Character Analysis
Gentleman Prefer Blondes
Marilyn Monroe playing a ditzy blonde bombshell? Who knew?
Miss Caswell is such a minor character, we wouldn't mention her if not for the fact that she's played by Marilyn. As Roger Ebert says, Marilyn "glitter[s] in the center" of the film and steals every scene she's in. (Source). Indeed she does. Despite being seen as a dim bulb and a bad actress (Miss Caswell, not Marilyn), a graduate of the "Copacabana School of Dramatic Arts," she gets some of the movie's funniest lines. In one of our favorites, she insults Addison, saying of him:
MISS CASWELL: You won't bore him, honey. You won't even get a chance to talk.
She's so pretty (and honest) he can't even get mad at her for this remark.
Unlike Eve, Miss Caswell can't act, so she has to flirt her way to get what she wants, and Addison encourages her.
DEWITT: You see that man? He's Max Fabian, the producer. Now go do yourself some good.
MISS CASWELL: Why do they always look like unhappy rabbits?
Miss Caswell's definitely a type: the beautiful starlet wannabe without talent but with other, um, assets.