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32-593: Gold Digger , Gold Diggers or The Gold Diggers may refer to: Gold digger , someone who engages in romantic relationships for money rather than love Gold digger The term "gold digger" is a slang term that has its roots among chorus girls and sex workers in the early 20th century. In print, the term can be found in Rex Beach 's 1911 book, The Ne'er-Do-Well , and in the 1915 memoir My Battles with Vice by Virginia Brooks . The Oxford Dictionary and Random House 's Dictionary of Historical Slang state

64-553: A letter of credit to cover expenses upon her arrival, and promises to later meet her in France. However, he also warns her to behave, noting that his father will prohibit their marriage if Esmond Sr. hears rumors of misdeeds. Gus and Lorelei are unaware that Esmond Sr. has hired private detective Ernie Malone to spy on Lorelei. During the Atlantic crossing, Malone immediately falls in love with Dorothy, but she has already been drawn to

96-637: A recording device in Lorelei's cabin and has heard her discussion with Piggy about the pictures and the tiara. Malone implies that Lorelei is a gold digger and when Dorothy scolds him for his actions, he admits to being a liar. However, Dorothy reveals to Lorelei that she is falling for Malone, and Lorelei chastises her for choosing a poor man when she could easily have a rich one. The ship arrives in France, and Lorelei and Dorothy spend time shopping. However, they discover that Lorelei's letter of credit has been canceled and are then evicted from their hotel because of

128-491: A villainous foil, as in both versions of Disney's film The Parent Trap . The gold digger image or trope appears in several popular songs, including " My Heart Belongs to Daddy " (1938), " Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend " (1949), " Santa Baby " (1953), " She Got the Goldmine (I Got The Shaft) " (1982), and " Material Girl " (1984). Rap music 's use of the "gold digger script" is one of a few prevalent sexual scripts that

160-423: Is directed at young African-American women. The 2005 hit " Gold Digger (Kanye West song) " was the ninth best selling and ninth most played song of the 2000s, according to People Magazine. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953 film) Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a 1953 American musical comedy film directed by Howard Hawks and written by Charles Lederer . The film is based on the 1949 stage musical of

192-494: Is missing from her jewelry box. Piggy tries to deny his part in the affair when Malone catches him at the airport. Dorothy stalls for time in court by pretending to be Lorelei, disguised in a blonde wig and mimicking her friend's breathy voice and mannerisms. When Malone appears in court and is about to unmask Dorothy, she reveals to Malone in covert language that she loves him but would never forgive him if he hurts Lorelei. Malone withdraws his comments but then reveals that Piggy has

224-416: Is needed when patrons can look at Russell-Monroe lines as displayed in slick costumes and Technicolor." Harrison's Reports wrote: "Both Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe are nothing short of sensational in the leading roles. They not only act well, but the sexy manner in which they display their song, dance and pulchritude values just about sets the screen on fire and certainly is crowd-pleasing, judging by

256-545: The 1930s, particularly breach of promise cases. Public outrage surrounding the image of frivolous lawsuits and unfair alimony payouts related to the gold digger archetype contributed to a nationwide push throughout the middle and late 1930s to outlaw heart balm legislation in the United States. The gold digger emerged as a dominant trope in American popular culture beginning in the 1920s. Stephen Sharot stated that

288-460: The Broadway show, while the songs by Carmichael and Adamson were written especially for the film. Monroe's rendition of " Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend " and her pink dress are part of popular culture and are considered iconic; the performance has inspired and been recreated by various artists as an homage . Lorelei Lee and Dorothy Shaw are American showgirls and best friends, although

320-554: The box office worldwide, and was the seventh-highest-grossing film of 1953 , with $ 5.1 million in North America, while Monroe's next feature, How to Marry a Millionaire (also 1953), was the fourth-highest . The film received positive reviews from critics. Monroe and Russell were both praised for their performances even by critics who panned the film. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called Howard Hawks' direction "uncomfortably cloddish and slow" and found

352-526: The film had been compromised from the play "by the casting of Marilyn Monroe, by the abandonment of the 20s period and the incongruous up-to-date streamlining, by inflating some bright, witty songs into lavish production numbers, and by tamely ending the whole thing by letting two true loves conventionally come true. There is too, a lack of grasp in Howard Hawks' handling, which is scrappy and uninventive." On review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes ,

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384-401: The film has an approval rating of 88% based on 88 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Anchored by Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell's sparkling magnetism, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a delightfully entertaining 1950s musical." German film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder declared the film one of the ten best ever. Recent reviews have noted that

416-497: The film is groundbreaking for its depiction of female friendships and agency for women. Writing for Bust magazine, Samantha Mann wrote, "Throughout the entire film, the main characters Lorelei (Marilyn Monroe) and Dorothy (Jane Russell) display consistent loyalty to one another. There is no back-stabbing, shit-talking, or degrading one another to come out on top or gain the affection of a man. The women remain steadfast in their loyalty to one another, and tolerate no one speaking ill of

448-544: The film rights. The original intention was a vehicle for Betty Grable and Ginger Rogers ; however, after the success of Monroe's appearance in Niagara (1953), the studio believed it had a more potent, and less expensive, sex symbol than Grable. Although Hawks is credited as the sole director of the film, Russell and assistant choreographer Gwen Verdon contend that all musical numbers were actually staged by Jack Cole. Russell said, "Howard Hawks had nothing to do with

480-414: The gags for Russell "devoid of character or charm," but concluded, "And yet, there is that about Miss Russell and also about Miss Monroe that keeps you looking at them even when they have little or nothing to do." Variety wrote that Hawks "maintains a racy air that brings the musical off excellently at a pace that helps cloak the fact that it's rather lightweight, but sexy, stuff. However, not much more

512-549: The gold digger in Western popular media throughout the 1920s and 1930s developed into an important symbol of a moral panic surrounding frivolous lawsuits. Sharon Thompson's research has demonstrated how public perception of the prevalence of gold digging has created disadvantages for female spouses without their own source of income in the negotiation of alimony cases and prenuptial agreements. The gold digger stereotype triggered public discussions about heartbalm legislation during

544-405: The gold digger is one of the most common of the “stock company of stereotypes that continually reappear in the films of the 1930s.” Gold diggers in 1930s cinema were often portrayed in positive, sometimes heroic, ways. The character has featured in many films since the 1930s such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) and How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), both starring Marilyn Monroe , or as

576-639: The gold digger supplanted the popularity of the vamp in 1920s cinema. By the 1930s, the term "gold digger" had reached the United Kingdom through a British remake of The Gold Diggers . While the film received negative critical reception, several sequels with the same title have been produced. In the 1930s, the gold digger trope was used in a number of popular American films, most notably Gold Diggers of 1933 , Gold Diggers of 1935 , Baby Face , Red-Headed Woman , Dinner at Eight , and Havana Widows . Film historian Roger Dooley notes that

608-472: The information that Malone shared with Esmond Sr. They are forced to find work as showgirls in Paris, headlining a lavish revue . When Gus appears at their show, Lorelei rebuffs him and then performs "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend". Meanwhile, Lady Beekman has filed charges regarding her missing tiara, and Lorelei is arraigned for theft. Dorothy persuades Lorelei to return the tiara, but they discover that it

640-406: The members of the male Olympic team. Lorelei meets the rich and foolish Sir Francis "Piggy" Beekman, the owner of a diamond mine, and is attracted by his wealth. Although Piggy is married, Lorelei naively returns his geriatric flirtations, which annoys his wife, Lady Beekman. Lorelei invites Piggy to the cabin that she shares with Dorothy, where he recounts his travels to Africa. Malone spies through

672-465: The musical numbers. He was not even there." Hawks later confirmed this in an interview with author Joseph McBride : "I did a musical called Gentlemen Prefer Blondes , and I didn't do the production numbers. I didn't have any desire to." An uncredited George Chakiris , future Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actor (as Bernardo in West Side Story , 1961 version), can be glimpsed as one of

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704-408: The other. Providing support and comfort to one another takes priority over finding ways to secure their desired men." Caroline Siede of The A.V. Club wrote the story may appear to be a "90-minute misogynistic punchline about the desperate schemes of two devious social-climbing showgirls, ditzy Lorelei Lee (Monroe) and witty man-eater Dorothy Shaw (Jane Russell). Thankfully, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

736-506: The same name , which in turn is based on the 1925 novel of the same name by Anita Loos . The film stars Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe , with Charles Coburn , Elliott Reid , Tommy Noonan , George Winslow , Taylor Holmes and Norma Varden in supporting roles. The film is filled with comedic situations and musical numbers, choreographed by Jack Cole , while the music was written by Hoagy Carmichael , Harold Adamson , Jule Styne and Leo Robin . The songs by Styne and Robin are from

768-439: The term is distinct for women because they were much more likely to need to marry a wealthy man in order to achieve or maintain a level of socioeconomic status. The term rose in usage after the popularity of Avery Hopwood 's play The Gold Diggers in 1919. Hopwood first heard the term in a conversation with Ziegfeld performer Kay Laurell . As an indication on how new the slang term was, Broadway producers urged him to change

800-502: The thunderous applause at the preview after each of the well-staged musical numbers." John McCarten of The New Yorker wrote that the two leads "have a good deal of enthusiasm, and occasionally their exuberance offsets the tedium of one long series of variations on the sort of anatomical joke that used to amuse the customers of Minsky so inordinately." Britain's Monthly Film Bulletin praised Jane Russell for her "enjoyable Dorothy, full of gusto and good nature," but thought that

832-569: The tiara, exonerating Lorelei. Back at the nightclub, Lorelei impresses Esmond Sr. with a speech on the subject of paternal money and argues that if Esmond Sr. had a daughter instead of a son, he would want the best for her. He agrees and consents to the marriage. A double wedding is held for Lorelei and Dorothy and their grooms. Director Howard Hawks had never before made a musical film, but he owed Fox one more film, so he agreed. The stage musical, starring Carol Channing , had already been running for two years on Broadway when Fox paid $ 250,000 for

864-456: The title because they feared that the audience would think that the play was about mining and the Gold Rush . There exist several cases where female public figures have been perceived as exemplars of the gold digger stereotype by the public. The best-known gold digger of the early 20th century was Peggy Hopkins Joyce . Joyce was a former show girl who married and divorced millionaires. She

896-536: The two are very different. Lorelei thinks more of a man's financial wealth and likes men who can support her passion for diamonds, such as her fiancé Gus (Esmond, Jr.), who can provide all of her financial needs. Dorothy prefers men who are attractive and fit, and she does not care about their wealth. Lorelei plans to wed Gus in France, but they are forbidden to travel together by Gus's strict father Esmond Sr., who despises Lorelei. Lorelei decides to travel to France with or without Gus, and before she leaves, he gives her

928-414: The wealthy men pursuing Marilyn in "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend". Two other uncredited "suitors" in this musical number are Larry Kert and Matt Mattox . According to Monroe's last interview before her death, she was paid her usual contract salary of $ 500 a week, for a total of $ 18,000, while Russell, the better-known actress at the time, earned $ 200,000. The film earned $ 5.3 million at

960-448: The window and takes pictures of them but is seen by Dorothy as he walks away. She tells Lorelei, who fears for her reputation. They devise a scheme to intoxicate Malone and search him to recover the incriminating film while he is unconscious. They find the film in his pants, and Lorelei prints and hides the negatives. Revealing her success to Piggy, she persuades him to give her Lady Beekman's tiara. However, Malone reveals that he had planted

992-475: Was characterized as a gold digger during her divorce battle with Stanley Joyce during the early 1920s. Some have argued that she was the real-life inspiration for Lorelei Lee, the protagonist in Anita Loos ’ 1925 novel Gentlemen Prefer Blondes which holds gold digging as a central theme. Additionally, some have contended that the term "gold digger" was coined to describe her. Former Olympian Eleanor Holm

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1024-440: Was dubbed the "swimming gold digger" for her divorce contest with Broadway impresario Billy Rose during the 1950s. The press and public described model/actress Anna Nicole Smith as a gold digger for marrying multi-millionaire octogenarian J. Howard Marshall II . There was even a book published as a Little Blue Book (Little Blue Book No. 1392, Confessions of a Gold Digger , by Betty Van Deventer, 1929). The recurring image of

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