My journey ends here...
Let's Make Love (1960)
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Musical written by Norman Krasna, first untitled "The Billionaire".
She was suggested to Marilyn by Jerry Wald, because the Fox urged her to honor her contract commitments.
In 1955, she had agreed 4 movies for the Fox, but before "Let's Make Love", she had only shot "Bus Stop" (1956).
George Cukor was asked to replace him. He also had big difficulties with Marilyn and would have communicate with her through her choregrapher, Jack Cole.
Marilyn's dreadful reputation made more difficult the choice of the actor for the masculine leading role - whose character was inspired by Howard Hughes.
Before being suggested to Yves Montand, it was refused by many Hollywood stars. Successively, Yul Brynner, Cary Grant, Rock Hudson, Charlton Heston, William Holden, Gregory Peck and James Stewart declined the honor to play opposite Marilyn.
The idea of Yves Montand came from Marilyn; the Fox wasn't very enthusiastic, but Marilyn insisted and Montand became the man of the situation.
Marilyn's love affair with Yves Montand marked the beginning of the break up with Arthur Miller and nearly caused the break up of Simone Signoret with Yves Montand.
The screenplay (
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) posed also a problem. Arthur Miller was called in Ireland, where he worked with John Huston on the screenplay of "The Misfits"(1961),
to bring improvements in emergency : "Before the end of the shooting, I
rewrote several scenes. I tried to give some sense to those 2
characters who weren't interesting. Their dialogues were hollow and
with no personality. I did my best to improve the screenplay. But it
was like putting a plaster on a peg leg".
Arthur Miller was too busied by the screenplay revision to take part in.
Marilyn sang 4 songs in the movie : "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" of Cole Porter, "Let's Make Love", "Incurably Romantic" and "Specialization" of Sammy Cahn and James Van Heusen.
Her interpretation of "My Heart Belongs to Daddy", although remarkable of natural, was actually the result of 2 weeks rehearsals.
The premiere of the movie scheduled in Reno, was cancelled because of a power failure.
The critics were very hard, the public sulked the show and in Hollywood, there was a rumor about Marilyn being on the decline.
Press conference on January 16, 1960 :
arrival
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with Arthur Miller
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interview
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other
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with Dorothy Kilgallen :
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with Frankie Vaughan :
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with George Cukor :
with Sidney Skolsky :
with Simone Signoret :
interview
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other
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with Yves Montand
:
cocktail party
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interview
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pictures
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other
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with Buddy Adler
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alone
cocktail party
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interview
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departure
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with Arthur Miller
with Frankie Vaughan
with Simone Signoret
with Yves Montand :
interview
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pictures
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alone
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Shooting
"My Heart Belongs to Daddy" :
sweater
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ladder
leotard
sweater
leotard
"Specialization" :
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Alone :
black leotard
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green leotard
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coat
white sweater
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black suit
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blue dress
spangled dress
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off set
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preparations
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rehearsals of the choregraphy :
alone
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with Jack Cole
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songs rehearsals
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songs dubbing
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text rehearsals
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black leotard
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green leotard
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off set
coat
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black suit
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blue dress
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With Yves Montand :
pink blouse :
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green leotard
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black leotard :
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raincoat :
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white sweater
blue dress :
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black suit :
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other:
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With Frankie Vaughan :
green leotard :
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black leotard :
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coat:
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blue dress :
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pink blouse :
With other actors :
green leotard
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black leotard
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black suit
black leotard
black suit
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With George Cukor :
black leotard
pink blouse
raincoat
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black suit
With Gene Kelly :
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With Arthur Miller :
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Marilyn celebrating her birthday on the set :
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Publicity pictures
With Yves Montand :
black leotard
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Alone:
Fox
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spangled dress
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black leotard
Fitting
boa
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black leotard
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coat
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blue sweater
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blue dress
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green leotard
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Hairdressing
Brushing :
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Bobbed :
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Unfastened hair :
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Chignon :
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CREDIT
Twentieth Century-Fox, Cinemascope and Color (De Luxe)
Runtime : 105 mn
Release date: September 8, 1960.
Director : George Cukor
Producer : Jerry Wald
Screenplay : Norman Krasna, Hal Kanter, Arthur Miller (uncredited)
Director of photography : Daniel L. Fapp
Music :
Earl H. Hagen, Lionel Newman
Costumes : Dorothy Jeakins.
Film editing : David Bretherton.
CAST
Marilyn Monroe - Amanda Dell
Yves Montand - Jean-Marc Clement
Tony
Randall - Howard Coffman
Frankie
Vaughan - Tony Danton
Wilfrid
Hyde-White - John Wales
David Burns
- Oliver Burton
Michael
David - Dave Kerry
Mara Lynn -
Lily Nyles
Joe Besser - Lamont
Milton Berle - himself (uncredited)
Harry Cheshire - minister (uncredited)
John Craven - Comstock (uncredited)
Bing Crosby - himself (uncredited)
Ray Foster - Jimmy (uncredited)
Gene Kelly - himself (uncredited)
Madge Kennedy - Miss Manners (uncredited)
Dennis King Jr - Abe Miller (uncredited)
Mike Mason - Yale (uncredited).
TECHNICAL CREW
Gene Allen - art director
Jack Cole - choregrapher
David Hall - director assistant
Lyle R. Wheeler - art director.
Yves Montand plays the part of Jean-Marc Clement, a French billionaire who learns, through his lawyer, Wales (Wilfrid Hyde-White), and his public relations director, Alex Coffman (Tony Randall), that he's going to be parodied in a Broadway show. When he goes to the theater to check the sayings, Clement falls in love with Amanda Dell (Marilyn Monroe) and is engaged by the theater director to play... his own role.
Clement is too attracted by Amanda to confess to the theater director that he is not an actor. During the rehearsals, he notices a rival beside his sweetheart, the singer Tony Danton (Frankie Vaughan), and that Amanda is not particularly impressed by wealthy men. Clement's company, owner of the theater, is about to close it, laying the actors off, but Clement disagrees.
He engages 3 music-halls stars (Bing Crosby, Gene Kelly and Milton Berle themselves) to give him some courses. Wales, the lawyer chargé d'affaires, collects the fund to finance the show.
Clement reveals his real identity to Amanda, who
refuses to believe him. The only way to convince her is to stop the
show and makes her meet the theater owner - i.e, himself. Clement
kisses Amanda. She realizes that despite his fortune and his lie, she
loves "the billionaire"; happy end....
NOMINATIONS
To the Academy Awards
- Scoring of a Musical Picture : Earle H. Hagen, Lionel Newman.
To the British Academy Awards
- Best Film andBritish Film : George Cukor
- Best Foreign Actor Meilleur acteur étranger : Yves Montand.
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