American postcard by Classico, San Francisco, no. 105-010. Photo: Twentieth Century-Fox.
Marilyn Monroe and
Jane Russell in
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Howard Hawks, 1953).
By 1953,
Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962) was one of the most marketable Hollywood stars, with leading roles in three films: the noir
Niagara, which focused on her sex appeal, and the comedies
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and
How to Marry a Millionaire, which established her star image as a "dumb blonde". Although she played a significant role in the creation and management of her public image throughout her career, she was disappointed at being typecast and underpaid by the studio. She was briefly suspended in early 1954 for refusing a film project, but returned to star in one of the biggest box office successes of her career,
The Seven Year Itch (1955).
American film actress
Jane Russell (1921-2011) was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s. She had her first film role in 1943 in Howard Hughes'
The Outlaw. In 1947, Russell delved into music. Her film career revived when she was cast as Calamity Jane opposite Bob Hope in
The Paleface (1948). After starring in several films in the 1950s, including
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), Russell again returned to music while completing several other films in the 1960s. She starred in more than 20 films throughout her career.
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