Classic Films in Focus: GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1953)

Marilyn Monroe became a true star thanks to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), the Howard Hawks directed adaptation of the Broadway musical hit in which Carol Channing had originated the role of Lorelei Lee. Monroe's take on "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" remains one of her most memorable moments, with numerous imitations, homages, and parodies, but the best way to appreciate the number is to see the whole film, in which Monroe and costar Jane Russell light up the screen as a pair of entertainers on a cruise ship full of attentive men. Notable costars include Tommy Noonan, Charles Coburn, and Elliott Reid, although child actor George Winslow proves the scene stealer of the lot as the youngest of Lorelei's admirers.

Monroe plays Lorelei Lee, a gorgeous opportunist who "can be smart when it's important" but knows that rich men aren't looking for intellectual genius in a bride. When her besotted millionaire boyfriend (Tommy Noonan) proposes, his father tries to break up the match by hiring a private detective (Elliott Reid) to keep tabs on Lorelei as she and her friend, Dorothy (Jane Russell) sail to France. On the ship Dorothy falls for the charms of the detective, while Lorelei falls for the diamonds of "Piggy" Beekman (Charles Coburn), an elderly wolf with an appetite for Lorelei's assets.

Lorelei is definitely ditzy, but Monroe invests her with sweetness and vitality in addition to mercenary instincts, and Russell makes a great "smart cookie" counterpart. Their musical numbers together are lots of fun, even if Monroe's big solo proves the real showstopper of the picture. Russell's solo, "Ain't There Anyone Here for Love," is also a highlight, thanks mostly to Russell's lusty, winking performance but also partly the spectacle of exposed man flesh gyrating, flexing, and thrusting all around her. Russell has another big moment when Dorothy impersonates Lorelei in a French courtroom and derails the proceedings with her own rendition of "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend," the funniest part being her imitation of Lorelei's mannerisms and conniving but clueless behavior. All of the male actors provide solid support, with Tommy Noonan swooning at Lorelei's kisses and Charles Coburn constantly on the run from his overbearing wife, but the movie belongs to Monroe and Russell just like every room belongs to Lorelei and Dorothy the minute they enter it.

The persistent question that Gentlemen Prefer Blondes seems to be asking is whether a gold digger can still be a good woman, to which Dorothy and Lorelei emphatically say yes in spite of Lorelei's obsession with wealth and dalliance with Piggy. (It's the same question that How to Marry a Millionaire also asks, although Monroe's character in that picture is much less devoted to money than Lorelei). Dorothy has no interest in rich men, and even rejects the detective, Ernie, when she thinks he's a wealthy playboy, but she doesn't hold Lorelei's materialism against her. Lorelei argues that having money is the only way to ensure a happy marriage, and she even compares a man's wealth to a woman's beauty as equally valid requirements for a union.The "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" number might overstate the case, but Lorelei has a point about money being the root of much marital unhappiness, and in a time when women were expected to be financially dependent on their husbands it was definitely better to marry a good provider than endure poverty yoked to a bad one. Lorelei, after all, isn't making any calculation that generations of careful mothers and ambitious debutantes hadn't been making for centuries before her, she's just more willing to admit that the cash and the jewels are the big attraction.

For a look at Marilyn's earlier roles, see The Asphalt Jungle (1950), All About Eve (1950), and Monkey Business (1952), the last of which Hawks also directed. Charles Coburn has particularly memorable roles in Bachelor Mother (1939), The Lady Eve (1941), and The More the Merrier (1943), and he also appears in Monkey Business with Monroe. Catch Jane Russell in The Outlaw (1943), The Paleface (1948), and His Kind of Woman (1951), as well as the sequel Son of Paleface (1952). In 1955, Russell starred Gentlemen Marry Brunettes, but the title is the only connection to the original film, and Russell plays a completely different character in the later story.

Classic Films in Focus: BUNDLE OF JOY (1956)

If you've already watched all of your regular Christmas classics, you might consider trying out some less familiar holiday fare, including the 1939 comedy Bachelor Mother and its 1956 musical remake, Bundle of Joy. Although the original movie is generally considered the better picture, Bundle of Joy has plenty of color and music to make it a satisfying seasonal sweet, especially with the adorable Debbie Reynolds stepping into the lead role first filled by Ginger Rogers. Bright, cute, and cheerful, Bundle of Joy makes for a nice break from heavier holiday classics like It's a Wonderful Life (1946), and the supporting cast includes extra gifts for classic movie fans with appearances by Adolphe Menjou and Una Merkel.

Reynolds stars as Polly Parish, a department store salesgirl who gets fired just before Christmas. While hunting a new job she picks up a crying infant on a doorstep, only to be mistaken for the child's mother.  The foundling home arranges to get her rehired on the condition that she claim and care for the baby, which Polly is at first extremely reluctant to do, but nobody will believe the truth. She catches the attention of the store owner's son, Dan (Eddie Fisher), and the two begin a sort of friendship that quickly snowballs into something more, but soon enough Dan finds himself on the wrong side of the bassinet as his father (Adolphe Menjou) believes that the baby is a joint production by Polly and Dan.

In 1956, audiences would have been expected to know that Reynolds and Fisher were newlyweds in real life, making the onscreen pairing especially appealing, and Fisher was a big singing star himself at the time. Those watching the picture today will immediately recognize Reynolds as the real star of the show and probably view the romance with Fisher as ironic, given his scandalous affair with Elizabeth Taylor and the couple's divorce in 1959. The pair's first child, actress Carrie Fisher, was born the same year that Bundle of Joy appeared, and in fact Reynolds was pregnant with her daughter during the making of the picture. Those biographical details color a modern viewing of the movie and lend it an edge that it doesn't contain within itself, where Reynolds' mega watt charms obliterate all shadows, even the social taboo against unwed motherhood.

Eddie Fisher strikes me as a bit flat in his role, there for his singing ability and marriage to Reynolds and not for his acting talent, but I might be biased by all that biographical baggage. More amusing than Fisher are the supporting players, especially Adolphe Menjou as the aspiring grandfather and Una Merkel as Polly's understanding landlady. Both of their characters are more than ready to fit Dan up for fatherhood, with Merkel's landlady giving Dan a very shrewd squint when she sees him and the baby together. Menjou lands the funniest line of the film when he exclaims, "I don't care who the father is, I'm the grandfather!" Tommy Noonan is also memorable as the irritating opportunist, Freddie, who refuses to be shaken off by Polly and hopes to benefit from her relationship with Dan. Nita Talbot has some fun scenes as Polly's friend, Mary, who helps to shoo Freddie away whenever he turns up to pester Polly at the store.

Bundle of Joy was directed by Norman Taurog, who won an Oscar for Skippy (1931) but is probably better remembered for Boys Town (1938). For more of the delightful Debbie Reynolds, see Singin' in the Rain (1952), Tammy and the Bachelor (1957), and The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964). You'll find Eddie Fisher with his next wife, Elizabeth Taylor, in Butterfield 8 (1960), but after that his career fizzled. For more classic Christmas romance, try Holiday Affair (1949), It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947), Christmas in Connecticut (1945), and The Bishop's Wife (1947).

Classic Films in Focus: I SHOT JESSE JAMES (1949)

I Shot Jesse James (1949) marked the directorial debut of Samuel Fuller, who would go on to make the noir classic, Pickup on South Street (1953), as well as films like Shock Corridor (1963) and The Naked Kiss (1964). Like his later pictures, this semi-biographical account of Robert Ford rejects easy moral distinctions; its protagonist is no hero, but a man motivated to murder his friend in pursuit of his own personal happiness. Fuller's screenplay takes liberties with the history of the James Gang and the man who eventually caught up with Bob Ford, but it makes for a gripping narrative that demonstrates Fuller's talent even at the beginning of his career. A taut performance from John Ireland as the lead character helps to pull us into Bob Ford's flawed logic even as we recoil from his brutal, selfish nature.

Ireland plays Ford at the critical juncture of his life as an outlaw, when he hopes to marry longtime sweetheart, Cynthy (Barbara Britton), but finds himself trapped by his association with the notorious Jesse James (Reed Hadley). When the authorities offer amnesty to anyone who brings James in dead or alive, Bob sees his chance and shoots his unsuspecting friend in the back. His actions make him a pariah with the public and a target for aspiring gunmen, but they also make Cynthy rethink her feelings for him. Soon she attracts the romantic interest of Kelley (Preston Foster), a decent but unsuccessful prospector, and Bob's jealousy becomes violent.

The film promotes the popular view of James as a pretty good guy in spite of his criminal career, especially in the way it depicts him at home, where he lives under the pseudonym of Mr. Howard. Jesse is loyal and generous to his friends, including Bob and his brother, Charles (Tommy Noonan), although their prolonged stay in the James home irritates Jesse's wife, Zee (Barbara Woodell). Jesse's treatment of Bob makes the younger man's betrayal all the more inexcusable, and Fuller never lets us believe that Bob is really motivated by love because he clearly doesn't understand what it is. Bob sees Cynthy as a reward he can win through underhanded actions, but the murder makes her love for him turn to fear and disgust. She's too afraid of him to tell him that she doesn't want to marry him anymore, and Bob is too dumb to figure it out for himself.

John Ireland's portrayal of Ford casts him as a small-time thug, a jealous lover, and a total failure as a human being. Ireland looks very much at home in the Western genre, where he spent much of his career, and he evokes the brutish quality of his character with his dark features and tight-lipped mouth. His Ford always looks ready to punch somebody in the face, even in his love scenes with Cynthy, who is right to be afraid of him. Even worse, Bob offers to recreate the killing on the stage as a way to make cash, although opening night finds him unable to face the prospect, with a stony-faced crowd silently watching him sweat. Some stories tell of good men gone wrong, and some of bad men who become good, but Bob Ford is a stinker through and through, a treacherous snake who uses love as an excuse to commit an unforgivable act. It takes Bob a long time to figure out why that might have been the wrong thing to do, and by then it's too late, with his friend in the grave and his hopes for the future in ruins.

Samuel Fuller's next picture was also a Western, The Baron of Arizona (1950), with Vincent Price as an amoral but more lovable schemer. John Ireland earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for All the King's Men (1949), but you'll also find him in Raw Deal (1948), The Return of Jesse James (1950), and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957). For more films about the James Gang, try Jesse James (1939) and The Return of Frank James (1940), both of which feature John Carradine in the Bob Ford role. In 2007, Hollywood revisited the story with The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, with Brad Pitt as Jesse and Casey Affleck as Ford.