Article Date: August 29th, 2021
Starring: Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall
Movie Overview:
(Spoilers!)
The movie opens with an orchestra symphony on a stage in a theater. The music mixes between a slow tempo and an upbeat tempo. for the first five minutes of the film. The sound is indicative of the time.
After a minute of credits, the movie begins with panning of scenes of NYC, with "New York, New York" playing matching up scenes along with the song's lyrics.
Lauren Bacall's character, Mrs. Schatze Page, is looking at an apartment for 1k a month. After standing but moments in the apartment, she sits at a table and signs a check for the first and last month's payment and tells the real estate agent she'll take it, leasing it for 1 year, shutting the conversation down quickly as she walks the man out and closes the door in his face.
Marilyn Monroe's character, Pola Debevoise, shows up next. Nearsighted (she has Myopia), she has to squint and get close to the door's number to check the apartment before entering. Chatting with Schatze, she picks up the phone and calls another friend, Loco Dempsey (Betty Grable), to show up at the apartment. Loco shows up with a man she found at the deli- Tom Brookman.
The ladies want to get married (again), which is what the setup is about- to get them all married to rich men, regardless of who they are. Getting married is the "biggest thing you can do in life" as quoted by Schatze. "Nothing under 6 figures a year" she adds. Pola wants to marry "Rockefeller" as it was a dream of hers. When asked which one, she simply responds "I don't care". Loco then proceeds to respond herself with "I wouldn't mind marrying a Vanderbuilt"
As time passes (about three months) months, they've gotten nowhere in their quest to marry wealthy men. Loco comes to the apartment with a Mr. J.D Hanley, who is involved in the oil Institute. He invites them to a meeting that night at 8:30. Each of the ladies is paired off with a man and sits at different tables. Pola doesn't wear her glasses (she has myopia) and begins to bump into people and walk in the wrong direction because of not being able to see. Schatze and Pola each are with unmarried men; Loco's man is. Schatze's man is a widower (has a daughter, Ella). Pola's man, J. Stuart Merrill, an oil tycoon, speaks of millions. Loco ends up being invited to a lodge that Friday afternoon in Maine.
That night, each dreams of what life would be like if married to their perspective men.
Loco goes to the lodge in Maine with Walter Brewster, dismayed at the rustic state of the lodge after assuming it to be a large gathering place "like the Elks Lodge". The two begin jawing at each other upset at the circumstance- both from embarrassment. Loco wants to go home, but can't- the train isn't running again until the morning. Feeling sick, it's found that Loco has a temperature of 102 and requests a doctor, but because Mr. Walter Brewster is known in the area, he refuses. It turns out with her splotchy tongue, watery eyes, breaking out behind the ears, and itchy skin she has been diagnosed over the phone as having measles.
Meanwhile back in NY, a mysterious old man creeps around the apartment when Pola arrives home. J.D is on his way out after visiting Schatze, who attempted to get J.D to propose to her. Pola apologizes to Schatze, revealing that she and Stuart were planning on getting married.
Back in Maine, Loco is spending time having recovered, skiing on the slopes with a man, Evan. The two kiss. Loco nurses Walter back to health after he falls ill. He reveals his daughter has run away to marry a dancer, and he has disinherited her because of it. Back on the slopes, Loco and Evan look at the mountains as Evan speaks of his adoration for them. Thinking he owns the land, she feels her affections for him grow.
Back in NY, the mysterious man comes back to the hotel, letting himself into the ladies' apartment. He enters one of the bedrooms and heads to the safe in the walk-in closet. The phone rings, and he ignores it. Removing an envelope from the safe, he exits the bedroom and waits in the main lobby as Pola enters the apartment and answers the phone, leaving the door open. Not realizing the situation, she tells the man that "she's not home yet" unaware that the man had just robbed them of their bank book thinking the man had just walked in, not actually attempting to leave. Merrill is on the phone and tells Pola that he cannot meet her that night as he has to visit a "certain party" in Washington. He wants her to get on a certain flight to meet him in Atlantic City, and he'll meet her at the airport at 5 pm.
On the plane, she meets a man she thinks is the man at the apartment. Because she's not wearing her eyeglasses, she cannot identify the man. He asks her if she wears glasses (he wearing himself) because he sees her reading a book upside down. She admits she's "blind as a bat". She asks him why he isn't wearing his (he is) and gets very close to him until she sees that he indeed is wearing glasses. She admits she doesn't wear hers due to being afraid of what men think of women who do wear them. He calls her "quite a streudel", and tells her that the glasses give her a certain distinction and that he likes her better with the glasses on. She then asks him for his name, getting to know him. She finds out that this man is looking for Stuart, telling her about his fraudulent behavior and telling him that he's in Kansas City. When she asks Freddie why he's going to Atlantic City, she realizes she's on the wrong plane.
Back in Maine, Loco and Evan spend time together arriving at a shack. When she asks if the shack is his home, Evan laughs and tells her it is when he's "on duty". She mistakenly assumes he's rich and asks why he doesn't build himself a bigger Forest Lookout Station. He asks where she got that idea. She tells him that he says he owns all of the trees (leading her to believe he OWNED the trees-not just caring for them). Disappointed, Evan starts the snowmobile and heads away from the shack, never leaving the vehicle. The next morning, the car is packed and Brewster and Loco leave, with Evan driving. The two don't say anything to one another. Once back in their own car, Brewster and Loco continue the trip alone. Loco suggests that he should buy his wife a bauble at Cartier's to apologize for being away from her. He says anything more than flowers would upset his wife due to her not being used to expensive gifts. When she brings up Ella once more, he shuts down the conversation. She calls him out for the callous way he behaves towards the females in his life. Brewster pays the toll and continues, but police are alerted to follow them. They find out they're the 50 millionth car to pass the state lines, and photographers photograph the two together after Brewster spent so much effort to keep his wife from knowing he spent the weekend with another woman. Loco, not caring at this point, scoots in towards brewster to get her photo taken.
Back in NY, Schatze runs into Tom Brookman in a diner, and the two have lunch together at the counter. She tells him of her predicament and promptly tells him that she never wants to see him again after the burger meal is finished. Through scenes, it is implied they spend a lot of time together. They spend time on a boat afterward, and she repeats that she never wants to see him again- only to see him again falling in love along the way.
At the apartment, Schatze stands in a barren apartment when J.D comes in. Schatze calls for her furniture to be returned, leaving JD alone in the living room. She returns and accepts his unspoken proposal.
The movie jumps to her wedding day. Loco and Evan arrive surprised to find out Schatze is marrying Hanley. Schatze finds out Loco got married herself- to Evan. He's not a millionaire, but she loves him the same. Pola arrives- wearing her glasses- and congratulates Schatze. She tells Pola that JD is worth 50 million. When asked where Pola was she tells her that she married Freddie- first suspecting Stuart. Pola tells her that she married the man she met on the plane. She proudly tells Schatze that Freddie is blinder than even she.
When the time to get married arrives, Schatze appears to be forlorn- rather than the expected happy bride. As she arrives at the altar space, Pola and Loco are upfront standing as bridesmaids. Schatze tells J.D that she needs to speak with him, bringing him into the bedroom to tell him that she does not love him the way she should. He tells her that he is disappointed, but will recover. When asked who her 'young man' is, she responds with "nothing. He's absolutely nothing". She finally says his name "Tom Brookman".
Later the three couples spend time at the greasy spoon- a diner. When finding out how much money Brookman is worth, the three collapse to the floor, having fainted. Brookman stands and holds a toast to "our wives". He, Evan, and Freddie clink glasses celebrating their newfound friendships.
Thoughts:
Overall, I thought the movie to be a good even-paced film that kept the viewers entertained, but was lighthearted enough to not take itself too seriously. Monroe's performance as Pola Debevoise seemed to be on par with other movie roles she had played- the not terribly bright blonde bombshell with the down-to-earth soft heart.
Bacall, Grable, and Monroe's on-screen chemistry was good- an honest friendship that could be seen even from behind the lens and that came through on film.
Bacall's performance as the leader of the group was strong and direct in that she had Schatze hold herself to the goal and never waivered. She showed Schatze's vulnerable side briefly but was still guarded, afraid of what would happen to her if she failed.
Grable's role of Loco was what I believe to be the wisest of the group. She wanted to marry rich- as she had her entire life (she wanted to marry a Vanderbilt). But she also knew at the end of the day, that family is the most important thing you could have- money meant nothing at the end of it all.
Even though this movie is 68 years old, I feel the theme of the film and storyline is still fresh. Other than the classic fifties clothing styles, the women still feel modern in their approach to their goals in that they are not afraid to go after their dreams, uncaring of what it takes. Issues, like Pola's eyewear insecurities, are something today's modern woman is concerned with- what others think of oneself.
The movie in of itself was a bit short considering the plotline. The entire film appears to be within only a few months, but we see very little progression outside of time jumps. We fail to witness much of the journey into the attempt at marriage, and when they are married we never see the ceremonies. We're only told after the fact that these events occurred.
I like the idea that even when you try to marry for something specific, you just never know who you will find, nor what they do for a living. The three women all tried to marry for money and all married men that are blue-collared men (except for Tom), which proves to never judge a book by its cover.
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