Station and others, though his feats of arms were not as decisive for the Civil War as "They Died With Their Boots On" suggests.
In any event, "They Died With Their Boots On" is a well-made war movie with Western elements, three outstanding performers (Flynn, Quinn, and de Havilland), and offers a positive view of Native Americans as well as a negative one on big money, which wouldn't be seen in major Hollywood productions for decades to come. It would deserve a 10 if it weren't for the racist minstrelization of African Americans.
Vera Cruz (1954)
The True Birth of a Nation
It is with due deliberation that the title of this comment alludes to the infamous, though cinematographically outstanding, 1915 pro-Ku Klux Klan movie "The Birth of a Nation." Because, whilst "The Birth of a Nation," to support its racist ideology, makes the outrageous argument that the American nation was not truly conceived until the Reconstruction Period when white Northerners and Southerners joined hands against the threat of black anarchy, "Vera Cruz" tells a different story about post-bellum US history. Certainly did Robert Aldrich not intend to make a movie about reconstruction America, but he rather chose to tell a Western tale set in Imperial Mexico, featuring two of the genres greatest actors, Burt Lancaster as Joe Erin and Gary Cooper as Ben Trane. But there is another layer of meaning.
The plot runs as follows: Ben Trane, a Southern Civil War veteran from Louisiana, goes to Mexico in 1866 to fight for the Austrian-born Emperor Maximilian against the Mexican patriots, the Juaristas. Trane, high-minded but disappointed by his fate and in dire need of money to rebuild his destroyed plantation, accidentally meets outlaw Joe Erin and his gang of desperados. Together, they are hired by Maximilian's minion, the Marquis de Labordere, to escort the Countess Duvarre to Vera Cruz. They learn, however, that the coach of the Countess contains money intended to hire mercenaries for the Emperor. Since the Countess, the American gunslingers, and the Juaristas all try to steel the money, which only the Marquis tries to secure for the Emperor, the escort turns into an action-packed pursuit spiced up by a double love story between Erin and the Countess as well as Trane and the attractive Juarista Nina. In the end, the noble Trane decides that a good cause outweighs a good pay, shoots the selfish Erin, and gives the money to the Juaristas.
Though the two American gunslingers and their companions fight for Emperor Maximilian against the Juaristas, the movie permanently alludes to the American Civil War and its aftermath - and Gary Cooper's character is the focal point of these allusions. When Erin and Trane meet in a saloon, Erin asks Trane if it wasn't true that all Southerners were Colonels, whereupon Trane explains that he lost everything in the war. When the Marquis hires Erin and Trane, there is a standoff with a Juarista general who makes a counter offer to the Americans to fight for the Mexican insurrection. As the Mexican general hears that Ben Trane fought for the South, he compliments him on the noble cause. When Erin talks negatively about Trane in a private conversation with the Countess, he mentions that Trane had been an "aide to General Beauregard," which is of course fitting for a Louisiana man. The list of allusions could easily be extended.
But the point is not that "Vera Cruz" paints a favorable image of a Southern Civil War veteran, the point is how he interacts with the ethnic characters. Ben Trane loves Nina, a Mexican girl, whom he saves from rape twice. More importantly, the second attempt, carried out by one of Erins rogues named Pittsburg (young Charles Bronson) is initially thwarted by an African-American member of the gang, Tex, who is wearing a Northern Civil War uniform. Actually, when Trane joined the gang earlier in the movie, Tex asked him whether he had a problem with fighting beside a Northern veteran, which Trane denied. In this second attempted rape, Tex comes to Nina's rescue, gets in danger of being overwhelmed by the other rogues, and is in his turn aided by Ben Trane. If this scene, in which a former Southern veteran and a former Northern veteran of color save a Mexican girl from being raped, is not a symbol of reconciliation by way of the US coming together in a noble struggle regardless of racial or regional background, than nothing is. Needless to say that Trane is also avenging Tex's death at the end of the movie when he shoots Erin because Erin had just previously killed the unsuspecting Tex in cold blood.
"Vera Cruz" is a fantastic Western because of its colorful costumes, large-scale gunfights, stage coach chases, and naturally because of two mega-stars in the main roles. It's just a movie that never ages - and it has a hidden message about the reconciliation of the North and the South after the Civil War.
The Prince and the Showgirl (1957)
A Comededy That Goes a Little Deeper
It has been rightly stated in other comments on this page that "The Prince and the Showgirl" is not the best Marilyn Monroe movie ever made, especially considering such later pictures as "Some Like It Hot" and "The Misfits." It is also true that "The Prince and the Showgirl" is not Marilyn's best performance, given her outstanding acting as Sugar Kane and Roslyn Taber in the aforesaid movies. I do contend nonetheless that "The Prince and the Showgirl" is a delightful comedy in an interesting historic setting with hidden message underneath; a movie in which the supposedly empty-headed blonde looms a lot larger than her illustrious male costar/director. And I may add though I am aware that this is a matter of taste entirely that Marilyn was never sexier than when she played Elsie Marina. She's real eye candy.
But one step at a time. The plot runs as follows: On the eve of World War I at the 1912 coronation of King George V, to be precise a British diplomat by the name of Northbrook (Richard Wattis) is charged with entertaining the pro-British ruler of the imaginary Balkan state of Carpathia, the Grand Duke Charles (Laurence Olivier). Carpathia is a fairly important regional power, which is why the British Foreign Office fears that the county might side with Germany if Charles's pro-German son Nicholas rose to power.
Northbrook takes the Grand Duke to see a light musical comedy, and it is in the theater that Charles is introduced to the attractive American-born actress Elsie Marina (Monroe), who, as we later learn, is of German descent. Charles wishes to lure Elsie into a one-night stand, but the American showgirl's lack of refined manners collides with the high-strung aristocrat's ideas of a smooth, short-lived love affair. In a sub-plot, Nicholas conspires with the Germans against his father.
As said earlier, the genteel humour is delightful, the Edwardian costumes are dazzling to look at, and Marilyn Monroe overshadowing the unimaginative performance of Olivier is simply white hot. There are a number of shots in that movie that would make great stills of Monroe, e.g. when she reads Charles's written invitation (she has her hair down and looks like a Vermeer beauty), when she enters the Carpathian embassy and admires at the gilded decorations, when she is engulfed in her marvellous reverie in Westminster Abbey etc. etc. Not only is she sexy in these moments, but there is really a sense of great (silent) acting, the emotions showing in her features. And the shots as such could almost be described as devotional pictures. Just stop the DVD for a sec at these moments and enjoy the tableaux.
Regrettably, Olivier's rendering of the Grand Duke seems rather wooden and dated by comparison. He speaks with an inauthentic German accent, and he moves in a stiff and military way to indicate the Grand Duke's arrogance and authoritarian stance, which he exhibits by tyrannizing his son, yelling at servants, and by having opposition leaders arrested and jailed without trial. Overall, Olivier does his best to show the Grand Duke as the archetypical ugly German.
I guess this is precisely where "The Prince and the Showgirl" goes "a little deeper" than most other plays in musical comedy, as Olivier's character once remarks about the play in which Elsie Marina appears. I don't know if Terrence Rattigan, on whose play and script the movie is based, intended this, but the allusions are quite obvious: "The Prince and the Showgirl" can be understood as a comment on McCarthyism, much like Arthur Miller's "The Crucible." Because when a powerful man in a 1957 movie has political opponents arrested without trial on charges of "un-Carpathian activity," that's a comment on the ongoing red scare in the US rather than on Imperial Germany. And to crown it all, it's the innocent American who criticizes the ugly German for the persecution of these un-American (McCarthy)/un-Carpathian (Grand Duke Charles) people, who conspire with a foreign power to overthrow the constitution. It's almost uncanny that Arthur Miller, whom Marilyn had wed just a few months before, was present when the movie was shot AND had to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee immediately when he returned from England. Bear in mind that the Committee was originally intended to find German-American Nazi collaborators!
There is one other historical detail I as a German find almost hilarious in an American movie based on an Englishman's screenplay: As other commentators have observed, Olivier spices up his dry performance by using German swear words which were probably outdated in the 50s already ("Kreuzdonnerwetter noch mal" etc.). Asked by Elsie Marina why he always swore in German, the Grand Duke replies: "Because the Germans have the best oaths - and the best machine guns." Isn't that the truth the Hun simply has the best machine guns. Funny only that the German Maschinengewehr 08 was more or less a direct copy of the English Maxim gun invented by the American-born engineer Sir Hiram S. Maxim. And by the time "The Great War" starts the Brits have a way more modern machine gun than the 08 in the shape of the famous Vickers gun as do the Yankees when their forces enter WWI (Browning M1917 machine gun.)
In a nutshell, "The Prince and the Showgirl" is a fun movie to watch on the surface and provides highly interesting commentary on contemporary US history underneath. Marilyn Monroe sparkles, though her role doesn't challenge her in the same way as did her parts in "Some Like It Hot" and "The Misfits" those parts really brought out her enormous artistic versatility, as did the 1952 picture "Don't Bother to Knock." The costumes, props, and decorations are splendid and contribute to a dense, decadent, somewhat fin de siècle atmosphere of this romantic comedy set in the Edwardian era. A must-see and clearly a 10, despite the shortcomings of Olivier's performance.
Something's Got to Give (1962)
Marilyn's Marvellous Farewell
The poignancy of seeing Marilyn Monroe in her final, uncompleted picture is deepened still by the emptiness one feels at the thought of what the silver-screen goddess might still have accomplished.
It is true that "Something's Got to Give", based on the screwball comedy "My Favorite Wife" (1940), is a rather light, conventional movie: Nick Arden (Dean Martin) has his wife Ellen (Marilyn Monroe), who got lost in a storm five years ago, declared dead so as to be able to remarry. Upon returning from his honeymoon with his new spouse Bianca (Cyd Charisse), Nick finds that Ellen, who got stranded on a tropical island with another man, was rescued and has come home. Ellen pretends to be the new Swedish maid in order to mislead Bianca, at the same time urging Nick to explain to Bianca that she is indeed his legitimate wife. Nick, however, has suspicions of his own about the man who stayed with Ellen on the island. The fragment breaks off after Ellen introduces another man to Nick as her former companion.
Just weeks before her suicide, Marilyn Monroe is as brilliant, sexy, and effervescent as ever. I do not agree that she seems absent-minded in the completed scenes - this assessment is a misconception rooted in the fact that the reconstructed movie can only be seen as the last part of the documentary "The Final Days," which strongly foregrounds Marilyn's dependency on barbituaries. In the picture itself, however, Marilyn is in top form. Particularly in the scene in which Ellen returns to her home for the first time in five years, and finds that her two children have no conscious memories of her, Marilyn's performance is outstanding: Her silent emotional response to the place and her body language match her best performances in "Bus Stop" (when she's mad at Don Murray), "The Prince and the Showgirl" (the reverie in Westminster Abbey), "Some Like It Hot" (her disappointment at Tony Curtis leaving her) and "The Misfits" (overall). You can see that she actually relates to the idea of a mother coming home and not finding reciprocal affection in her family, which allows a deep glimpse into her own psyche, i.e. her desperate wish to have kids of her own.
Further, the nude bathing scene is absolutely stunning even though there is something labored to it. Marilyn definitely wanted people to see what an extraordinary body she still had at 36; you can see that she makes people see. And - as we learn from the documentary - she wanted to knock Liz Taylor, who was shooting "Cleopatra" in Rome, off the magazine covers, which she did. Despite these afterthoughts, there is an authentic sense that Marilyn's really enjoying herself and feels confident about herself. Seeing this kind of self-assurance, it is hard to believe that she suffered from depression, physical fatigue, and alcohol/drug abuse while she was shooting the picture.
Finally, despite her luminous aura and still impressive physique, "Something's Got to Give" shows a more mature Marilyn, as do the photos made by Bert Stern and George Barris taken at the same time. Marilyn Monroe is no longer Cary Grant's secretary - as in "Monkey Business" - or the bubble-headed showgirl she had to play so often ("Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," "Let's Make Love" etc.); she's Dean Martin's wife and an affectionate mother of two children. This is at least in part the reason why it is so sad that Marilyn couldn't make more movies: Had she lived longer, "Something's Got to Give" might have continued the transition from "girl" parts to "woman" parts, which began with her playing Roslyn Taber in "The Misfits" - her best performance by far in her most artistic picture.
To sum it up: Though the plot of "Something's Got to Give" is pretty thin, Marilyn is at her best in the completed scenes. Her presence is as bright and dominant as it ever was. The movie might have continued the transitional phase of her career towards more mature parts, and hence might have opened a new chapter in the history of Hollywood film making. It is infinitely sad that Marilyn Monroe, eclipsing her fabulous co-stars once again in her final picture, had to go so early.