How to Marry a Millionaire



"Pola Debevoise: I want to marry Rockefeller.

Schatze Page: Which one?

Pola Debevoise: I don't care."

Movie from 1953 with three of the most famous leading ladies of the era as the main characters: Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable.

Three women rent an expensive apartment to appear rich. Their plan is to each marry a millionaire. To be able to afford the rent, they keep selling the furniture.

Things become complicated when love starts to interfere with their plans.

Partially inspired by the much earlier The Greeks Had a Word for Them.

This work features examples of:

 * Actor Allusion: Schatze says: "Look at Roosevelt, look at Churchill, look at old fella what's his name in The African Queen". The 'old guy in The African Queen was Humphrey Bogart, Bacall's husband in real life.
 * All-Star Cast
 * Blind Without'Em: Pola. Unfortunately for her, she believes very strongly that "Men aren't attentive to girls who wear glasses," which for isn't true.
 * Defrosting Ice Queen: Schatze, though she doesn't defrost completely.
 * Dumb Blonde: Pola. Loco to a lesser degree.
 * Loco thinks skiing on the water is the normal way, skiing on snow is weird.
 * Fainting: The big reveal at the ending has all the women faint.
 * Gold Digger: The entire premise
 * Hoist by His Own Petard: Driving back to New York City from his would-be tryst with Loco in Maine, drives a circuitous route to the west side of the Hudson River where nobody knows him. All the while he tells Loco how his intellect will keep his wife from knowing that he wasn't really on a business trip.
 * In Joke: Two of the three stars refer to their Real Life husbands:
 * At the hunting lodge, Loco (Betty Grable) hears a Big Band on the radio and identifies it as Harry James's (her then-husband). Waldo asks her how she knows its Harry James's band. She replies that she knows Harry James, and that that's Harry James.
 * Schatze (Lauren Bacall) tells J.D. that she's always liked older men, like what's-his-name in The African Queen.
 * Power Trio: Schatze is Superego, Loco is Ego and Pola is Id.
 * Pretty in Mink: Several furs worn, and even the gold digging tips mention the mink department at Bergdorf's as a good place to find rich men.