Marilyn graces posters for Colour in Motion, a new exhibition at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, with Gentlemen Prefer Blondes showing next Saturday, 2 November, at 2:00 pm.
“Colour in Motion: Chromatic Explorations of Cinema investigates the role of colour in film, from the scientific and technological advancements that made it possible, to its emotional and psychological impact on viewers, to the ways filmmakers use colour as a storytelling tool. The exhibition takes an immersive and innovative approach to understanding cinematic colour through six unique galleries, each focusing on a different aspect of film colour. Colour in Motion engages visitors through dynamic, colorful film installations and features objects from the silent era through the digital age, including cameras, projectors, costumes, props, animation cels, and film posters.
In Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, a 1953 musical comedy adapted from Anita Loos’s searingly funny 1925 novella—which also spawned a now-lost silent film in 1928 and a smash Broadway production in 1949—Howard Hawks’s Lorelei (Marilyn Monroe) is resplendent. She is seen throughout the picture in jewel tones and literal jewels, carefully selected by costume designer Travilla to play up the Technicolor cinematography lensed by Harry J. Wild. The film’s use of pink is observed in the museum’s Colour in Motion exhibition alongside contemporary classics such as Barbie (2023) and But I’m a Cheerleader (1999), which situates the comedy as both effervescent and timeless.”
And finally, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was shot in three-strip Technicolor – you can view 90 photos from the Library of Congress dye-transfer print on the Timeline of Historical Film Colours website.
The Marilyn Report 
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