Let's Make Love [DVD]

Product Information

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. Unless one is an egomaniac like Donald Trump, I don't think most people would care about what some off Broadway show that few will ever see, says in some satirical sketch. 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.

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. The new PR man Coffman (Tony Randall) has been hired to keep his tycoon boss, the seventh generation French billionaire Jean-Marc Clement (Yves Montand), out of the news. Coffman reports to his immediate boss, business manager John Wales (Wilfred Hyde-White), that he read in Variety a new off-Broadway musical is opening that is spoofing a number of celebrities such as Elvis, Maria Callas, and the thin-skinned publicity shy womanizing bachelor Jean-Marc Clement. To see if they can soften the show’s parody and show that Clement has a sense of humor, Coffman takes Clement unannounced to a rehearsal of the show. As soon as Clement sees the busty Amanda (Marilyn Monroe), he decides he wants her in the same authoritarian way he’s accustomed to always getting what he wants–as he believes people respect and obey him for his money. He’s mistaken by the casting director and everyone else at the show, including Amanda, for a Clement look-alike, as they assume he’s trying out for the part. When he sees Amanda can’t stand the snobby Clement and is not driven to meet a wealthy man, he pretends to be an out-of-work actor trying out for that part. It’s hard to believe no one in a show lampooning Clement would recognize him, but there you have the lame plot and might as well except it for the sake of the film. 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. Vitacco-Robles, Gary (2014). Icon: The Life, Times and Films of Marilyn Monroe Volume 2 1956 TO 1962 & Beyond. BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1593937751.Intending to stop production, Clement appears at a casting call for the play, where he is immediately smitten by the character played by Marilyn, a singer-dancer named Amanda Dell. Not realizing Clement's true identity, the director hires the billionaire to play himself in the show. Montand is cool and unflappable. I can believe he wants Marilyn, but I can't believe that this is how he would meet her. 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. a b http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article.html?isPreview=&id=489137%7C449837&name=Let-s-Make-Love [ bare URL]

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. 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. 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. The drama that took place away from the set of Let's Make Love -- Marilyn's affair with Montand -- was infinitely more interesting than the film itself.

Marilyn Monroe

After the film was completed, Montand broke off his affair with Marilyn. Apparently, he had no intention of leaving Simone Signoret. This scene from Let's Make Love seems to encapsulate the personal unhappiness that Marilyn was feeling at the time. In 1955, Monroe had entered into a new contract with 20th Century Fox, requiring her to star in four films within the next seven years. By 1959, she had completed only one: Bus Stop, released in 1956. While Monroe shot Some Like It Hot in 1958 (for United Artists) her then-husband, playwright Arthur Miller, completed the screenplay for The Misfits (1961), which they had intended to be Monroe's next film. Some Like It Hot was released in March 1959 and became an enormous success. Critics praised the film and Monroe's performance. Hoping to capitalize on this, 20th Century Fox insisted that Monroe fulfill her contract. The Misfits was put on hold and Monroe signed on to star in what was then titled The Billionaire.