How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)

Directed by: Jean Negulesco | 95 minutes | comedy, romance | Actors: Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, Lauren Bacall, David Wayne, Rory Calhoun, Cameron Mitchell, Alexander D’Arcy, Fred Clark, William Powell, George Dunn, Percy Helton, Robert Adler, Harry Carter, Tudor Owen, Maurice Marsac

Although she had already played some supporting roles in films and she had already noticed the general public, the year 1953 marked Marilyn Monroe’s definitive breakthrough. First, she gave her very own interpretation of Lorelei Lee in the film version of the hit Broadway musical, “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.” And that same year, she stole the show when she starred with partners-in-crime Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall as a trio of fortune seekers with hearts of gold in Romanian-born director Jean Negulescu’s “How to Marry a Millionaire.” A film famous not only for its glamorous all-star cast, but also for the revolutionary technicalities it introduced.

Models Schatze Page (Bacall), Pola Debevoise (Monroe) and Loco Dempsey (Betty Grable) are determined to hook rich guys. To achieve this, they rent a luxurious apartment in downtown Manhattan for a year. Of course they cannot receive those men in their own home! In the evening they went to chic clubs in their most beautiful dresses to find suitable rich bachelors. It doesn’t take long before the three have a bite. Sweetie seems to have caught the fattest fish, ‘her’ millionaire JD Hanley (William Powell), is a Texas oil tycoon and widower, whose gentle and kind nature makes up for his biggest flaw: he could have been her father! Loco has to settle for the gruff and married Waldo Brewster (Fred Clark), while Pola has to wait and see if her dodgy sweetheart (Alexander D’Arcy) is really the rich man he claims to be.

But just like with true love, the path to true greed is not that simple and that’s why all three ladies get alternative potential loves in their path. Schatze is more or less stalked by Tom Brookman (Cameron Mitchell), a persistent laborer. At least that’s what she thinks. In reality, he is full of money, but you can’t tell. And certainly not Schatze, who has been disappointed in love before. Meanwhile, Loco meets a poor but attractive ranger (Rory Calhoun) and Pola – who is blind but refuses to put on her glasses for fear that men will no longer find her attractive – falls for Freddie (David Wayne) charms. the owner of the apartment wanted for tax evasion. Will the ladies ultimately choose the big money or the romance…?

In today’s society, the theme of women looking for a rich man to support themselves seems a bit dated. Nevertheless, the film is not. Nunnally Johnson’s script is full of jokes, quips and nods to reality (for example, indirect references are made to Humphrey Bogart and bandleader Harry James, husbands of Lauren Bacall and Betty Grable at the time, respectively). And even though the greed of the ladies is made fun of, the script also shows their true nature: they are all warm, funny and ultimately loyal girls. Monroe, Bacall and Grable must have had a good time during the recordings, because the fun radiates from it. And the gentlemen – the always excellent William Powell and the charming Cameron Mitchell at the front – show what they have to offer.

The film looks beautiful in its entirety; Cinematographer Joseph MacDonald makes a film with a not too special story a joy to watch with his beautiful shots in rich colors of New York and Manhattan. ‘How to Marry a Millionaire’ was the first 20th Century Fox production to be shot at Cinemascope, but the film was not released in theaters until several months later, leaving ‘The Robe’ in the history books as the first Cinemascope film. ‘How to Marry a Millionaire’ was also one of the first to use stereophonic sound; the film starts with the overture ‘Street Scene’ by composer Alfred Newman and his orchestra.
All that grandeur, splendor and splendor compensate for the simple story of this film. Because it is not all high-quality film art. Yet it is very entertaining and also a feast for the eyes.