Before our feature presentation, ACME would like to start the evening with another Merrie Melodies Bugs Bunny cartoon, the 1957 Bedevilled Rabbit (featuring the Tasmanian Devil), directed by Robert McKimson.
Many of the animals read out by Bugs are not native to Tasmania so its unlikely that a Tasmanian devil would come in contact with most of the animals on the list. However, some animals on the list would have been introduced into Tasmania by Europeans such as cats, domesticated dogs, goats, and rabbits. In case you were wondering, the Tasmanian devil is a wild dog.
Before the start of our feature presentation, ACME Eagle Hand Soap would like to answer the question youth wants to know: "Do millionaires enjoy performing karaoke?" -
So yes, they apparently do. And Dave, you absolutely belong on stage.
We've picked another entry from the excellent reference book, 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die by Steven Jay Schneider. Today's choice is the 1957, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, a change of pace for us, a Hollywood musical from Howard Hawks starring Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe. The film is based on a stage musical, which is based on a book from 1925 by Anita Loos entitled Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: The Illuminating Diary of a Professional Lady. Strangely, although Hawks is credited as the sole director of the film, Jane Russell and assistant choreographer Gwen Verdon contend that Monroe's iconic musical number, Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend, was actually directed by choreographer Jack Cole. Russell said, "Howard Hawks had nothing to do with the musical numbers. He was not even there." Hawks himself confirmed as much in an interview with author Joseph McBride, "I did a musical called Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and I didn't do the production numbers. I didn't have any desire to." the film that catapulted Marilyn Monroe into stardom. She illuminates the screen as Lorelei Lee and although she came to resent the ‘dumb blonde’ persona she was always associated with, she played Lorelei to perfection and made the character likable. The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour would like you to join us in watching this funny iconic film, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
Fox studio head Darryl F. Zanuck had originally assumed the need to dub the singing voices of Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe until musical director Lionel Newman famously stitched together a vocal rendition of their opening number from multiple takes. As a back-up plan, an alternate set of recordings was made with Eileen Wilson dubbing Russell's voice, which can still be heard on several Monroe tribute albums. In the end, both ladies sang for themselves, and Russell went on to release an album of songs on the MGM label.
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