Movies spotlight: 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'

Once upon a time a long time ago, Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe were the kind of women American moviegoers liked looking at, and laughing at. In 1953's "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (⋆⋆⋆ out of four stars, unrated) they star as a pair of knockout showgirls on a transatlantic cruise, trying to decide who makes better romance material, a nice, wealthy elderly man or a va-va-voom hunk from the U.S. Olympic team. Director Howard Hawks delivers a brassy, grand comedy of a gold-digging battle of the sexes. The cast includes a purebred nerd (Tommy Noonan), a Playboy-minded senior citizen (Charles Coburn) and a pubescent voyeur (the uproariously funny George "Foghorn" Winslow). (7 and 9 p.m. Fri., 10 a.m., 7 and 9 p.m. Sat., 5 and 7 p.m. Sun., Trylon Microcinema, 3258 Minnehaha Av. S., Mpls., $8, tickets at the box office or online at http://take-up.org/buy/1012/