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Absolutely at their most gorgeous selves, Lauren Bacall leads Betty Grable & Marilyn Monroe into a master gold-digging scheme to marry milllionaires. Rory Calhoun, Fred Clark, Alex D'Arcy, Cameron Mitchell, William Powell & David Wayne are these three fashion models' millionaire prey. In & of itself that plot is a comedy. The scheming trio rent a posh NYC penthouse & begin selling its owner's lavish contents in order to afford to dress for & attend upscale events where millionaires are likely to be. While it is a very good comedy, especially because Bacall, Grable & Monroe deliver terrific performances & develop a wonderful screen chemistry between them, that's not the half of it! This is the heart of the US in the 1950's. The vehicles driven are classic eye-poppers. All three women's wardrobes are to die for. Marilyn Monroe is not a sex pot, as so many reviewers contend. She's the one who's extremely near-sighted & takes her fashion-funny eye glasses on & off whenever changing company from women to men. Anyone who dares to assert that Monroe couldn't act doesn't know how to spot great comedic timing, which Monroe was an expert at performing. She's about as neurotic about needing to wear eye glasses as TV's "Monk" is about everything! The weakest performance is Grable's. Bacall's is comedy played "straight." So, she comes off as flawless. During the only "fashion show" the three ladies are modeling in, Monroe does her 'cat walk' in a stunning bright orangish-red one piece bathing suit. This was when Monroe was an all natural, literally, perfect figured woman. What a physique! That fashion show alone is classic footage of Betty Grable's famous million dollar insured legs, Monroe's drop-dead-gorgeous figure (that no other actress has ever come close to resembling) & the natural tall, blonde, lean elegant & classy beauty of Bacall. Nunnally Johnson's screenplay dialogue is arguably his most sensational. Director Jean Negulesco creates an entertaining comedy that avoids being slap stick or camp (camp is Joan Crawford in just about anything: a bomb when first released, with such bad acting that years later it's so funny to watch that it's almost entertaining=outrageously camp). NYC was pre-Twin Towers. Shot in a panoramic Cinemascope, the on site scenery of Manhattan is stunning & historic since this is the 1st feature film in Cinemascope & by Technicolor. Colors are exquisitely vivid & panoramic views of the city from the 'penthouse' (obviously filmed from a sky scraper). Now you know some of the reason's why this film was the 4th best movie theater hit of 1953~Read full review
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