How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)

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How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) – J. Negulesco

Somehow I thought this was going to be a musical, another genre I’ve come to late (alongside westerns, war films, and foreign films from Spanish-speaking countries). But instead – not.  What we have here is a very dated comedy (you can tell from the title) that finds models Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, and Betty Grable on a quest to find rich husbands.  The prospects include dapper (but very sedate) William Powell, faker Alexander D’Arcy, and already married Fred Clark – but as things turn out, other men (not always millionaires) turn out to be of greater interest.  Bacall takes the lead with Monroe (playing short-sighted and air-headed) and Grable (even more air-headed) adding comic relief.  There are a few sly references to the stars’ other careers but nothing here led to any major chuckles on my part.  One of the early CinemaScope features but director Jean Negulesco doesn’t really take full advantage of the format.  Still, apart from the explicit sexism, there’s nothing really wrong with this silly film and it is good to see Bacall embarking on her solo career.