Let's Make Love [DVD]

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The faults extend to the songs to. The only reasonably good one is "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" done in a rather coy and simpering style by Monroe but nevertheless, it's the only high point in the whole show. Everything else is better left unmentioned. 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". Miss Monroe's coach on this one was Paula Strasberg, her make-up man, Whitey Snider. Her then husband, Arthur Miller, was present for much of the shooting and is reported to have written additional dialogue for Marilyn.

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. 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. 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. 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 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. Since I am watching all Marilyn's movies, ''Let's Make Love'' was the second one from the collection to be watched. Marilyn is beautiful as usual, and we have Cameos from Gene Kelly,Bing Crosby and Milton Berle as themselves. This scene from Let's Make Love seems to encapsulate the personal unhappiness that Marilyn was feeling at the time. A lot of talented people were involved in the making of this and it seems a colossal waste of time. Marilyn and Montand and British pop star Frankie Vaughan had some nice numbers to sing. 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.

I'd heard a lot about this film since I was a boy, but had never had a chance to see it, probably because it was deemed to racy at the time for younger audiences. Well, now I've seen it, and not only do I wish I hadn't, I wish it had never been preserved. Then again we need poor films in this world to remind us good films are good in the first place. Too bad Marilyn had to be in this one. The movie starts telling the story of Jean Marc's ancestors, and how his family started to become richer with the time, until his present days as a billionaire. Jean Marc has power,money and also is a 'Casanova', with a new woman to go out everyday. One day, he discovers that he is going to be satirized in an off-Broadway theater, and he goes to see how the play is going to be, until he sees Amanda singing and dancing in a provocative way and the director,who thinks that Jean Marc is an actor trying to take the role of himself,cast him as a member of the show. Decided to go out with Amanda and make her fall for him, he pretends to be someone else,using the identity of Alexander Dumas and acting as a poor actor who wants new lessons from Amanda to improve his acting career. With the time, Jean Marc starts to fall for Amanda, since she is the only woman who was kind to him without expecting money or gifts in return. The problem now is his fake identity.I hope you can kiss better than you can sing." When I heard this line from the film regarding Yves Montand, I had to laugh, as in real life Montand sold a bazillion records over his long career. She also began to alienate herself from many of her New York friends and acquaintances. On a more positive note, her drug intake decreased as she stopped sedating herself during the day -- at least on some days. Monroe at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 1960 during the filming of Let's Make Love, co-written by Monroe's then-husband, Arthur Miller. Vitacco-Robles, Gary (2014). Icon: The Life, Times and Films of Marilyn Monroe Volume 2 1956 TO 1962 & Beyond. BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1593937751. Let's Make Love" ( Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen)–sung by Marilyn Monroe and chorus, then by Marilyn Monroe with Frankie Vaughan and again with Yves Montand.

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.He stated publicly, "[Marilyn] has been so kind to me, but she is a simple girl without any guile. Perhaps I was too tender and thought that maybe she was as sophisticated as some of the other ladies I have known. ... Had Marilyn been more sophisticated, none of this ever would have happened. ... Perhaps she had a schoolgirl crush. If she did, I'm sorry. But, nothing will break up my marriage." Let's Make Love received a nomination for Academy Award for Best Original Score for Lionel Newman and Earle H. Hagen and two BAFTA nominations for Best Film from any Source for George Cukor and for Best Foreign Actor (Montand). It also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture Musical. [12] From left: Yves Montand, Marilyn Monroe and British pop star Frankie Vaughanat the Beverly Hills Hotel in 1960 . 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. Fox was pressuring her to do a film for the studio before embarking on another independent feature. Marilyn finally agreed to star in a frothy musical comedy entitled Let's Make Love, which apparently was the least objectionable of the scripts Fox had to offer.

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] However, Let's Make Love is a reasonably inoffensive way to waste an afternoon. The plot is slight and therefore doesn't require too much brain power to follow and Monroe is, as usual, cinema gold. Despite the fact that she is slightly overweight here and nothing much has been done with her in terms of make-up, hair or wardrobe she is eminently watchable. She gives a convincing, assured performance in her role turning the simple character of Amanda into a sweet, likable woman. 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. 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.

Unseen Photos of Marilyn Monroe

Billionaire Jean-Marc Clement (Yves Montand) is the result of a family fortune cultivated over generations. His PR guy Alexander Coffman (Tony Randall) tells him about an unflattering portrayal of him in a Broadway start-up and he decides to go see for himself. He is taken with leading lady Amanda Dell (Marilyn Monroe) as she performs a sexy number. When he's mistaken for an actor auditioning for the role of Clement, he decides to take the part as Alexandre Dumas while trying to woo the beauty. 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. Let's Make Love perks up only in isolated moments, most notably in Marilyn's lively "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" number.