Yesterday I talked about harking back to a golden age, where imagination and fun were all the rage. I recently got around to watch two fantastic films from the 40s and 50s that encapsulated that spirit of adventure and exuberance in very different ways: ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ and ‘Across the Pacific’.
‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ stars Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell as lounge singers from Little Rock who take a cruise to Europe, France. Monroe is waiting for her fiancé to persuade his father to let him marry her (he thinks she’s just after his money) before heading over for the wedding, Russell acting as Marilyn’s chaperone whilst looking for love herself (and meeting the entire American Olympic Athletics team). The film is fast and funny, full of dazzling musical numbers, surprisingly risqué, features strong and bold female leads, and Marilyn will take your breath away (both men and women, though for different reasons). Highly recommended (unless you hate musicals, films that don’t look like an MTV video, or have no pulse. Yes, I know that means you’d be dead, but I think you get my point. Or you’re a Zombie. In which case: Hi! And welcome to the internet.).
‘Across the Pacific’ stars Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor and Sydney Greenstreet as passengers aboard a Japanese ship sailing to the orient by way of New York and Panama, each with their own secrets and agendas. The cast previously worked together on The Maltese Falcon with director John Huston, who returns for helming duties here. It’s a great spy/adventure movie with a lot of comedy from Humphrey and Mary (a pseudo Nick and Nora from the Thin Man), and plenty of twists and turns. It moves at a cracking pace, has plenty of mystery and intrigue and the cast are superb, clearly building on the off screen relationships they established during the making of Falcon. Again, highly recommended.
Watch them as a double bill.
