THE MOVIE

Three gold-digging New York models (Monroe, Grable and Bacall) rent a Manhattan penthouse with a plan: tired of cheap men and a lack of money they intend to use their talents to trap and marry three millionaires. Of course, things don’t work out the way they planed. The women soon discover that its not easy to tell the rich men from the losers, and each one is forced to decide whether money or love is more important. In the end all choose to marry for love rather then money.

How to Marry a Millionaire is the second movie in the first of three box sets devoted to Marilyn Monroe’s movies. It has dated well, has some great performances (especially from the three female leads), is well written and still has a few laughs. Like any romantic comedy How to Marry a Millionaire has a simple and uncomplicated plot and a predictable ending, but the fun of any movie from this genre is the journey, and not the ending itself. The real fun of watching this movie though is to see three legendary actresses arguably at their comedic best. Monroe, Grable and Bacall are perfectly cast in their roles and compliment each other’s performance perfectly.

How to Marry a Millionaire is a light-hearted entertaining movie that is loaded with charm. Ideal for those who love the romantic comedy genre, film buffs and fans of Monroe, Grable, or Bacall.

THE TRANSFER

Video:

How to Marry a Millionaire is presented in 2.35:1 aspect ratio on a dual-layered disc. Fox has obviously gone to great effort to provide the best transfer possible. Despite the age of the movie the video transfer is excellent. Although some artifacts are present (such as the occasional colour shift and scratch) they do not distract and number less then would be expected for a picture that is almost 50 years old. The picture is crisp, vivid and colourful. Blacks and shadows are excellent and details are impressive.

Audio:

There are two audio tracks Dolby Digital 4.0 or Stereo 2.0. Both are good and more then adequate. Dialogue is crisp and clear and the orchestra at the beginning of the film sounds great on both soundtracks.

THE EXTRAS

Extras are limited although with a movie of this age it is hardly surprising. The lack of extras is disappointing though, especially considering the many Marilyn Monroe documentaries and books that have released since her death that have included archival footage and photos. Hopefully some of this material may be included on some of the other discs in the box set collections. The extras that are included however are interesting and even amusing, but aren’t interesting or amusing enough to warrant repeat viewing.

Trailers – three trailers are included on the release. A theatrical trailer, a German trailer and an Italian trailer. The theatrical trailer is especially amusing, with it’s focus on the movie being the first filmed in Cinemascope and the three lead actresses rather then the plot of the movie.

Restoration Comparison – provides a brief description of what Fox did to the film in preparation for the DVD release and includes a comparison between the original film and the final restored version.

Movietone News: How to Marry a Millionaire in Cinemascope – Actual Movietone News footage from the premiere of the movie.

SUMMARY

How to Marry a Millionaire certainly looks stunning, even compared to some more recent films released on DVD. If the other films in the series meet the same technical standard, the Marilyn Monroe box set collection will be a worthwhile purchase for Monroe fans. Although almost 50 years old, How to Marry a Millionaire is still a funny and entertaining way to pass the time.