Marilyn Monroe was one of the most recognizable sex symbols of the 1950s (and perhaps in all cinema history). “I can be smart when it’s important, but most men don’t like it,” says Monroe’s character Lorelei at the end of the movie, and this was similarly true of the actress herself. The character portrayed in her best-known films is inextricably linked to her screen persona, the image we have of her personality. Studios and audiences expected her to only ever play the part of the naive, sexy blonde. In this film, she precisely plays on this, but with a twist. To all appearances, Lorelei embodies this desirable female type, but she is only doing this in order to achieve her own aim, in this case marrying the son of a millionaire.










