''How to Marry a Millionaire'' is a 1953 American

screwball comedy Screwball comedy is a subgenre of the romantic comedy genre that became popular during the Great Depression, beginning in the early 1930s and thriving until the early 1940s, that satirizes the traditional love story. It has secondary characteristi ...

film directed by

Jean Negulesco Jean Negulesco (born Ioan Negulescu; – 18 July 1993) was a Romanian-American film director and screenwriter.Oliver, Myrna"Jean Negulesco 1900–1993 ''The Los Angeles Times'', 22 July 1993. He first gained notice for his film noirs and later ...

and written and produced by

Nunnally Johnson Nunnally Hunter Johnson (December 5, 1897 – March 25, 1977) was an American screenwriter, film director, producer, and playwright. As a filmmaker, he wrote the screenplays to more than fifty films in a career that spanned from 1927 to 1967. He ...

. The screenplay was based on the plays ''The Greeks Had a Word for It'' (1930) by

Zoe Akins Zoe Byrd Akins (October 30, 1886 – October 29, 1958) was an American playwright, poet, and author. She won the 1935 Pulitzer Prize for drama for '' The Old Maid''. Early life Zoe Byrd Akins was born in Humansville, Missouri, second of three ...

and ''Loco'' (1946) by Dale Eunson and

Katherine Albert Katherine Albert (sometimes credited as Katherine Eunson, her married name) was an American screenwriter, playwright, and TV writer. Biography Katherine was born in Kentucky, the only child of George Albert and Logie Bell Evans Albert. As a yo ...

. It stars

Betty Grable Elizabeth Ruth Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer. Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million; for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she reign ...

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 as three fashionable Manhattan models, along with

William Powell William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the ''The Thin Man (film), Thin Man'' series based on the Nick and Nora Cha ...

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 Milli ...

, 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 Dis ...

, ''How to Marry a Millionaire'' was the studio's first film to be shot in the new CinemaScope 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 ''The Robe'' is a 1942 historical novel about the Crucifixion of Jesus, written by Lloyd C. Douglas. The book was one of the best-selling titles of the 1940s. It entered the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list in October 1942, four weeks later ...

'' (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'' 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 soundtrack o ...

to ''How to Marry a Millionaire'' was released on CD by

Film Score Monthly ''Film Score Monthly'' is an online magazine (and former print magazine) founded by editor-in-chief and executive producer Lukas Kendall in June 1990 in music, 1990 as ''The Soundtrack Correspondence List''. It is dedicated to the art of Film sco ...

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 "gold ...

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 north ...

, thinking it is a convention of the

Elks Club The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City. History The Elks began in 1868 as a soci ...

. 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 Near-sightedness, also known as myopia and short-sightedness, is an eye disease where light focuses in front of, instead of on, the retina. As a result, distant objects appear blurry while close objects appear normal. Other symptoms may include ...

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 LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia. ...

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 A greasy spoon is a small, cheap restaurant – either an American diner or coffee shop, or a British or Irish cafe – typically specializing in fried foods or home-cooked meals. The term ''greasy spoon'' has been used in the United States sinc ...

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

as Loco Dempsey *

as Pola Debevoise * Lauren Bacall as Schatze Page *

as J. D. Hanley *

as Freddie Denmark *

as Eben Salem * Cameron Mitchell as Tom Brookman *

Alex D'Arcy Alexander D'Arcy ( ar, ألكسندر دارسي; 10 August 1908 – 20 April 1996) was an Egyptian stage, television and film actor with an international film repertoire. Career Born Alexander Sarruf in Cairo, Egypt, D'Arcy, variously credited ...

as J. Stewart Merrill *

Fred Clark Frederick Leonard Clark (March 19, 1914 – December 5, 1968) was an American film and television character actor. Early years Born in Lincoln, California, Clark was the son of Fred Clark Sr. He attended Stanford University with plans to become ...

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 William Travilla (March 22, 1920 – November 2, 1990), known professionally as Travilla, was an American costume designer for theatre, film, and television. He is perhaps best known for designing costumes for Marilyn Monroe in eight of her fil ...

Portrayal of New York

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

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th Street and 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco buildings, commissioned by the Rockefeller family, span th ...

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

, the United Nations Building, and

Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/ suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River ...

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 st ...

, the lights of

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

at night and the

George Washington Bridge The George Washington Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting Fort Lee, New Jersey, with Manhattan in New York City. The bridge is named after George Washington, the first president of the United S ...

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 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, with incidental music by Cyril Mockridge, and orchestrated by Edward B. Powell. The album was released on CD by

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. B ...

on November 4, 1953. It was a box office success, earning $8 million worldwide and $7.5 million domestically, second that year only to ''

''. It was the fourth highest-grossing film of 1953, whereas Monroe's previous feature, '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'', was

seventh Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season e ...

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 ne ...

also titled '' How to Marry a Millionaire''. It starred

Barbara Eden Barbara Eden (born Barbara Jean Morehead; August 23, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and producer best known for her starring role as Jeannie in the sitcom '' I Dream of Jeannie'' (1965-1970). Other notable roles include Roslyn Pierce opp ...

(as Loco Jones),

Merry Anders Merry Anders (born Mary Helen Anderson; May 22, 1934 – October 28, 2012) was an American actress and model who appeared in a number of television programs and films from the 1950s until her retirement from the screen in 1972. Early life Ander ...

(Michelle "Mike" Page),

Lori Nelson Dixie Kay Nelson (August 15, 1933August 23, 2020), known professionally as Lori Nelson, was an American actress and model mostly active in the 1950s and early 1960s. She had roles in the TV series ''How to Marry a Millionaire (TV series), How to ...

(Greta Lindquist) and as Nelson's later replacement,

Lisa Gaye Leslie Gaye Griffin (March 6, 1935 – July 14, 2016), better known as Lisa Gaye, was an American actress, and dancer. Early years Gaye was born in Denver, Colorado to Frank Henry Griffin, a painter, and Margaret Allen Griffin (née Gibson) ...

as Gwen Kirby. It aired in syndication for two seasons.

Remake

In 2000, 20th Century Fox Television produced a

made-for-TV A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

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,

Joshua Malina Joshua Charles Malina (born January 17, 1966) is an American film and stage actor known for playing Will Bailey on the NBC drama ''The West Wing'', Jeremy Goodwin on '' Sports Night'', US Attorney General David Rosen on ''Scandal'', and Caltech P ...

and

Shemar Moore Shemar Franklin Moore (born April 20, 1970) is an American actor. His notable roles include Malcolm Winters on ''The Young and the Restless'' (1994–2005), Derek Morgan on ''Criminal Minds'' (2005–2016), and the lead role of Sergeant II Dani ...

. In 2007,

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...

bought the rights to ''How to Marry a Millionaire'' under her production company

Blossom Films Blossom Films is a production company founded by American-born Australian actress Nicole Kidman in 2010. The first production by the company was the film '' Rabbit Hole'', based on the play of the same name by David Lindsay-Abaire. History In 201 ...

, 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