This film begins with a French billionaire named "Jean-Marc Clement" (Yves Montand) being informed that a small theater is hosting a play which makes fun of him. Naturally, being somewhat curious he goes to a rehearsal to see for himself. But as it so happens, while there he is accidently mistaken for an actor wanting to play the part and since he seems so natural for the role he is hired immediately. At first he has no inclination to accept the offer but upon seeing the lead actress named "Amanda Dell" (Marilyn Monroe) he begrudgingly acquiesces in order to get to know her better. And during this process he also gets to know himself better too. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that, even though the film centers around the character played by Yves Montand, the main attraction was clearly Marilyn Monroe who performed in an outstanding manner. Unfortunately, not only did none of the other actors perform up to her level but the plot lacked the humor necessary for a comedy of this type as well. That being said, while I enjoyed this film for the most part, I have to rate it as just slightly above average.
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Uriah4320 January 2019
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emhughley11 January 2007Not regarded as one of MM's best films by her legion of fans. "Lets make Love" isn't as bad as one might think. Gregory Peck and Carey Grant were originally asked to be her co-star, but after reading the script I guess they soon declined. Neither were game to play 2nd fiddle to a screen sensation.
Plot line reads as follows: Rich man (Yves Montand) wants poor girl.(M.M.) Rich man pretends to be poor. Rich man gets poor girl then looses her after he tries to tell her the truth. Rich man eventually woos and gets the girl.
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!
Marilyn and Yves are finally given a chance to show some real spark in the final scene of the movie when the whole charade comes to a close. Trapped in an elevator (and looking her best in the film) with a starry eyed Yves, Marilyn finally succumbs to his musical rendition of the title of this movie. They kiss passionately and we finally see AND hear what all the gossip was about. Her very heavy breathing during the kiss is caught on film, just turn up the volume... there is nothing "Method acting" about that! Aside from her sensitivity, intellect, and training with the Strasbergs this is what Monroe the movie star sex goddess was about.A fine line between acting and reality was beautifully blurred in "Lets make love"s final 2 minute scene. Released in 1960 The audience when asked "Lets make love" apparently said no thanks. The film was a box office failure. -
Translucid2k46 May 2005I was pretty unimpressed with this movie, to be frank. There was something about every aspect of it that didn't quite add up and you're left with an essentially dull film, which you're not really too concerned about by the end. I am a huge fan of Marilyn but I don't feel she was at all her best in this picture, and I don't think that's entirely her fault - the film around her is incredibly flimsy. The dialogue is often wooden and unconvincing, and Montand's character and his storyline are just totally unbelievable - nothing of what he says or what he does was convincing to me and this really brought the film down very hard and very quickly. The musical numbers are pretty standard fair and were nothing Marilyn hadn't done before. The film didn't make me laugh and I didn't care what happened to the characters. If anything I was only sad the talented Marilyn Monroe was a part of the film - as her portfolio shows she was deserving of far higher quality films than this. I can't recommend the film as it's not really worth your time and you probably won't enjoy it - if you just want to see all of Monroe's film's than see it, but otherwise don't bother.
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marilynm21613 February 2002Unlike many others who have left comments about this film, I really enjoy it. This is definitely not high on the intellect scale, but it is a sweet romantic comedy. I agree this is not Marilyn's best film, but her performance in the role is better than anyone else could have done it; very cute and believable. Some of the writing really seems to target Marilyn's own personal life (I don't know if they did that on purpose), especially when she talks about going to night school. Also during the song "Incurably Romantic," Marilyn's dress is flying up (a parallel to "The Seven-Year Itch?"). Her performance of the song "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" is just great. It's really a lot of fun. The cameos are awesome, they really make the film into a "time capsule" of the most popular comedian, dancer, and singer of the time. Tony Randall has a nice supporting role throughout the film; he is great in the scene where he sees Jean-Marc Clement's "softer side." Yves Montand and Marilyn Monroe have the strangest relationship in the movie, and you have to feel bad for Jean-Marc! He is not used to NOT getting the girl! Yves plays this very well, I think. They may lack some chemistry, but the two characters are cute and likable and you really want them to get together. So what I'm saying is, this is well worth seeing, especially if you are a fan of Marilyn or Yves, just don't expect it to be intellectually challenging... it is a great rainy day flick. :-)
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wglenn12 November 2003This is by no means a great film, but I was pleasantly surprised in the end. Montand and Monroe both do good jobs. Tony Randall is always enjoyable, and Milton Berle has a great time teaching Montand how to be funny, the best comic moment of the film. Having just seen Montand in The Wages of Fear, one of the most intense movies ever made, it was interesting to see him goofing off and having a good time. This role takes him back to some of the songs he sang early in his career, not long after Edith Piaf discovered him. I only wish he had been able to sing more in the movie. I'm not a big fan of Monroe - her dumb-blonde routine generally irritates me - but she seems more vulnerable in this film, more pleasant to watch. She particularly impressed me in the musical numbers. Unfortunately, the costume designer did a lousy job - everything seems too big on her, or just tacky. Compare these costumes to those of Bardot in Une Parisenne, made around the same time period. There are ways and then there are ways to show off a body like that of Bardot or Monroe. All in all, this is a light piece of fluff, with some humorous moments, some sappy moments, some good musical numbers, some bad writing, some good cameos by Berle, Bing, and Gene Kelly, a silly storyline, Yves Montand, Monroe, and a good dose of fun.
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Lady_Targaryen14 February 2006Since 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.
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.
PS: I only have to complain about the ending of this movie, which, in my opinion, was far from good: I don't think that Amanda should stay with Jean-Marc, since she always refused and hated rich guys like him, calling him arrogant and liar,among other things. I think she changed her idea too quickly about him,after knowing Alexander Dumas' original identity was Jean Marc, but anyway, no movie is perfect.
aka "Adorável Pecadora" - Brazil -
Without what we know about her now, this movie wouldn't be worth the time it took to watch it. However, now we know about what was going on while the movie was being shot, you can see the attraction between her and Msieu Montand, whose wife took him back afterwards. It's funny, since I've seen him in a French movie, where HIS wife was unfaithful and how he copes with that. What goes around comes around, I suppose.
Montand has to act silly, which must have been as painful for him as it was for his character, a multi-billionaire trying to win Miss Musical Star, Marilyn. Watching the male singer in this movie was funny, as it reminds you of the 40s and the Dean Martin style crooners. Watching Bing Crosby and Milton Berl teach Yves how to sing and be funny was a hoot!!! "Don't 'bubba-boo-boo', or you'll get arrested," Bing suggests. Watching Milton berl walk on his ankles wasn't all that funny, but this was the 60s after all.
I liked the musical numbers, and watching Yves' face do all its rubbery wrinkling numbers. He may have been a great actor because he could put on so many different expressions, but his best movie was the one where he's trying to run for office in a crooked Banana Republic (sorta like our present government), a Cost-Grava film.
See this one just to remind you of how beautiful, how vulnerable, Marilyn was: 2 years from her suicide????!!!! She really had some nice moves, and a great figure when a tummy wasn't considered obscene (in our day of anorexic sexy?? stars). -
writers_reign16 August 2006This movie is based on a breathtaking conceit: That Yves Montand, the greatest singer-actor of the twentieth century and rivalled only in both departments by Frank Sinatra - had to be 'taught' to sing. As if that weren't enough they manage to top this by having Montand, a lifelong politically active supporter or the Left - his father's Communits activities forced him to flee his native Italy, where Yves was actually born, for France and his elder brother was a high-ranking official in the Communist party, and with his wife, Simone Signoret, Montand signed dozens of left-wing petitions - play a billionaire. In a film studded with bad jokes the biggest joke of all is Frankie Vaughan, a pathetic non-singer,non-actor, non-dancer who was, unnacountably, very popular in England, where they love the second-rate and to add insult to injury Vaughan gets to mangle the best new song in the score by a mile, the standout ballad Incurably Romantic, in which Sammy Cahn turned in a lyric reminiscent of Jimmy Van Heusen's previous collaborator Johnny Burke. It's clear from all the comments I've read here - though, to be fair, I haven't read all of them - that most of the posters are completely unaware of Montand and his track record in his adoptive France where he could sell out any venue in which he chose to appear with his unbeatable parlay of singing, dancing and charm. It was in fact his left-wing sympathies which left him visa-less and prevented him from appearing in the US until impresario Norman Granz finally obtained a visa for him in 1959 when, despite performing his one-man show totally in French, he blew the critics away and did SRO business for months instead of the two weeks he was contracted for and it was on the strength of this, and not, as one poster has assumed, his performance in the film version of The Crucible - which he had also played on the Paris stage with Signoret - in 1957. With the benefit of singing in English Sinatra left many more memorable records than Montand but against this Montand far outclassed Sinatra in dramatic performances on film, mostly post-Let's Make Love. For some reason none of the several films Montand made in England were wholly satisfactory including this one but, in its favor, we DO get to hear Montand perform, albeit incompletely, the gorgeous ballad Incurably Romantic and we DO get a glimpse of how gracefully he could dance, again, in an all-too-brief sequence when he imagines himself replacing the inept Vaughan in a number with Monroe, a clear case of a Bentley replacing a Skoda. Inevitably the film is still being marketed as a Monroe vehicle with everybody else just along for the ride but for Montand devotees it is a must in spite of its shortcomings.
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williwaw28 May 2011Marilyn Monroe was at the top of the Hollywood star ladder as the Star of Stars when assigned this movie by her home studio 20th. Marilyn Monroe had just had the smash hit of her career with Some Like It Hot (A United Artists film) and 20th wanted to cash in on the MM popularity. Marilyn Monroe had been announced for another UA film John Huston's masterpiece The Misfits co starring Clark Gable and 20th insisted on a Monroe film before MM was allowed to do another film outside 20th. (between 1956 to 1960 while having the greatest star in Hollywood under contract 20th Century Fox did not cast MM in a movie however the very shrewd MM had a play or pay contract and when the studio announced her for Wild River and The Blue Angel but those deals did not materialize MM demanded and got her salary for those films!) Much has been written about this film and when it was released I was disappointed, having seen it recently on the Fox Movie Channel, I now find Lets Make Love charming and Ms Monroe enchanting.
George Cukor among the "Approved Directors" on MM's short list ( others were Wilder, Huston, Hitchcock, Wyler, et al) was said to be a director aware of the nuances of a female star's personas ( Hepburn, Garbo, Crawford, Leigh, Holiday, Loren all raved over Cukor.
Marilyn Monroe looks stupendous in this movie,and is given fine support by a cast of professional's such as Wilfrid Hyde White, Tony Randall and cameos by Milton Berle and Bing Crosby. Yves Montand, who had a legendary fling during the filming of the movie with MM, is fine as The Billionaire. -
planktonrules4 January 2009"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.
In LET'S MAKE LOVE he plays a mega-millionaire who tries to pretend to be a stage actor--paying the likes of Milton Berle, Gene Kelly and Bing Crosby to give him lessons on comedy, dance and singing. So why would a rich guy like this go to all this trouble? Well, when the industrialist (Montand) hears that an off Broadway play will be lampooning him (as well as others), he's curious and sneaks in to watch rehearsals. There he sees sexy Marilyn Monroe and is so struck by her he doesn't tell anyone who he really is. And, in a strange twist, the producer decides to hire him to play himself--not realizing Montand really is the millionaire! He decides to go with it and says nothing to the company, as he plans on staying with the production and wooing Marilyn. The trouble is that he's NOT a professional and so he hires the best people to train him--and that's where Berle, Kelly and Crosby come into the film.
This story idea is actually reminiscent of a great old film, THE DEVIL AND MISS JONES--where a rich department store owner decides to pose an a regular employee in order to spy on "rabble-rousers" in the company. Though the stories differ quite a bit, both certainly have similarities. Bkoganbing's review indicates that LET'S MAKE LOVE is very, very similar to 1937's ON THE AVENUE, though I can't really say since I haven't yet seen this film.
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.
FYI--Casting Montand is an interesting choice to play a nice industrialist, as he was a member of the Communist party in France up until 1968! -
Doylenf29 September 2006This has got to be one of the dullest films MARILYN MONROE ever did--and equally dull is her leading man, the French accented YVES MONTAND who must have left his heart and his talents in France for the duration of filming.
He's simply bland with a capital B and very unfunny. And when MILTON BERLE, GENE KELLY and BING CROSBY attempt to give him pointers on how to be an entertainer, they're impatience with him is understandable. Whatever magic Montand had in his homeland is obscured here by a witless script and poor direction from George Cukor, who even manages to make Marilyn look less than believable as a wistful showgirl.
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.
Summing up: A waste of two stars who, incidentally, have no chemistry together, at least on screen. Off is another matter. -
I saw this movie in Aug 4,2005. And I saw it again yesterday. Yes. this is one of the most hilarious movies I've ever seen. Marilyn's acting role, as Amanda Dell, was great. Here in this movie, Marilyn Monroe was not the Marilyn Monroe we know.
In Niagara(1953) and The seven year itch(1955), both of these movies, she portrays as sexy-starlet. But in this movie, she is a very pure and fragile theater-actress Amanda Dell. Well, we know her platinum blonde hair attracts a lot of men, but her character,in this movie, is very friendly to girls. May be many girls lost their feeling of inferiority after watching this movie.
And I saw Marilyn Monroe, Yves Montand, Tony Randall, Frankie Vaughan and Wilfrid Hyde-White plus Milton Berle(40 million Americans call him as a Uncle Milky?) Bing Crosby(i love his song 'White Christmas')and Gene Kelly. These luxurious casting combination is very fantastic.
I never expected Crosby and Kelly to appear. I saw a preview version of Let's Make Love, in there, no cameo appearances of in the preview. But Kelly and Crosby's cameo appearing made my eyes happy.
I think Marilyn's acting career is more valuable in her 30's than 20's.Because in her 20's, she portrayed us her physical attraction. Sometimes she enticed a man(Niagara), Sometimes vivacious(How to marry a millionaire), and sometimes valiant(River of No Return).
But in her 30's her character showed fragile, pure and vulnerable. I found out these phenomenon in this movie,Let's Make Love. So I can figure it out her acting was changed. -
smatysia19 December 2000I read the comments in Imdb, and was prepared to dislike this film. And, parts of it were not very good. However, ... Marilyn Monroe had such magic. It wasn't that she was the best actress around, or the best singer, because she wasn't. But, ... Wow, she just electrifies the screen. So much more than a pretty face. Okay, enough slobbering over Marilyn. The rest of the film is quite forgettable. Yves Montand was adequate. Tony Randall did just fine. The cameos by Milton Berle, Bing Crosby, and Gene Kelly were OK. But Marilyn...
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nancybw24 March 2022Slooooow and painfully unfunny. I kept waiting for it to get better. Marilyn acts like she has no idea what's going on. The shots of her watching Jean-Marc are just strange. Just serving her up as the movies eye candy. Montand looks very old and is boring in the long bits.
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denis-3826 November 2002This is one of my favorite Marilyn films. No, let me amend that--this is one of my favorite Marilyn performances. She is sweet, natural, sympathetic, adorable. She has no character to play and no script and no director (Cukor was sliding fast at this point) But she and Montand are lovely together; two great charmers surrounded by an overblown 60's confection of "guest stars" and constant costume changes (although some of Marilyn's outfits are so flimsy one wonders why they bothered to dress her at all?!) "My Heart Belongs To Daddy" is classic MM, but I have a perverse fondness for "Specialization" with Monroe hopping around (she really couldn't dance) in this INCREDIBLE gown, belly and backside bulging, a Reubens come to life. It's a very minor film, especially sandwiched between "Some Like It Hot" and "The Misfits" but there is pleasure to be found if you're into Miss M.
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elisedfr31 May 2012The story of Jean-Marc Clement and his pretty chorus girl is so widely hated and depreciated among the critics I always get surprised when I find myself enjoying it. Sure it's overlong, from a good half an hour, sometimes dull and never truly believable: why they kept the introduction sequence is a mystery. Also, as often with musicals of this era, the camera practically never moves.
Still, there are noticeable good points: the score makes for a pleasant listening, from the classic Cole Porter 's"My Heart Belongs to Daddy" (the only number really well staged) to the romantic, jazzy themes "Let's Make Love", and "Incurably Romantic". Marilyn sings and dances with her own soulful abandon, and as an actress, she will only disappoint those who do not like her at all. I, a fan, thought she was right on my money. There is true charm in her portrayal of Amanda, an everyday beauty queen who knits between sexy numbers, good comic timing too -although she overacts a bit the final scenes. And with her pale blonde hair and tired gaze, she looks almost younger than in the 50's. Some biographical allusions -like the night school- and the fact she's supposed to be an happy-go-lucky, "at home wherever she goes" make sit ultimately poignant.
As for Montand, in charge of a difficult task after Gregory Peck and James Stewart had said "no", he looks surprisingly at ease. Apart from the heavy french accent, his approach of the Clement character is cleverly unexpected : while everyone thinks of him as an icy, pompous businessman crossed with a self-assured playboy, Clement appears as always charming and suave, exceedingly polite, widely smiling and very stiffly dressed. As a result, it makes impossible for the viewer not to go for him -specially as once he poses as a struggling extra, he gets humiliating indifference and mockery from everyone. The trouble is the story becomes much less believable and a bit confusing : and while you care for the billionaire, you never get to understand him or the life he leads. The chemistry between the two stars is fine yet it never sparkles, much because of the script which until the very end imposes misunderstanding and a one-way relationship.
The supporting cast is less reliable, from dazzling to forgettable. Theatre people have not much soul, although they're supposed to be the good guys : directors spend their time screaming, there's a mean blonde dancer and Frankie Vaughan, as the whining crooner, is no match for Monroe. On the other hand, Wilfrid Hyde-White is pleasant in a prototype for his Col. Pickering of "My Fair Lady". And young Tony Randall frankly excellent as the public relations man who gets disgusted by his boss's frivolity. Long before I got to love Randall as Felix Ungar, I thought he gave the subtlest performance of the movie. It's too bad that after a definite part in the first hour, his likable character stands aback in the shade with Hyde- White, to watch the seduction going on. One gets the feeling he had scenes cut or else added in the course of the film. Of course, one has to mention the three guest-stars that make most of the life in the middle dragging part, during which Clement learns how to be an artist. It turns out the shorter the appearance, the better it is and Gene Kelly is truly priceless in the one little scene he waltzes with Yves Montand. Bing Crosby and Milton Berle are nice too but the latter remains too long on the show.
The script, which suffered many rewrites before and during the shooting is an odd mixture, including moving monologues by Arthur Miller (who, complained Peck, wanted badly to extent Marilyn's part), classic comedy stuff, good one-liners and awkward gags: the Elvis Presley satire comes from a long way. The charm and tenderness of some sequences does not work so well with the mechanical farce going around, leaving the general feeling of an of- balance movie. George Cukor was not the ideal musical director and he fails to reconcile human comedy and singing lavishness - although he would score a triumph a few years later with "My Fair Lady", but then the script was of better quality. One may wonder what "Let's Make Love" would have been, with sharper writing and wiser editing. But there's enough good to contradict the severe critics, as long as Monroe, Randall and sometimes Montand are around. So forget the faults. Enjoy the stars. -
I quite enjoyed the 'set pieces' with Marilyn doing her stuff singing 'My heart belongs to Daddy' etc. but watching the film turned increasingly more irritable through having to watch, ('endure' might be a more appropriate verb), the scenes between Marilyn's appearances. Montand is simply miscast and one begins to feel simply sorry for him after the first few scenes, (whilst remembering him in such movies as 'The wages of fear'), and, apart from the ever-reliable Wilfrid Hyde-White, I thought the inputs/cameos by the other 'stars' were either so short as to be inconsequential, (Bing Crosby and Gene Kelly), or just simply atrocious, (i.e. Merton Berl and Tony Randall! Churchill said Britain and the USA were 'divided by a common language' but how on earth Randall and Berl could ever be classified by use of the word 'comedians' remains, on the basis on their inputs to this movie, a total and complete mystery to this particular Brit! I began to cringe when they appeared for yet another squirm-inducingly UNfunny escapade, (Berl's walking on his heels or Randall looking lost and dejected yet again, for example)). Verdict: hardly worth the effort of viewing apart from Marliyn's set-pieces. Set the remote to 'FFW' in between these.
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SnoopyStyle7 May 2018Billionaire 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.
This is the second to last movie for Monroe and the first American movie for veteran French actor Yves Montand. Her husband Arthur Miller expanded her role to basically a co-lead of the movie. She still has that magnetic stardom but the movie lacks the ability to make something iconic. It's a little sloppy. Montand is playing a stiff billionaire and his heavy French accent doesn't help. Just as the movie seems to be stalling, Milton Berle comes in to inject a bit of humor like the story. It works best when Montand is actually funny. The problem is that his character is not suppose to be that good and he's restricted by this character flaw. Essentially, he is acting with both hands tied behind his back. He manages to throw in a few funny lines but this movie needs more. All the cameos are a fun idea but the execution is less humorous than expected. In general, this is less than expected. -
Yves Montand was right for the part, but the writing and development so dire that he has no chance to shine.There is no chemistry between Montand and Monroe. Perhaps they were trying to conceal their affair. One wonders why Frankie Vaughan, is never even mentioned by American reviewers. Is it because, like Montand, he is a foreigner ? He gives a first rate performance of the title-song, and "Specialisation", and partners Marilyn beautifully. Some of the closeups of Marilyn,especially in "Daddy", are badly lit and cruelly emphasise her age. Was Cukor, who disliked Marilyn, taking revenge for past misdemeanours? In the CD version of "Specialisation" there are verses not in the film. Were these added for the CD or edited out of the film? If so,why? All in all, a galaxy of star performers could not make a silk purse from this sows ear. A remark made by Marilyn about a beautiful but personally unpleasant film actress sums it up well - poison is still poison, no matter how beautiful the bottle.
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omarislegend3 October 2022I Literally Finished The movie 10 minutes ago, I want to remember the feeling of this amazing film,and tomorrow morning i also Watched The Seven Year itch, I Love marlyin Monroe and After Watching Blonde That made me love her more, may she rest In Peace.
It's a charming amazing Adorable film I Loved it so much, though it has been 62 years the film is funny and very beautiful,since the first 5 minutes I just fell for Norma and The dancers performance (Hollywood misses this charm those days for sure), the joke about How inherited rich people are not talented and stupid with no skills was beautiful and it's true,but anyone can get better that's what you will see in the movie A good characters which are performed by good actors made this movie better and better,but norma (Marlyin Monroe real name) was above all I really loved and enjoy the film it gives a very good feeling and I really recommend it, simple and beautiful,And I Really Would Like To watch with my beloved one It would a great experience either
I love this film now,I love it's comedy, it's songs,and weird moments A Legend for real 2/10/22. -
danjakubik21 June 2010Let's Make Love, 1960
* *
Verdict: mostly boring. On the positive side: opens with an interesting, imaginative introduction of the main character. The first half of the film is quite tedious and boring. Things improve a little in the second half with pace and dialogue improving and appearances by Milton Berle, Bing Crosby and Gene Kelly, playing themselves in the film, as they give advice to help our French main character learn comedy, dance and singing.
The story concerns a French billionaire, who learns a stage play will be made, one which makes fun of him. He visits a rehearsal of the play and is mistaken as an actor. He decides to take advantage of this and accepts an offer to be in the play, to try to save his reputation from being tarnished. Along the way, he falls for a young female actress (Marilyn Monroe), also rehearsing for the play.
For those familiar with Marilyn Monroes's films of the 50's, she was a bit overweight here. In her case, that does not detract much from her overall beauty, sensuousness and charm. As a lead character, Marilyn Monroe does not have much of a role to play here, the same old boring sex siren, this time in a stage theater setting.
The Frenchmen Yves Montand, is the acting highlight, to help brighten up an otherwise mostly dull film. He has some moments of genuine charm and humor. A paycheck for Marilyn Monroe, but a waste of her comedic and dramatic talents as a film actress. She would next go on to "The Misfits", a dark and sad film and after that, was filming another comedy, "Something's Got To Give", when she was fired from the studio, hired back and shortly later, died alone, tragically at home. -
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.
The plot is unadventurous and it's tough enough to swallow without Cukor forcing in lame humour, lead weight dialogue and sub-par music numbers. A spark of hope that we might get a good movie arrives early with Marilyn's entrance, resplendent in figure hugging costume and warbling "My Heart Belongs to Daddy", but it's a false dawn and only serves to remind us why we loved her in the first place, and, that she deserved better than this. Montand's role had been touted to a number of high profile American actors, notably Cary Grant, James Stewart, Rock Hudson and Gregory Peck, the latter of which did get the gig but quickly got out of it upon viewing the script. Peck is also credited with a humorous and most fitting quote about the finished movie. He wryly observed that the end result "About as funny as pushing Grandma down the stairs in a wheelchair." Now where's Tomy Udo when you need him most eh? He could have pushed this movie down the stairs with Grandma too.
The film is also guilty of other things. It's at least 30 minutes too long and Tony Randall is badly underused as Coffman, PR aid to Clement (Montand). While cameos by Gene Kelly, Bing Crosby & Milton Berle, as pleasant as they are, just smacks of film makers trying to dress up a dogs dinner. There's some enjoyment to be had in Wilfred Hyde-White's sarcastic support turn, while some value can be got from the De Luxe Color/CinemaScope production. But really they are thin excuses from which to use in recommending this to anyone but the hardiest of Monroe completists. 3/10 -
Viewnig the movies give good time.
But, for me, there is a wonderful scene, at the beginning, when Monroe dances.
She wear only pantyhose and a blue sweater and she is very, very sexy. She repeat a dance show.
When Montand look at here at this scene, he fall in love to Monroe and the movie really begin.
For me, this is one of the movies where Monroe is the more sexy.
Elsewhere scenario is not a very good scenario. But seeing Monroe in a movies is always a good time. -
iadoredave19 January 2003(Maybe spoilers herein)
In spite of an ominous start (a bit too much about the family history of the Montand character) and the annoying Montand (awkward-looking and charmless), the film grew on me as I sat through it. It turned out to be none of what the trailer tried so hard to sell: a story about people who are love- and sex-obsessed. Instead I was pleasantly surprised.
It is refreshing and marvellous to watch Marilyn as the ambitious and good-hearted stage performer, so unlike one of those "dumb blonde" roles considered typical of her screen persona. I *love* the catchy musical numbers,which are just the right amount, not too much to distract one from the plot. My favorites are My Heart Belongs to Daddy, Specialization and the title song. Marilyn is not at her most stunning here, probably a result of excessive dependence on drug and alcohol..but she still looks adorable, cheerful and full of life throughout the film. Overall the film is a delight to watch, marked for the decent script, sometimes funny dialogue, smooth direction and a great cast (after all I would say Montand is acceptable) I am sure I will visit this overlooked gem multiple times. -
sashank_kini-131 May 2012There is a singular Marilyn moment which defines her timeless relevance and popularity in American history. Before experiencing Marilyn on screen, I often encountered her photos/ references about her in magazines, encyclopedia, compilation and archives. I also read a Life in Pictures biography about her. How I visualized her gait, her voice and her gestures were quite contrary to her actual performance in cinemas. I expected this woman to possess extraordinary acting capabilities along with natural stage charm and sex-appeal and a deeper, mellower voice that showed class and refinement. Never did I think Marilyn to be so bubbly, fluffy, and erratic with a chirpy, girlish timbre- the typical coquette whom men would swoon over to in an instant. She wasn't like Greta Garbo; the magic couldn't be discovered immediately in Monroe (Garbo could make everyone around her, the actors, the cameras and the audience, fall in love with her in an instant). The disappointment in me after enduring Prince and the Showgirl and Bus Stop cast a negative perception about Monroe. I found her syrupy and panicky, as though she is constantly thinking of ways to keep her audiences (her male fans) happy while not giving up the unpredictable method acting. I preferred 7 year itch – Marilyn didn't experiment but only let her naive face, clueless eyes, admirable figure and the witty dialogs do the work. Sometimes, I felt the method acting ruined her performances, though she has a few shiny moments on her last released film 'The Misfits'. After four films, the true reason for her massive success still eluded me, but in Let's Make Love (a lackluster film overall) I realized why she was adored.
It was the scene where her character Amanda Dell, a small-time actress and a stage performer, began jogging on the footpath and encouraged Jean-Marc Clement (played somewhat sullenly by Yves Montand) to join her. An embarrassed Clement looks around as men seem to ogle Amanda; she isn't dressed inappropriately, but she smiles and her face is beaming. Marilyn seemed to draw everyone's attention not by acting stupendously or exposing her body here- she was carefree and spirited, probably aware that men were eying her but not minding. She knew she was a siren, but she also made it clear that she wasn't a bimbo. She has this coy charm about her, a sense of self-awareness that makes her so amicable with men and women. It is similar to what Meryl Streep said in a speech ' to be appealing to boys and being accepted by girls a tricky situation (which she mastered). Marilyn doesn't explicitly try to draw attention; she does it cleverly, discreetly.
Unfortunately, she was stuck with a patchy script that was deficient in several aspects. A Paul Thomas Anderson start (Magnolia style) which montages the fate of six/seven Jean Marc Clement is middlingly amusing but unnecessary because there isn't any reference to it later. I did get what it was supposed to mean but there need not be narrations of so many Clements. Then the camera lingers on a group of elite gentlemen smoking cigars as a debonair Jean Marc of Modern Times tells them a joke. These men may have heard it several times, but they flatteringly laugh at his inane joke – he is a billionaire, keep in mind. Some scenes later, when he pretends to be a nascent actor and impersonator, Jean Marc reiterates the same joke to a bunch of actors and is given a damp response. The billionaire, with a keen esthetic interest and a notorious womanizing reputation, is informed that he is going to be satirized in an off-Broadway Revue. He does not react at first but then shows displeasure in such an idea- therefore he checks out a rehearsal of the performance. This seems far-fetched as the theater itself seems so unremarkable and lowly with bawdy, unfunny and tired acts that no one but a local goon would take objection of being satirized. We instead get this wealthy man treading such common places.
There Jean is struck by the glamorous Amanda Dell, who is tailed by hungry boys in an unimpressive number that lacks naughtiness. Marilyn's voice sounds affected, and she fails to bring the oomph. There are a couple of well acted scenes after this between Montand and Monroe where the former seems shy and out-of-place in the theater while the latter can adapt to any surrounding. The third person in the love triangle is Frankie Vaughan, who shares a better chemistry with Marilyn. Montand takes his initial defeats too seriously and seems so dull at times that it is impossible to feel sorry for him or consider Marilyn the right lady for him. She seems like a good friend and adviser, not a lover in any way, till the end of the story. Here is where more than Montand, the script fails in providing more crucial scenes between Montand and Monroe. 'Let's Make Love' isn't something the movie sets out to make- it is rather 'let me buy your love', which is crude. Also, in a desperate bid to raise laughs, Milton Berle, Bing Crosby and Gene Kelly were roped in and I was thinking, "If Gene were younger he would've made a charming Jean Clement". Berle is funny but has to feign laughter at Jean Clements's drab performance on stage, for which he should've demanded for additional fees.
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".
My Rating: 3.4 out of 10