Just a few years earlier, Betty had been the Queen of the Fox lot; now, she was toiling at Columbia, doing an obvious rip-off of MM's "Heat Wave." That's show biz!
I have read where Marilyn's number was considered really vulgar by more than a few people. I love it, of course, but do think it's funny when she hoists her skirt and sings lines line, "I started this heat wave by makin' my seat wave" !!
"I have read where Marilyn's number was considered really vulgar by more than a few people."
Well, Fox did specialize in gloriously vulgar musicals, didn't they? But where Hawks' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Berkeley's The Gang's All Here also had a certain amount of wit (plus a healthy dash of surrealism) to offset the intentional tackiness, TNBLSB is just dull, tarted-up corn.
The cast is all wrong, too: Ethel never was a screen personality, but she did shine within her narrow range (i.e., Call Me Madam) -- here, she's alternately too big for the screen, and too confined to really let loose in Merm style; Johnnie Ray should never have been allowed to set foot on a soundstage; and the pairing of MM with Donald O'Connor is patently ridiculous. Only Dan Dailey and Mitzi Gaynor get through relatively unscathed, if only because there's not a whole lot for either of them to do.
As far as MM's "Heat Wave" goes -- I love all the campy elements: the fabulously clashing colors, the leaping gay chorus boys in tropical makeup, the wild Jack Cole choreography, and dig those bongos, man! But it IS vulgar, and Travilla totally failed Marilyn with that awful costume -- it's completely unflattering (look at the muffin top in the costume still I posted), and MM herself crosses the line between sexy and slutty when she starts flashing her bits all over the place. It's one of the few times where her natural instincts failed her. She's much more seductive, completely clothed, when she stretches out and performs "Lazy" as if she were rolling every syllable around in her mouth.
I just watched this clip (I don't have sound at work) and see that they OMITTED the lyric I mentioned above! ("lettin' my seat wave") I have a recording of it on CD and didn't realize they cut it from the film in order to let her body do the talking...
I did notice MM's love handle in the photo, but I rarely say anything about her weight ever since Elizabeth Hurley said that she would kill herself if she ever got as fat as Marilyn. Whatever...
I do like the way her hat frames her face in the number anyway...
I love the Marilyn dancers!!!!
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother had curtains in the fabric of that skirt in the first photo
ReplyDeleteYou gave Marilyn top billing over Betty!
ReplyDeleteFate is cruel, indeed.
Betty Gravel is more like it. What is that stuff on her crotch?
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot and out with the garbage,
ReplyDeleteThey take bows and you're battin' zero.
"You gave Marilyn top billing over Betty!"
ReplyDeleteJust a few years earlier, Betty had been the Queen of the Fox lot; now, she was toiling at Columbia, doing an obvious rip-off of MM's "Heat Wave." That's show biz!
I have read where Marilyn's number was considered really vulgar by more than a few people. I love it, of course, but do think it's funny when she hoists her skirt and sings lines line, "I started this heat wave by makin' my seat wave" !!
ReplyDelete"I have read where Marilyn's number was considered really vulgar by more than a few people."
ReplyDeleteWell, Fox did specialize in gloriously vulgar musicals, didn't they? But where Hawks' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Berkeley's The Gang's All Here also had a certain amount of wit (plus a healthy dash of surrealism) to offset the intentional tackiness, TNBLSB is just dull, tarted-up corn.
The cast is all wrong, too: Ethel never was a screen personality, but she did shine within her narrow range (i.e., Call Me Madam) -- here, she's alternately too big for the screen, and too confined to really let loose in Merm style; Johnnie Ray should never have been allowed to set foot on a soundstage; and the pairing of MM with Donald O'Connor is patently ridiculous. Only Dan Dailey and Mitzi Gaynor get through relatively unscathed, if only because there's not a whole lot for either of them to do.
As far as MM's "Heat Wave" goes -- I love all the campy elements: the fabulously clashing colors, the leaping gay chorus boys in tropical makeup, the wild Jack Cole choreography, and dig those bongos, man! But it IS vulgar, and Travilla totally failed Marilyn with that awful costume -- it's completely unflattering (look at the muffin top in the costume still I posted), and MM herself crosses the line between sexy and slutty when she starts flashing her bits all over the place. It's one of the few times where her natural instincts failed her. She's much more seductive, completely clothed, when she stretches out and performs "Lazy" as if she were rolling every syllable around in her mouth.
I just watched this clip (I don't have sound at work) and see that they OMITTED the lyric I mentioned above! ("lettin' my seat wave") I have a recording of it on CD and didn't realize they cut it from the film in order to let her body do the talking...
ReplyDeleteI did notice MM's love handle in the photo, but I rarely say anything about her weight ever since Elizabeth Hurley said that she would kill herself if she ever got as fat as Marilyn. Whatever...
I do like the way her hat frames her face in the number anyway...