But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes she wanted it to be... Both "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and "But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes" were viewed by female scholars as celebration bordering on satire. "Gentlemen Marry Brunettes" is often considered the weaker of the two, and only works as a companion piece to Loos’s first installment. The film based on the novel, "Gentlemen Marry Brunettes" (1955), is very loosely based on Loos’s book. The plot is very different. "Gentlemen Marry Brunettes" is a musical film made by Russ-Field productions, starring Jane Russell and Jeanne Crain, and released by United Artists. The film was directed by Richard Sale, produced by the
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (musical) was produced by Herman Levin and Oliver Smith, directed by John C. Wilson, and choreographed by Agnes de Mille, with vocal direction by Hugh Martin. Financial backers included Harold M. Esty, Jr. The original cast featured: Several well-known blonde actresses, including Betty Hutton, Jayne Mansfield (Carousel Theater, 1964), Mamie Van Doren, Barbara Eden (Florida, January 1999) and Morgan Fairchild, have starred in regional and summer stock productions of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" over the years. The musical ran in the West End at the Princes Theatre, opening on August 20, 1962 for 223 performances, and featured Dora Bryan as Lorelei Lee,