Marilyn Monroe dress, which prompted veteran star Joan Crawford to describe her behavior as "unbecoming an actress and a lady" to the press. While "Niagara" made Monroe a sex symbol and established her "look", her second film of the year, the satirical musical comedy "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", established her screen persona as a "dumb blonde". Based on Anita Loos' bestselling novel and its Broadway version, the film focuses on two "gold-digging" showgirls, Lorelei Lee and Dorothy Shaw, played by Monroe and Jane Russell. The role of Lorelei was originally intended for Betty Grable, who had been 20th Century-Fox's most popular "blonde bombshell"
Red-Headed Woman "So Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Hah." The film, in fact, was Jean Harlow's first film after having left Hollywood for a few months following a fall-out with Howard Hughes, as reported by "Screenland". Although uncredited, Jean Harlow's husband Paul Bern was the film's production supervisor. Prior to the film's release, producer Thalberg worked with the Will Hays Office to shore up the censor's approval. Of particular concern were several scenes in which Harlow was partially undressed or making obvious sexual advances. Thalberg eventually agreed to seventeen cuts. Despite this fact, the film still received a number of complaints from cinema patrons.