Hoped-for wide-screen follow-up to "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," starring one of its stars, but it lacks the backing of a big studio, and how it shows. Jane Russell's the more Lorelei-like of the pair in this one, and she looks uncomfortable playing a ditz. Her fellow showgirl, a dubbed Jeanne Crain, is uninteresting, and the flaccid dialogue furnished her by Mary Loos is only part of the problem. The gals rush off to Paris, where they're wooed by broke agent Scott Brady and his seemingly broke pal Alan Young, and counseled by no less than Rudy Vallee playing himself, uneasily. He tells the gals about their elders, who were the wow of Paris 30 years ago, permitting several 1920s flashback production numbers. Having United Artists instead of 20th Century Fox behind this makes a difference, as does replacing a director of Howard Hawks's caliber with Richard Sale. And the score is mostly Rodgers and Hart standards, with only one new song. But hey, the Paris locations are lovely, the wardrobe screams 1955, and the lack of discipline can be fun. Where else will you see a production number built around "Ain't Misbehavin'", featuring Alan Young in a gorilla suit and a cannibal chorus? Some truly terrible ideas in this one, and some bad casting. And I had a very good time.
Review of Gentlemen Marry Brunettes
