Let's Make Love [DVD]

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However, considering Marilyn's increasingly fragile state and growing tendency to disengage herself from everyday existence, the relationship with Montand was a destructive event in her life. Soon after shooting of Let's Make Love got underway, both Miller and Signoret were called away from Los Angeles, leaving Marilyn and Montand alone. Much of the credit, however, must go to George Cukor, an "actor's director" who enjoyed a reputation for bringing out the best in his female stars; Katharine Hepburn was just one of the legendary figures who admired Cukor's sensitive treatment of female characters. The musicals are ghastly, the production is weak and the plot is sketchy; only the performances try to save 'Let's Make Love's' face. I would say the best actor in the movie would be Wilfred Hyde White, who mouths the line "You made a terrible/risky decision by mortgaging your house for this (to save his theater)" to the theater owner. I would add that George Cukor made a terrible decision of getting big actors such as Monroe and choosing such a script for them". 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.

Unfortunately, though Marilyn did not impede the shooting schedule, two Hollywood strikes -- first by the Screen Actors Guild and then by the Screen Writers Guild -- held up production of Let's Make Love for over a month. NOTES: Lionel Newman and Earle H. Hagen were nominated for a prestigious Hollywood award for Scoring of a Musical Picture, losing to "Song Without End". Despite the real-life sparks generated by the Monroe-Montand liaison, Let's Make Love is a distinctly unengaging musical comedy and remains Marilyn's weakest starring vehicle.Feature Film, Released between 1960-01-01 and 1960-12-31 (Sorted by US Box Office Descending)". IMDb. Marilyn's psychiatric care was part of Hollywood gossip at the time, so those columnists who were generally friendly with Marilyn took Montand to task for taking advantage of her. Vitacco-Robles, Gary (2014). Icon: The Life, Times and Films of Marilyn Monroe Volume 2 1956 TO 1962 & Beyond. BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1593937751. The film's cast included Tony Randall and Wilfrid Hyde-White in supporting roles, and spotlighted Milton Berle, Gene Kelly, and Bing Crosby in cameo appearances as themselves.

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.The affair itself did not destroy Marilyn's marriage with Miller. It was merely another step toward its gradual disintegration. I have a hard time understanding why a slim minority heaped praises on this film. The film goes absolutely no where, and as far as French males go Yves Montand is one of the least attractive Europeans I've ever seen (and that's putting it too mildly). Surely Monroe's character has better taste than this? On the set, Marilyn cooperated with director George Cukor and other cast members -- agreeable behavior that was in stark contrast to her conduct on her last two productions. It is likely that Marilyn was emulating Montand's professionalism, a quality she admired in him. The new PR man Coffman (Tony Randall) has been hired to keep his tycoon boss, the seventh generation French billionaire Jean-Marc Clement (Yves Montand), out of the news. Coffman reports to his immediate boss, business manager John Wales (Wilfred Hyde-White), that he read in Variety a new off-Broadway musical is opening that is spoofing a number of celebrities such as Elvis, Maria Callas, and the thin-skinned publicity shy womanizing bachelor Jean-Marc Clement. To see if they can soften the show’s parody and show that Clement has a sense of humor, Coffman takes Clement unannounced to a rehearsal of the show. As soon as Clement sees the busty Amanda (Marilyn Monroe), he decides he wants her in the same authoritarian way he’s accustomed to always getting what he wants–as he believes people respect and obey him for his money. He’s mistaken by the casting director and everyone else at the show, including Amanda, for a Clement look-alike, as they assume he’s trying out for the part. When he sees Amanda can’t stand the snobby Clement and is not driven to meet a wealthy man, he pretends to be an out-of-work actor trying out for that part. It’s hard to believe no one in a show lampooning Clement would recognize him, but there you have the lame plot and might as well except it for the sake of the film. Released in 1960 after Marilyn's super turn in the fantastic 'Some Like It Hot', LML has often been cited as Monroe's worst movie.

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. Directed by George Cukor, Let's Make Love is a 1960 musical comedy produced by Jerry Waldfrom a screenplay by Norman Krasna, Hal Kanter and Arthur Miller. The movie also stars Tony Randall.

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Despite the flimsiness of Let's Make Love, Marilyn's sexuality and spark are evident in one of the film's musical numbers -- the scorching "My Heart Belongs to Daddy." Incurably Romantic" (Cahn and Van Heusen)–sung by Bing Crosby and Yves Montand, by Marilyn Monroe and Montand and again by Marilyn Monroe and Frankie Vaughan. [15]

I'm tempted to write that the accent is firmly focused on style, but director George Cukor is too farsighted a director to over-emphasize the movie's luxurious settings, creative camera-work and imaginative choreography at the expense of his cast; or to under-emphasize the demurely seductive playing of Miss Monroe, the Gallic, volatile quality of Yves Montand, or even the delightfully dry acidity of Wilfrid Hyde-White, at the expense of Norman Krasna's witty script. 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] Montand played billionaire Jean-Marc Clement, a world-famous playboy whose eyebrows are raised when he learns of a theater troupe's plan to satirize him in a musical revue. Poor romantic comedy that was subsequently talked down by director George Cukor and its two main stars, Yves-Montand and Marilyn Monroe. The latter only doing the film due to contractual commitments to 20th Century Fox. There were also problems with the affair that Montand & Monroe were having since both parties will still married to Simone Signoret and Arthur Miller respectively. Perhaps because they were trying not to show their feelings on screen explains why the coupling comes off as bland and listless? Monroe at least captivates and looks very well here, but Montand is dull as dish water and it's hard to believe that Monroe in character or in real life could go for such dullness.When Clement needs help in keeping his impostor act going, he secretly uses his money to influence the show in his favor. He buys a fresh joke from a professional joke writer for a thousand dollars to soften up the producer Oliver Burton (Burns) and impress Amanda. His right-hand man, the loyal Wales who helped raise him from childhood, uses Clement’s influence to put the money squeeze on Burton by raising rental fees for theater space and then rescues the show when he buys a controlling interest in it. Wales then hires Gene Kelly to teach Clement to dance, Bing Crosby to teach him to sing and Milton Berle to teach him a comedy act. director: George Cukor; screenwriters: Norman Krasna/Hal Kanter/Arthur Miller (uncredited); cinematographer: Daniel L. Fapp; editor: David Bretherton; music: Sammy Cahn/Cole Porter/James Van Heusen; cast: Yves Montand (Jean-Marc Clement), Marilyn Monroe (Amanda Dell), Tony Randall (Howard Coffman), Wilfred Hyde-White (John Wales), Frankie Vaughn (Tony Danton), David Burns (Oliver Burton), Mara Lynn (Lily Nyles), Milton Berle (Himself), Bing Crosby (Himself), Gene Kelly (Himself), Michael David (Dave Kerry), Dennis King Jr. (Abe Miller), Joe Besser (Lamont, Joke Writer); Runtime: 119; MPAA Rating: NR; producer: Jerry Wald; 20th Century Fox; 1960) These ingredients, though contrived, are far from hopeless. Unfortunately, the slight script makes use of Marilyn's image but not her talent. 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.