Let's Make Love [DVD]

Product Information

There is plenty to work against the film: Cukor's almost non-existent direction, the rather dreadful musical numbers, Yves Montand's irritating performance and the wasted opportunities of the star cameos. SYNOPSIS: Monroe's 28th picture was supposed to be a satire of Howard Hughes entitled "The Billionaire", but Fox's lawyers must have advised no-no, and it became instead a sort of later version of "On the Avenue", made in 1937 by the same studio. Montand is cast as a billionaire industrialist who is told by his attorney, Wilfrid Hyde-White, and his public relations man, Tony Randall, that an off-Broadway satire aimed right at him, has not only been planned, but is now actually in rehearsal. So Montand and Randall go to the theater and actually discover our Marilyn rehearsing "My Heart Belongs To Daddy" (This particular rendition must rate as one of her very best singing attempts ever). Anyway, the show has not yet engaged anyone to play Montand. Therefore the stage director assumes that the real Montand is actually an actor who has come to audition for the part. Needless to say, the real Montand is hired instantly. — Adapted from a resume in the Motion Picture Guide. It is quite possible that Marilyn felt Cukor was more sympathetic to the character she was playing than other directors had been to her roles in the past. The veteran director was probably at least partially responsible for her cooperative attitude.

There're so many things wrong with this film. Drab costumes, uninspired numbers, miscued performances, wandering story and just overall poor direction that it's a wonder it was ever released at all. Though I suppose the studio had to recoup its losses somehow. The movie plods along for far too long until it gets to its predictable conclusion, though there are enough Cole Porter tunes sung and enough wiggles from Marilyn to keep the movie from imploding. Marilyn is charming and sexy. Yves in his first English speaking role is debonair and very French. Wilfred Hyde-White offers a likable performance in a supporting role. If you can live with the plot making absolutely no sense, then you should be able to handle this uneven attempt at being a screwball comedy. Marilyn had seen Montand in his one-man show on Broadway and was taken by his Gallic charm. The Millers were eager to befriend the Montands, and the four were often seen together when Let's Make Love first went into production in mid-February of 1960. With Marilyns clout at 20th Century Fox studios one wonders why she chose to take the role as Amanda Dell. She's not altogether bad as the character. The script simply had little to offer her. But I have to say after repeated viewings, the film has grown on me. I am a huge fan of MM and to be fair Monroes first appearance singing "My heart belongs to Daddy" is a clever and exciting opening performance. What an entrance, she is on fire in this 3 minute masterpiece. I love the kiss and wink and staging of this classic piece. That scene is the best musical number in the picture. This sequence might have been filmed and added at the last minute after 20th Century Fox exec's saw a rough cut of the film.Marilyn does look very comfortable and relaxed on the screen. But, at times she appears distracted.(Probably George Cukors uneven direction) There is something a little charming about the whole production. The musical score will grow on you and "Incurably Romantic" is very well done. This film was nominated for an Oscar for best musical score. I also loved the fantasy sequence with Yves and MM in the board room on the table where she is knitting with gold yarn. She even makes that chore look sexy! The problems with the film are abundant even though I still think it earns a 7. That's because the plot is so very likable you can ignore the ridiculousness of the plot (it really is tough to believe) as well as that many of the song and dance numbers don't seem all that great. While Miss Monroe has a HUGE cult-like following, I don't think her singing and dancing were all that great--but she was nice to look at and did a better job at acting. Overall, it's a nice little romance and worth a look. Miller noticed that Marilyn's moods began to shift quite rapidly during this period. Though she seemed to accept the tragedy of her most recent miscarriage, she was not altogether happy with married life. Often, her disappointment took the form of vindictiveness or obvious disrespect toward her husband.

Miller despised the idea of rewriting a trivial film script, particularly one he described as "not worth the paper it was typed on." Still, he tried to tailor Marilyn's role to her talents and image. In March 1960, Monroe was awarded the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Musical or Comedy, further cementing the success of Some Like It Hot. Montand's wife Simone Signoret, with whom he had starred in the French version of The Crucible, won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Room at the Top in April. The two couples were soon inseparable; they had adjoining bungalows at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Aside from that highlight, only Milton Berle's routine with Montand, in which the veteran comic tries to teach the Frenchman about American comedy, stands out. Clement uses the opportunity to court Amanda, who continually expresses her distaste for irresponsible, playboy-type billionaires. Predictably, Amanda falls in love with Clement, whom she believes to be merely a starving actor. From the beginning issues arose with the film. Monroe, although enthusiastic about Montand, did not want to make the film and the original screenwriter had reservations about the cast. Despite being offered the role and having found success with his one-man show, Montand did not speak English. This led to enormous stress as he worked to understand the lines he was speaking through translation. Monroe, at this point in her career, had developed a reputation (beyond Hollywood) for oftentimes being late to set, forgetting her lines, and deferring to her coach over the director. However, some reports state [ citation needed] that this was not true during the filming of Let's Make Love, although she and Cukor did not have the best relationship. Neither star was satisfied with the script and production was shut down for over a month by two Hollywood strikes: first by the Screen Actors Guild and then the Writers Guild of America. [5]The drama that took place away from the set of Let's Make Love -- Marilyn's affair with Montand -- was infinitely more interesting than the film itself.