The censor, the steam fitter and Anita Loos: Or, the silent film adaptation of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1928)

While a plethora of research exists examining the 1953 musical starring Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell as well as the bestselling novel from which it is adapted, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1925), very little exists regarding the silent film adaptation produced by Paramount in 1927 and released in 1928. Presumably, this absence is due to the fact that the film is now considered lost. The script survives, however, and a close reading of the novel contrasted against the 1927 scenario exposes the social and censorship forces under which the American screenwriter Anita Loos labored as she altered the characterization of the protagonist, Lorelei, to make her more palatable for the tastes of 1920s film audiences, censors and studio executives alike.