How to Marry a Millionaire
How to Marry a Millionaire | |
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Directed by | Jean Negulesco |
Screenplay by | Nunnally Johnson |
Based on | The Greeks Had a Word for It by Zoe Akins Loco by Dale Eunson Katherine Albert |
Produced by | Nunnally Johnson |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Louis R. Loeffler |
Music by |
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Production company | 20th Century-Fox |
Distributed by | 20th Century-Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 95 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $1.9 million[1] |
Box office | $8 million[2] |
How to Marry a Millionaire is a 1953 American screwball 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.
It 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
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 three women on a mission: they all want to marry a
Meanwhile, Loco meets grumpy businessman Walter Brewster. He is married, but she agrees to accompany him to his lodge in Maine, thinking it is a convention hall of the Elks Club. Just as Loco discovers her mistake, she comes down with the measles and is quarantined. Upon recovering, she begins seeing the forest ranger, Eben Salem. She mistakenly believes Salem is a wealthy landowner instead of a civil servant overseeing acres of forestlands. She is disappointed, telling off Brewster on the drive back to New York.
Pola is
Loco and Pola are reunited with Schatze just before her wedding to J.D. Hanley. 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
- 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
- William Powell as J. D. Hanley
Production
Nunnally Johnson, who adapted the screenplay from two different plays, produced the picture.[4]
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 felt the family-friendly The Robe would attract a larger audience to its new widescreen process.[5]
The film's cinematography was by Joseph MacDonald. The costume design was by Travilla.[6]
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.
Music
A song extolling the virtues of New York follows the Gershwin-like music used for the title credits, after an elaborate five-minute pre-credit sequence showcasing a 70-piece orchestra conducted by Alfred Newman before the curtain goes up.[7]
The
The film's theatrical version begins with a nearly six-minute overture of Newman's symphonic piece "Street Scene", which he wrote in the style of George Gershwin. It is played on-screen by an 80-piece studio orchestra (billed as "The Twentieth Century Fox Symphony Orchestra"). Newman wrote the piece for the 1931 film Street Scene, which featured his first complete film score.
Release
Release and box office
The film premiered at the Fox Wilshire Theatre (now the Saban Theatre), in Beverly Hills, California on November 4, 1953.[10] It was a box office success, earning $8 million worldwide[2] and $7.5 million domestically, second that year only to The Robe.[11] It was the fourth highest-grossing film of 1953, whereas Monroe's previous feature, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, was seventh.
Critical Response
The New York Times's Bosley Crowther wrote "the substance is still insufficient for the vast spread of screen which CinemaScope throws across the front of the theatre, and the impression it leaves is that of nonsense from a few people in a great big hall."[12]
Award nominations
Award | Category | Subject | Result |
---|---|---|---|
Academy Awards[13] | Best Costume Design – Color | Charles LeMaire and William Travilla | Nominated |
British Academy Film Awards[14] | Best Film from any Source | How to Marry a Millionaire | Nominated |
Writers Guild of America Awards[15]
|
Best Written American Comedy | Nunnally Johnson | Nominated |
Television adaptation
In 1957, the film was adapted into a sitcom also titled How to Marry a Millionaire. It 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 two seasons.
Remake
In 2000, 20th Century Fox Television produced a made-for-TV remake, How to Marry a Billionaire: A Christmas Tale. It reversed the sex roles, and had three men looking to marry wealthy women. It 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.[16]
References
- ^ Solomon 1989, p. 248.
- ^ a b Solomon 1989, p. 89.
- ISBN 978-1-1368-3525-4.
- ^ "Facts about "How to Marry a Millionaire"". Classic Movie Hub. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
- ISBN 0-312-42565-1.
- ^ "How to Marry a Millionaire (1953): Cast & Crew". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
- ^ "How to Marry a Millionaire". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
- ^ "How to Marry a Millionaire (1953): Track List". Film Score Monthly. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
- ^ "How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)". soundtrackinfo.com. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
- ISBN 978-1-589-79342-2.
- ISBN 0-520-24966-6.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley (November 11, 1953). "THE SCREEN: TRIO OF STARS IN CINEMASCOPE; Monroe, Grable, Bacall Illustrate 'How to Marry a Millionaire' at Globe and Loew's State Their Rich Quarry Enacted by Fred Clark, Alex D'Arcy and William Powell". The New York Times. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
- ^ "Oscars Ceremonies: The 26th Academy Awards - 1954: Winners & Nominees - Costume Design (Color)". Oscars. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
- ^ "BAFTA Awards Search: 1955". bafta.org. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
- ^ "Writers Guild of America, USA: Awards for 1954". IMDb. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
- ^ Siegel, Tatiana. The Hollywood Reporter 2007-04-27
Bibliography
- Solomon, Aubrey (1989). Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History. The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series. Lanham, Maryland: ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1.
External links
- How to Marry a Millionaire at IMDb
- How to Marry a Millionaire at AllMovie
- How to Marry a Millionaire at Rotten Tomatoes
- How to Marry a Millionaire at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- How to Marry a Millionaire at the TCM Movie Database
- Listing of CD and LP releases of music from the film, including "Street Scene"