It terms of sheer fun, female bonding and high spirits this musical remains hard to beat - Jane Russell became famous for her chest, so assiduously promoted by Howard Hughes, but when she died everyone was posting clips from this film on Facebook, not The Outlaw. She's perfectly teamed with Marilyn Monroe as the gold digging Lorelei Lee. Russell's out for sex, Marilyn's out for diamonds, both care deeply for each other. Is it the best female friendship depicted in a movie? I can't think of a better one. (I probably will the minute I post this.)
It's full of terrific numbers - "Two Girls from Little Rock", "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend". It feels very much like a filmed Broadway show - I haven't seen the original production, but much of the plot just smells of Broadway - most of the action takes place on an ocean liner and in Paris, the thrust of the actual plot concerns a missing tiara, there's very musical "bits" like the two girls being down and out at a Parisian cafe and talks on a shipboard galley at night.
The biggest debit is Elliot Reid's Malone. Tom Noonan's nerdy millionaire is fine - he's actually perfectly cast - but was there no one in Hollywood better than Reid to play Russell's love interest? The part doesn't involve singing or dancing or even that much acting - all you have to do is be handsome and virile, and Reid is hilariously inept. It doesn't really matter because the crux of the film is Monroe and Russell - it's just weird casting from Howard Hawks, that's all.
There's moments of pure high camp, such as Russell singing "Is There Anyone Here for Love" while men prance around in skin coloured short-shorts. (What was Hawks thinking?) "Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend" is done very well, both by Monroe and Russell. I love the gendarmes clapping along to Russell in the courtroom.
One thing I noticed on a recent viewing was that Lorelei really is quite mercenary. I mean, I get she was outwardly meant to be but at the end always thought that she would settle down and take good care of Noonan. But although she's engaged she's barely five seconds on the ship when she's seeking out other men, and trying to get diamonds off Charles Coburn. What's she planning on doing to get those diamonds? She's going to put out, isn't she? So surely even after she's married she's going to be susceptible to the lure of diamonds in exchange for favours?
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