''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 Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

, and

Lauren Bacall Lauren Bacall (; born Betty Joan Perske; September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014) was an American actress. She was named the 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute and received an Academy Honorary ...

as three fashionable Manhattan models, along with William Powell,

David Wayne David Wayne (born Wayne James McMeekan, January 30, 1914 – February 9, 1995) was an American stage and screen actor with a career spanning over 50 years. Early life and career Wayne was born in Traverse City, Michigan, the son of Helen M ...

Rory Calhoun Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy McCown, August 8, 1922April 28, 1999) was an American film and television actor. He starred in numerous Westerns in the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared in supporting roles in films such as ''How to Marry a Millio ...

, 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

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

, ''How to Marry a Millionaire'' was the studio's first film to be shot in the new

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...

wide-screen sound process, although it was the second CinemaScope film released by Fox after the biblical

epic film Epic films are a style of filmmaking with large-scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The usage of the term has shifted over time, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply synonymous with big-budget filmmaking. Like epics in ...

'' The Robe'' (also 1953). It was also the first color and CinemaScope film ever shown on prime-time network television (though panned-and-scanned) when it was presented as the first film on NBC's ''

Saturday Night at the Movies ''Saturday Night at the Movies'' was a weekly television series on TVOntario, the public educational television network in Ontario, Canada. The series presented classic movies, followed by interviews and feature segments with directors, actors ...

'' on September 23, 1961. The

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrac ...

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 money-hungry

gold digger Gold digger is a term for a person, typically a woman, who engages in a type of transactional relationship for money rather than love. If it turns into marriage, it is a type of marriage of convenience. Etymology and usage The term "gol ...

s. The trio rent a luxurious Sutton Place penthouse in New York City from Freddie Denmark, who is avoiding the

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...

by living in Europe. The women plan to use the apartment to attract rich men. And on the day they move in, Loco carries in groceries, assisted by Tom Brookman, who is attracted to Schatze. She dismisses him as being poor and sets her sights on the charming, classy, rich widower J.D. Hanley. While she is stalking the older J.D., Tom pursues her. After every date, she says she never wants to see Tom again, refusing to marry another "gas pump jockey". Meanwhile, Loco meets grumpy businessman, Walter Brewster. He is married, but she agrees to go with him to his lodge in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

, thinking it is a convention of the Elks Club. Loco discovers her mistake and attempts to leave. However, she comes down with the measles and is quarantined. Upon recovering, she begins seeing forest ranger, Eben Salem. She mistakenly believes Salem is a wealthy landowner instead of a civil servant overseeing acres of forestlands. She is disappointed when she realizes the truth, but loves him anyway and is willing to overlook his financial shortcomings. Pola is myopic but hates wearing glasses in the presence of men. She falls for a phony oil tycoon, J. Stewart Merrill, unaware he is a crooked speculator. When she takes a plane from LaGuardia Airport to meet him, she ends up on the wrong plane. A man sits next to her, also wearing glasses. He thinks she is "quite a strudel" and encourages her to wear hers. He is the mysterious Freddie Denmark on his way to Kansas City to find the crooked accountant who got him into trouble with the IRS. He has little luck when he tracks the man down, but he and Pola fall in love and get married. Loco and Pola are reunited with Schatze just before her wedding to J.D.. 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 *

as Pola Debevoise *

as Schatze Page * William Powell as J. D. Hanley *

as Freddie Denmark *

as Eben Salem * Cameron Mitchell as Tom Brookman * Alex D'Arcy as J. Stewart Merrill * Fred Clark as Waldo Brewster

Production

Nunnally Johnson, who adapted the screenplay from two different plays, produced the picture. 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. The film's cinematography was by Joseph MacDonald. The costume design was by Travilla.

Portrayal of New York

Between scenes, the cinematography has some iconic color views of mid-20th century New York City: Rockefeller Center,

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

, the United Nations Building, and Brooklyn Bridge in the opening sequence following the credits. Other iconic views include the

Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from " Empire State", the nickname of the ...

, 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. The

score Score or scorer may refer to: *Test score, the result of an exam or test Business * Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio * Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company * Score Media, a former Canadian ...

for ''How To Marry a Millionaire'' was one of the first recorded for film in

stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

. It was composed and directed by

Alfred Newman Alfred Newman (March 17, 1900 – February 17, 1970) was an American composer, arranger, and conductor of film music. From his start as a music prodigy, he came to be regarded as a respected figure in the history of film music. He won nine Aca ...

, with incidental music by

Cyril Mockridge Cyril John Mockridge (August 6, 1896 – January 18, 1979) was an English film and television composer who scored such films as '' Cheaper by the Dozen'', ''River of No Return'' and ''The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance''. He was nominated for an A ...

, and orchestrated by

Edward B. Powell Edward Benson Powell (December 5, 1909, Savanna, Carroll County, Illinois - February 28, 1984, Woodland Hills, Los Angeles) was an American arranger, orchestrator and composer, who served as Alfred Newman's musical lieutenant at 20th Century Fox ...

. The album was released on CD by Film Score Monthly on March 15, 2001 as part of their series ''Golden Age Classics''. 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 George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

. 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 of the same name, which featured his first complete film score.

Release and box office

The film premiered at the Fox Wilshire Theatre (now the

Saban Theatre The Saban Theatre ( ) is a historic theatre in Beverly Hills, California, formerly known as the Fox Wilshire Theater. It is an Art Deco structure at the southeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Hamilton Drive designed by architect S. Charles Lee ...

), in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

on November 4, 1953. It was a box office success, earning $8 million worldwide and $7.5 million domestically, second that year only to '' The Robe''. It was the fourth highest-grossing film of 1953, whereas Monroe's previous feature, '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'', was seventh.

Award nominations

Television adaptation

In 1957, the film was adapted into a

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

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 females. It starred

John Stamos John Phillip Stamos ( ; born August 19, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He first gained recognition for his contract role as Blackie Parrish on the ABC television soap opera '' General Hospital'', for which he was nominated for the ...

, 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.Siegel, Tatiana. ''The Hollywood Reporter'' 2007-04-27
/ref>

References

Bibliography

External links

* * * * *
Listing of CD and LP releases of music from the film, including "Street Scene"
{{DEFAULTSORT:How To Marry A Millionaire 1953 films 1953 romantic comedy films 1950s American films 1950s buddy comedy films 1950s English-language films 1950s female buddy films 20th Century Fox films American buddy comedy films American female buddy films American films based on plays American romantic comedy films CinemaScope films Films about weddings in the United States Films adapted into television shows Films based on multiple works Films directed by Jean Negulesco Films scored by Cyril J. Mockridge Films set in Maine Films set in New York City Films shot in Idaho Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in New York City Films with screenplays by Nunnally Johnson