But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes director and Bob Waterfield (Russell's husband) with Robert Bassler as executive producer, from a screenplay by Mary Loos and Sale, based on the novel "But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes" by Anita Loos. Anita Loos was the author of the novel and play "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" which had been turned into a smash film with Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe in 1953. This film was not as well received as the earlier one. Anita Loos had entitled her book But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes, but the studio dropped the first word from the title for the film. But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes But Gentlemen
Jayne Mansfield biggest successes, both critically and financially, earning more than "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" had three years before. Soon afterwards, Fox started promoting Mansfield as "Marilyn Monroe king-sized", attempting to coerce Monroe to return to the studio and finish out her contract. Mansfield had become one of 20th Century Fox's main sex symbol actresses. Mansfield next played a dramatic role in 1957's "The Wayward Bus", an adaptation of John Steinbeck's novel of the same name. With this film, she attempted to move away from her "blonde bombshell" image and establish herself as a serious actress. The film enjoyed moderate box office success,