Taglines: Doin’ what comes naturally!
Let’s Make Love movie storyline. New York based French billionaire Jean-Marc Clément VII (Yves Montand) has been able to build on the fortunes of the first six Jean-Marc Cléments before him, in the process being known, in his excessive leisure, more for being a love ’em and leave ’em playboy than a businessman. Alexander Kaufman (Tony Randall), his head publicist, learns that Clément is one of the many well-known personalities being satirized in an off-Broadway musical, “Let’s Make Love”, currently in production, they who will skewer his playboy status.
After Clément and Kaufman discuss what they should do including the option to shut down the show regardless of the fact that Clément truly doesn’t mind being portrayed in a satirical way, they decide the best first measure of defense is to make a surprise appearance at a rehearsal just to show that he is a good sport, and thus may be less of a target. Clément and Kaufman’s appearance at the rehearsal coincides with the auditions for the relatively minor roles of the many celebrities being satirized.
As no one recognizes him but thinks he looks like Clément, Clément decides to play along and accepts the role of Clément if only because he is captivated by one of the featured performers, Amanda Dell. The more that Clément spends with Amanda, the more that he truly does fall in love with her, true love which is a first in his life, and wants to marry her. Clément has many obstacles to overcome for Amanda to feel the same about him. First, he seems to be competing for her affections with who is her leading man, Tony Danton.
Second, he doesn’t want to look foolish in front of her, which he may be asked to do in portraying himself in the show. Third, he doesn’t seem to be the type of man personality-wise to who she would be attracted. As such, he decides to hire only the best to teach him to be the man he believes to who she would be attracted, teachers who may only able to do so much in this situation. And fourth and arguably most difficult, she has a generally poor opinion about “Clément” from what she knows about him through general publicity and as he is portrayed in the show.
Let’s Make Love is a 1960 musical comedy film made by 20th Century Fox in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope. It was directed by George Cukor and produced by Jerry Wald from a screenplay by Norman Krasna, Hal Kanter, and Arthur Miller. It starred Marilyn Monroe, Yves Montand, and Tony Randall. It would be Monroe’s last musical film performance.
About the Production
From the beginning issues arose with the film. Monroe, although enthusiastic about Montand, did not want to make the film and the original screenwriter had reservations about the cast. Despite being offered the role and having found success with his one-man show, Montand did not speak English. This led to enormous stress as he worked to understand the lines he was speaking through translation.
Monroe, at this point in her career, had developed a reputation (beyond Hollywood) for oftentimes being late to set, forgetting her lines, and deferring to her coach over the director. However, some reports state[citation needed] that this was not true during the filming of Let’s Make Love, although she and Cukor did not have the best relationship. Neither star was satisfied with the script and production was shut down for over a month by two Hollywood strikes: first by the Screen Actors Guild and then the Screen Writers Guild.
Monroe and Montand were said to have bonded over the difficulties each was experiencing with the film, and when both Miller and Signoret departed during production for other commitments rumors about an affair between the two were rampant. Gossip columns at the time made note of frequent sightings of the two together alone.[citation needed] This led to greater publicity for the film, with Fox manipulating the affair to its advantage. In August 1960, shortly before the release of the film, Monroe and Montand were featured on the cover of Life magazine in a sensual pose taken from the film. Their affair ended when filming ended, with Montand returning to France.
Given the box office popularity of Monroe, and the press surrounding Montand and their relationship at the time, the film was considered to be a disappointment, although it was, in truth, a moderate success. The high expectations and modest results have led to many viewing the film as either a total flop or a huge success. It opened at the top of the box office its first weekend, but made only $6.54 million in total It was the first film starring Monroe to earn so little money on its initial release, although it was the top-grossing musical of the year and one of only two musicals in the top 20 in 1960. It fared better in overseas markets than in the United States.
Let’s Make Love (1960)
Directed by: George Cukor
Starring: Marilyn Monroe, Yves Montand, Tony Randall, Frankie Vaughan, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Bing Crosby, Gene Kelly, Milton Berle, Joe Besser, Mara Lynn, Dennis King Jr., Michael David
Screenplay by: Norman Krasna, Hal Kanter, Arthur Miller
Cinematography by: Daniel L. Fapp
Film Editing by: David Bretherton
Costume Design by: Dorothy Jeakins
Set Decoration by: Fred M. MacLean, Walter M. Scott
Art Direction by: Gene Allen, Lyle R. Wheeler
Music by: Lionel Newman, Earle Hagen
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: 20th Century-Fox
Release Date: September 8, 1960
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