One of my all-time favorite "chick flicks" ~ 1953's How to Marry a Millionaire ~ is also a stylish-movie-geek favorite. Starring three glamorous ladies - Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, and Betty Grable, as beautiful fashion models. This movie begins as sophisticated and resourceful Schatze Page is introduced to her luxe new Sutton Place penthouse. Well, it's not exactly hers... she's renting it to attract men. Rich men. What ensues is a comedic romp involving several male characters and many creative outfit changes. Everything the ladies wear, down to their bathrobes is is polished and feminine. Lots of nipped waists, full skirts, glossy curled hair, and diamonds. The interior decoration is also chic, in all it's 50s glory. It's really a feast for the eyes!
Lauren Bacall plays Schatze Page, the saucy main character. Throughout the movie she tries so hard to be a ballbuster, it ends up biting her in the ass, and by the end of the movie you can see she's really soft and gentle on the inside. She has a lot of great lines, mostly when she's rejecting wealthy and successful Tom Brookman, whom she mistakenly thinks is a "gas pump jockey." Marilyn plays innocently cute Pola Debevoise, who won't wear her spectacles for fear of being judged by men - so instead she walks around nearly blind with lots of running into walls - laughs unfortunately at her expense. Betty Grable plays perky Loco Dempsy, a girl who is "awful clever with a quarter," reeling in men everywhere she goes. She never fails to get laughs, especially in the Maine scene when she comes down with a fever. All three ladies are charming and lovely to watch.
If you're a fan of fashionable films, you need to see this movie.
