The 1953 ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ mistake that made it into the movie: “He caught her by accident”
Out of every movie that Marilyn Monroe appeared in during her career, it’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes that stands out as one of her most memorable, not least because it features her iconic rendition of ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend’, the star decked out in glittering jewels and a bright pink dress.
As terrific as Monroe is in the film, what really makes Howard Hawks’ movie is her chemistry with co-star Jane Russell, who appears as Dorothy, the brunette to her blonde, the more grounded and witty answer to Monroe’s wealth-obsessed Lorelai. The pair are the perfect duo, bringing a strong theme of female friendship and supportiveness to a movie that, on the surface, appears to be about their romantic exploits.
Even if you’re not into musicals, you can’t deny the brilliance of the performances featured in the film, which opens with a charming duet between Lorelai and Dorothy of ‘Two Little Girls From Little Rock’ that introduces us to the showgirls all decked out in red and white glitter and feathers. But then you’ve got Russell’s solo number, ‘Ain’t There Anyone Here for Love’, emphasising the character’s interest in romance rather than money.
It’s a great performance, the actor surrounded by muscular men in skin-coloured bottoms, flexing and dancing as she weaves between them. In the most memorable moment of the scene, however, Russell is knocked into the water by one of the men as they dive in, leaving her soaking wet. While we see her pulled out of the pool by some of the others and carried over to safety, where she picks up a drink and takes a sip, the whole thing was actually an accident.
The sequence had been rigidly rehearsed, an intricately choreographed routine, but when it came to shooting it, Russell’s attempt to shield herself from the divers wasn’t enough to stop one of the men’s feet from accidentally clipping her head and pushing her into the water. While the scene continued with the actor dripping wet, Hawks ultimately made the decision to go again, and that time around, Russell made it out completely dry.
However, once it came to post-production, Hawks realised that the scene looked much better with Russell falling in, despite her trying to stay on land. So that second take was for nothing, really, because the first one ended up in the film.
“It was an accident, and we had to go back and re-shoot the whole number, but they ended up using that footage. We had a long time in those days to rehearse the numbers, and we’d worked every day for a couple of months. I wasn’t supposed to end up in the pool at all, but it turned out better the way it happened, although the poor dancer got fired! I mean, it didn’t hurt,” Russell once recalled.
The dancer, Ed Fury, appeared in various swords-and-sandals movies over the coming years following Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, but back then, he was just an uncredited actor who wound up being fired. Interestingly, though, it wasn’t because he knocked Russell into the pool, but according to another dancer, Ron Nyman, “He caught her by accident, and the reason he was fired is because he then insisted on getting a co-choreography credit!”
Clearly, a happy accident is sometimes all that’s needed to make Hollywood history; you just have to hope you’re working with an actor who’ll go along with it, like Russell.
