Men prefer blondes to Arte: Marilyn’s nude photos caused controversy

Dorothy and Lorelei are singers. Dorothy, a tall, seemingly cynical brunette, always falls in love on a first-come, first-served basis! As for blonde Lorelei, she pretends to be a fool in order to better understand the fate of her suitor. He also has a new victim…

When Fox acquired the rights to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, the film was originally slated to star Jane Russell and Betty Grable. But, given Niagara’s success with Marilyn Monroe, the studio eventually changed its mind and cast a rising star who cost far less than Betty Grable ($18,000 vs. $150,000).

However, the producer did not take into account the demands of Marilyn Monroe, who, despite the satisfaction of the director, constantly asked to return the scenes. Asked by Fox how to speed up filming, Howard Hawks suggested “Three fantastic ideas: change Marilyn, rewrite the script to cut it down and change the director”…

Among the memorable sequences of the film is the legendary song Diamond’s are a girl’s best friend. The sequence of Marilyn dancing and singing in her famous pink satin dress has been widely imitated in the following decades, from Madonna to Margot Robbie in Birds of Prey alongside Moulin Rouge to name a few examples.

Here is the scene again for fun..

Embarrassing but accepted clichés

Turns out this legendary dress was actually a last minute change. LAt first, the actress had to wear only black velvet strips and rhinestones, which recreated the illusion of a river of diamonds on a human scale. An outfit that was ultimately considered too daring for the studios. And this has a motivation: the scandal caused by the nude photos of Marilyn.

Four years earlier, an actress still famous, she posed naked for famous pin-up photographer Tom Kelly. A series of shots where TIt appeared spread out in the middle of the red silk sheets intended to illustrate the calendar. A photo session that brought Marilyn a modest sum of 50 dollars.

In a four-part documentary that aired earlier this year on CNN, Reframed: Marilyn MonroeThe actor says that he assured the photographer that no one recognized him. When the calendar was released in 1952, the actress had little reputation. It was, of course, quickly identified as a model for the calendar, which caused a minor scandal in the still very puritanical America.

The actress bravely chose to take these photos and defend herself with great honesty: “A few years ago, when I didn’t have money for rent or food, a photographer I knew asked me to shoot her nude for an art calendar.” he explained to the journalist Allyn Mosby agency United Press Internationalwho was the first to report on these photos.

Fox Executives who were supposed to come out Men prefer blondes The following year, Marilyn was asked to categorically deny that she was in the photos. He refused, as he explained to Mosby: “Oh, the calendar is in every garage in town. Why deny it? You can get it anywhere. Besides, I’m not ashamed of it. I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“The sexiest, most exciting, almost naked woman I’ve ever seen on screen”

Renowned costume designer William Travilla, who worked on eleven films with Marilyn Monroe and created her Men prefer blondesIt is said that the series of photos caused hysteria among studio executives, who feared that the photos would not only destroy the actor’s career, but also scare away investors.

Initially, Travilla was tasked with creating the outfit “The sexiest, most exciting, almost naked woman I’ve ever seen on screen”, in his own words. In other words, the clothes are far from what we see in the movie. The suit was a pink mesh over her bare body. Her chest and thighs were covered with diamonds by a jeweler. And just when we were about to shoot the scene, god damn it, everything went wrong. Reprint of a nude picture of Marilyn. The calendar has entered the market.

Although the actor has never been photographed in this costume, there are very rare shots of him during fittings.

Here are two:

Marilyn’s costume fitting, back view:

Sweating the potential prospect of a box office fiasco for this clichéd affair, Fox studio executives ordered William Travilla to drop the suit. It was there that he came up with the idea of ​​a pink satin dress that covered the actress’s body very clearly. Be that as it may, the fears of studio experts were quickly dispelled. Men prefer blondes It was a success in theaters and was eventually put into orbit by Merlin.