The Movie That Made Marilyn Monroe Cry: Men Love Blondes

In 1953, Men Like Blondes, starring Marilyn Monroe, broke box office records and topped the charts. Later it turned out that during the filming of the film, in which Marilyn Monroe plays the role of “stupid blonde”, legendary events took place. Let’s take a look at the details of this legendary film, in which Monroe sang his iconic song together.

Life, career and death: the life story of Marilyn Monroe in photographs

1. It was originally planned that the role of Lorelei will play Betty Grable.

However, the film’s producers gave the role to Marilyn Monroe because the fee was cheaper. Grable was one of the highest paid actresses of the day, earning up to $150,000. Monroe, on the other hand, only wanted $18,000. Also, Marilyn was already known for her role in the film “Niagara”.

2. Jane Russell, who plays Marilyn Monroe and Dorothy, had to imitate her movements in many scenes.

A choreographer was hired to ensure the dance scenes were in sync, and the producers asked the actresses to walk in sync. That is why Monroe and Russell always followed each other step by step.

3. In the first musical, where Russell and Monroe sang “Little Rock Girl” in red dresses, two actors had to go up and down stairs in high heels.

Jane was more attentive and constantly looked at her feet. Marilyn, on the other hand, never looked down, displaying pure professionalism.

4 Marilyn Monroe And Jane Russell Befriended On Set

In an interview, Russell said that Monroe was very sensitive to what was happening on the set. In difficult times, Jane was the only one who could persuade Marilyn to get out of her trailer and film.

5. The episode where Dorothy falls into the pool was not planned.

Russell accidentally fell into the water. However, when the director saw this scene, he decided to keep it in the film.

6. The ship they used in the movie was the same ship used on the Titanic (1953) before!

And it was redesigned to resemble the SS Île de France, which is clearly referred to in the film.

7. Marilyn Monroe’s dress would have been very different in the iconic rendition of “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.”

Initially, the actress was supposed to be in a mesh dress with rhinestones. However, the costume was considered too revealing, and it was decided that Marilyn would wear the legendary fuchsia dress known to all of us.

8. Marilyn Monroe said in a recent interview that she was treated disrespectfully by studio executives during filming.

This was evident even in the difference in wages between him and Jane Russell. Russell was paid 11 times more than Monroe. Monroe was making $18,000 and Russell was making $200,000. Despite this, Marilyn loved Jane immensely.

9. During the performance of the song “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend” all the dancers had a black net on their heads.

This was done because Marilyn Monroe was supposed to be the only blonde in the film. Even the blond-haired male actors camouflaged themselves by painting their whiskey grey.

10. The film is based on the novel by American writer and screenwriter Anita Loos.

However, there were many differences between the film and the book. For example, in the novel, Dorothy does not meet a private detective during her travels. Instead, she first meets a poor magazine editor. At the end of the film, Lorelei is left with the one who agrees to pay for the film she stars in, rather than the man who pays for her trip.

11. Tommy Noonan, who plays Monroe’s fiancé, didn’t want to kiss her.

He told a team member that kissing Monroe was “like being swallowed alive”. When Monroe found out about this, she became so upset that she locked herself in the dressing room, crying. It took his colleagues a long time to convince him to work.

12. Another film with a similar plot was shot 2 years after the film premiered.

However, this time the film was not called “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”, but “Gentlemen Marry Brunettes”. Jane Russell also starred in this film, but this time there was no Marilyn Monroe in the cast. The film is about two Broadway actresses who are tired of life in New York and go to France to pursue their careers and find a husband.

13. In 1949, the musical Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Men Love Blondes) premiered on Broadway.

Actress Carol Channing sang “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” in the title role. However, the original filmmakers never considered Channing for the role of Lorelei.

14. At the end of the film, Monroe’s character says the famous phrase while talking to the father of his fiancee: “I can be smart when it matters, but most guys don’t like it.” It was entirely Monroe’s idea.

15. It was originally planned that other girls would sing instead of Monroe and Russell.

Marilyn’s voice was initially considered bad, but later the producers changed their minds and left everything as it is.