“Men grow cold as girls grow old /And we all lose our charms in the end” – according to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ most famous number, ‘Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend’. But the film shows no sign of losing its charm. As its re-release shows, the luminous appeal of its two stars, Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe, hasn’t dipped.
Modelling a series of startling outfits, they dance, sing and show a real flair for comedy
as daffy gold-digging showgirl Lorelei Lee (Monroe) and her best pal Dorothy Shaw (Russell). After Lorelei gets engaged to bumbling millionaire-in-waiting Esmond (Tommy Noonan), she and Dorothy embark on a trans-Atlantic cruise – only to be tailed by a private eye (Elliott Reid) hired by Esmond’s disapproving father.
Dorothy (implausibly) falls head over heels for the snoop, just as she and Lorelei are getting mixed up in silly shenanigans involving a buffoonish Brit (Charles Coburn), his snooty wife (Norma Varden) and the latter’s priceless tiara. Events spiral out of control once the ship reaches France and our heroines make a beeline for “gay Paree”.
The script has an amiably anything-goes feel, with even a slight screwball atmosphere as the chaos mounts. Although the big set-piece numbers are terrific, elsewhere a couple of the less spectacular musical numbers could perhaps have been profitably pruned. Then again, it would be a shame to lose even a single frame of Russell and Monroe on this kind of form, enjoying one of cinema’s great female friendships. It turns out that diamonds aren’t a girl’s best friend, after all.
