Second-billed
Marilyn Monroe is the blonde in question in this second film version of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: Miss Lorelei Lee, whose philosophy is "diamonds are a girl's best friend." Together with her best human friend Dorothy (top-billed
Jane Russell), showgirl Lorelei embarks upon a boat trip to Paris, where she intends to marry millionaire Gus Esmond (
Tommy Noonan). En route, the girls are bedeviled by private detective Malone (Elliot Reid), hired by Esmond's father (
Taylor Holmes) to make certain that Lorelei isn't just another gold-digger. When Dorothy falls in love with the poverty-stricken Malone, Lorelei decides to find her pal a wealthier potential husband, and that's how she gets mixed up with flirtatious diamond merchant Sir Francis Beekman (
Charles Coburn) and precocious youngster Henry Spofford III (George "Foghorn" Winslow). Most of the
Leo Robin-
Jule Styne songs from the Broadway show remain intact, including
Marilyn Monroe's rendition of "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend," a production number later imitated by pop icon
Madonna. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide