My Favorite Howard Hawks Film

Howard Hawks was famously championed in the 1950s by the emerging group of critics who subscribed to the auteur theory - that even though a studio might control a production, the quality of the resulting film was due to the talent of the director. So steady workhorse directors like Hawks, whose personal stamp on their films wasn't immediately apparent in the same way as directors like John Ford or Orson Welles, deserved to be treated with equal reverence. Hawks was responsible for classics in several different genres, like screwball comedy "His Girl Friday," gangster picture "Scarface," science fiction thriller "The Thing From Another World," and most famously his westerns: "Red River," "Rio Bravo," and "El Dorado."

And then there's "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," his crowd-pleasing musical comedy starring Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell as "two little girls from Little Rock" looking for love and fortune. It's one of the most startlingly original films of its time for several reasons, but the most important is that it is unequivocally told from a female point of view, and contains several instances of a distinctly female gaze. Oh sure, the iconic "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" number with Monroe in the pink dress does a tremendous job of showing off her considerable charms. But then there's Russell's big number, "Anyone Here For Love?" where she's surrounded by and constantly eyeing a troupe of scantily clad male Olympic athletes during their workout routine. The male leads are so nondescript, you tend to forget they appeared in the picture at all.

And this was a rarity because this was 1953, remember, and men and women weren't on equal footing in the love game. Our heroines play a pair of showgirls who are perfectly aware of this, and consider the pursuit of rich husbands a matter of practicality. This is reflected in their personalities, but in different ways. Russell's Dorothy Shaw is sharp and knowing, a bit of a cynic and a quick wit. Monroe as Lorelei Lee, however, is a bubbly blonde innocent who lights up at the mention of diamonds. She doesn't seem too smart at first, making several short-sighted decisions that cause a lot of trouble, but gradually it's revealed that in her own way, she's as shrewd as Dorothy. The plot is typical comedic farce. Lorelei's engagement to a wealthy fiance is put in jeopardy during a sea voyage, and there are some bits of business with a stolen diamond tiara. However the frankness of the girls' sexuality, their refusal to apologize for being gold-diggers, and their unwavering loyalty to each other gives it some real kick.

"Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" had a big part in making Marilyn Monroe a star. Hawks put her front and center, and to wonderful effect. The Marilyn Monroe persona that we think of - the unselfconscious sexiness, the cooing sweet-talk, and the playful girlish demeanor are all established here. This helps to counteract the Lorelei character's voraciousness for wealth - "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" is all about choosing the money over the man, remember. But the first image you think of is Monroe in that pink dress, carefree and radiant. "Gentlemen" was a perfect vehicle for her and Russell, a big, full-throated musical extravaganza designed to razzle-dazzle the audience at every turn. Hawks had staged musical numbers in several of his previous films, but nothing nearly as elaborate or as bombastic as the ones we see here, which offer so much ever-so-slightly-naughty fun. The visuals are over-the-top, colorful to the point of cartoonishness at times. Nothing else in Hawks' filmmography looks like it.

"Gentlemen" is regarded as Howard Hawks' only major musical, and treated as something of an anomaly from the rest of his work. However, it becomes less so when you realize that it's also a screwball comedy and a buddy picture, only with two showgirls instead of two cowboys. There's lots of sex and innuendo, but sentimental romance is in very short supply. Thus "Gentlemen" still feels remarkably modern and fresh, its subversive kick still effective. Lorelei sweetly equating a man's pocketbook with a woman's beauty still gets me every time.

I can't help thinking that it's a shame that Hawks didn't make more films in this vein, since he had such a keen eye for visuals, and did so much with the material. He'd make mostly westerns and adventures movies for the rest of his career. Clearly musicals didn't interest him, and maybe that's why "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" worked so well. It was made by a director who knew how to make a good musical, as he knew how to make every other kind of film, but with an emphasis on gender politics and character interactions more typical of a well-structured comedy. In the hands of another director, I imagine it would have been an entirely different movie.

Not that you couldn't have made a very good version of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" without Howard Hawks, but my, didn't it help?
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What I've Seen - Howard Hawks

Scarface (1932)
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
His Girl Friday (1940)
Sergeant York (1941)
Ball of Fire (1941)

Air Force (1943)

To Have and Have Not (1944)

The Big Sleep (1946)
Red River (1948)
I Was a Male War Bride (1949)
Monkey Business (1952)

The Big Sky (1952)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

Land of the Pharoahs (1955)
Rio Bravo (1959)
Hatari! (1962)
El Dorado (1966)
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