So today's Cinema Sunday looks back on a classic American screwball comedy from 1953 starring Marilyn Monroe along with Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall.
It's How to Marry a Millionaire.
Three women are on a mission: to land a husband but not just any husband but one who is a millionaire.
It's all there in the title, honey: How To Marry a Millionaire
To facilitate their mission, they secure a high class penthouse address in New York City. They are renting the penthouse from Freddie Denmark who is hiding in Europe from the IRS.
And our three women get to work.
Schatze Page (Lauren Bacall) conveys a polished sophistication, resourceful and smart. Well, mostly. She's not so smart when she fails to recognize a millionaire when he's right in front of her. How dare he not wear a tie and buy his own sandwiches! Really! Poor Tom. Well, not so poor. He may be the wealthiest guy we'll meet in this picture.
Tom is in love with Schatze even as she sets her sights on J.D. Hanley, a delightfully charming (and rich!) widower who never thought he would find love again. And he still may not have since Schatze is finding Tom's charms hard to resist.
Loco Dempsey (Betty Grable) is brash and spunky and pairs herself up with Walter Brewster, a grumpy but rich (very!) businessman who turns out to already be married. She dumps Walter and buddies up with Eben Salem who Loco believes is a wealthy landowner but he's not. He's a state park ranger.
And there's Pola Debevoise (Marilyn Monroe) who is a bit of a ditz and it doesn't help she refused to wear her glasses. She's blind as a bat without them but you know what they say, "Guys don't make passes as girls who wear glasses." Pola has fallen in with an oil tycoon who is... not. He's a con man working an angle and Pola would've gotten sucked into in his nefarious scheme if not for her poor eyesight puts her on a wrong plane where she meets Freddie Denmark.
Freddie's problems with the IRS stem from a crooked accountant and he's trying to gather evidence to prove his innocence. Freddie wears glasses and convinces Pola she should wear hers. She puts on her glasses and two immediately fall in love.
Pola marries Freddie even though he has no money.
Loco marries Eben even though he has no money.
Schatze marries Tom even though she thinks he has no money.
Turns out he's worth about $200 million.
And we reach the end.
So we have a movie where the women have the life goal of getting not just a husband but a millionaire husband. But these women do exercise some agency in their pursuit of that goal. Such as renting the upscale penthouse apartment to bolster their personas as upscale women who would be attractive to millionaire men.
The apartment scam backfires when the plan to land to millionaire husbands takes a bit longer to accomplish than expected.
The rent is due! Schatze pawns Freddie Denmark's piano!
The rent is due again! This time Freddie's sofa set goes to the pawn shop.
As Schatze, Lauren Bacall lends a level of class and depth to the proceedings. This is not Schatze's first go on the matrimonial merry go round but her last turn left her high and dry and poor. Schatze is determined not to let that happen again.
Marilyn Monroe brings both the sex appeal and a gift for adroit comedic timing to her role as Pola. Monroe was frequently underestimated for playing the role of the "ditz" but it takes true talent to make such a character truly likeable and funny.
Of course true love does triumph over blatant scheming for wealth with only Schatze landing a millionaire but she didn't know of his wealth until the very end.
How To Marry A Millionaire is a fun movie which tells us that wealth (like love) is to be found where you least expect it.
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