'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' a luxe example of '50s cinema

The teaming of Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" was a combination so potent it can only be described with an inappropriately long wolf whistle, so much so that even a fussbudget such as New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther couldn't resist devoting a few lines in his 1953 review to the pair's physical attributes. He actually backdoors his way into the observation, couching it in a line of dialogue from the film ("Those girls couldn't drown!") before arriving at the conclusion that "there is not much class in this picture." It seems you can't have your cheesecake and eat it too.

Nina Metz

September 27, 2012