Throughout history, there have been many characteristics and movie tropes in fiction which become passé or outdated over time, especially with women. “The nagging wife,” “The slutty cheerleader,” and “The shy bookworm” are a few stereotypes that we’ve seen less of in modern times.
One movie trope that you would think might have died off by now, but actually lasted and has gone through many makeovers, is “the ditzy blonde.” Not the blonde bimbo type who’s usually just used as a running gag for cheap laughs in dumb comedies, but the pretty blonde who is actually given a proper personality and means well with her intentions, even with materialism and vanity being her aesthetic.
Movie star Marilyn Monroe is usually given credit for popularizing this screen trope, with classics like Howard Hawks’ Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), Jean Negulesco’s How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) and Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot (1959). Before her debut, the platinum blonde in movies was more along the lines of someone like Jean Harlow in hits such as Victor Fleming’s Red Dust (1932) or George Cukor’s Dinner at Eight (1933). Jean had as much sex appeal as Marilyn, but usually portrayed wise-cracking, street-smart broads not afraid to talk back, rather than being flighty.
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Ironically, the old Hollywood pre-Monroe blonde who probably fit the “ditzy blonde” movie trope persona the most was Marion Davies, who was charming and ethereal in fun comedies like King Vidor’s Show People (1928) and Raoul Walsh’s Going Hollywood (1933). However, she didn’t actually come off that dumb in character. What influenced that reputation was her relationship with much older newspaper tycoon W.R. Hearst, who failed to produce a career for Marion in costume dramas.
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The miscasting and scandalous real-life coupling exposed by the press gave the blonde starlet a less than flattering impression. It wouldn’t be until decades later when historians and critics would start exposing and acknowledging that Davies was actually much brighter than originally portrayed; especially as the fictional role of Susan Alexander in Orson Welles’ legendary Citizen Kane (1941).
The 1940s would prefer their movie blondes to be femme fatales like Rita Hayworth in Orson Welles’ The Lady from Shanghai (1947) or Lauren Bacall in Howard Hawks’ The Big Sleep (1946). But by the 1950s, everyone quickly absorbed and was enchanted by Marilyn Monroe’s brand of peroxide. What made the young actress stand out from the other light-haired, on-screen eye candy was how she came across sexy and beautiful in appearance, but wholesome and innocent in execution. Almost as if she wasn’t aware of her attractiveness.
Soon other studios in tinsel town would try their own answer to Marilyn, with B-movie queens Jayne Mansfield, Mamie van Doren and Diana Dors. Sharon Tate and Goldie Hawn took over the hot, yet cute, blonde persona in the late 1960s, though with their own spins on the movie trope. Tate had the figure, face and hair of a traditional blonde, but brought a bit of sophistication to cult favorite, such as Mark Robson’s Valley of the Dolls (1967). Hawn would amp up the adorableness Monroe coined with the hippie crowd for NBC’s comedy sketch show “Laugh-In” (1968-70) and Gene Saks’ romcom Cactus Flower (1969).
The two most iconic blonde bombshells of the 1970s were TV stars Farrah Fawcett of ABC’s action-adventure series “Charlie’s Angels” (1976-77) and Suzanne Somers of ABC’s sitcom “Three’s Company” (1977-81). The latter played your standard good-looking — but likable — dumb blonde, while the former portrayed a sassy, spitfire secret agent saved by decent writing.
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Fawcett and her “Angels” co-stars most likely influenced Joss Whedon’s famous cheerleader turned butt-kicker Buffy Summers, played by Kristy Swanson in Fran Rubel Kuzui’s comedy Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992); and again by Sarah Michelle Gellar on the WB’s more successful teen horror series from 1997-2003 with the same title. As fans know, Buffy starts out as a bubbly, carefree schoolgirl before quickly learning and growing into her calling as “the chosen one,” thus completely subverting any possibility of her being a blonde cliché.
Five years before her debut in “Company,” Somers played a mysterious blonde driving a white T-Bird in George Lucas’ retro teen picture American Graffiti (1973). Featured in that same film is another tall blonde, Candy Clark, playing a flirty and giggly young woman who spends a wild night paired with the biggest nerd in the cast, Charles Martin Smith. This pairing would of course later be revisited in two other popular teen flicks: Haviland Morris and Anthony Michael Hall in John Hughes’ Sixteen Candles (1984), and Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Aviva in Greg Mottola’s Superbad (2007). The third movie takes a twist and swapping the hot blonde for a hot redhead.
Possibly the best and most profiled examples of this movie trope, ditzy blondes with a heart of gold, in pop culture are Alicia Silverstone’s Cher Horowitz in Amy Heckerling’s Clueless (1995) and Reese Witherspoon’s Elle Woods in Robert Luketic’s Legally Blonde (2001). Neither Cher nor Elle is ashamed of their interests in fashion and romance, yet have real personalities where they want to prove themselves or make a difference, whether it’s just navigating personal relationships in her life, like Cher does, or showing she can be as smart as her peers, like Elle. Part of this is due to the direction and scripts of the movies, but a big impact is Silverstone’s and Witherspoon’s endearing and charismatic performances. It’s also fitting and amusing that Jennifer Coolidge, a comedic actress who has played many variations of blonde stereotypes, co-stars as a mousey and insecure friend of Elle.
Even contemporarily, the pretty blonde lives on in movie tropes and television personas through a fresh lens. Amanda Seyfried broke through her career as the silliest Plastic in Mark Waters’ Mean Girls (2004); January Jones brought some depth to the 1960s housewife as Betty Draper on AMC’s “Mad Men” (2007-2015); and Jessica Chastain channeled Marilyn Monroe’s sweetness for another blonde ‘60s housewife in Tate Taylor’s The Help (2011).
Safe to say, blondes in entertainment do have fun, and in many ways.
Do you have a favorite fictional blonde? Was she mentioned in my article? Let us know in the comments!
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