The Truth About Blondes

Fans of Alfred Hitchcock couldn't help but wonder why the filmmaker preferred blond women. She would capture the male protagonist's attention, falling in love many scenes later. He had no idea that she was trouble, putting him in a precarious situation. (In "North by Northwest", Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint were being chased by assailants while climbing down Mount Rushmore.)

So what is it about blondes that turns on other people? It's the look and nothing else. Hitchcock would attest to that, as Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, and Tippi Hendren were among the blond actresses who collaborated with him. The British filmmaker could have gave a better answer, but he was long gone. (He would have been 115 on August 13.)

Gentlemen prefer blondes

Hollywood perpetuated the "dumb blonde" stereotype. It began with Mae West and Jean Harlow, who were the biggest stars during the 1930s. Harlow was amusing in films like "Red Dust" (1932), but that was about it. "Singin' in the Rain" (1952) featured Lina Lamont, played by Jean Hagen, a silent film star whose (talking) voice annoyed anyone. She was a blonde too.

Then Marilyn Monroe came along. She was no different from Harlow, but this was a coincidence. Monroe's eyes brimmed with innocence, which could seduce any man. She had that helpless air, which she didn't show to get any guy she fancied. Her story was a rags-to-riches tale, which made her insecure. It showed on the big screen. She tried to be a better actress, becoming a disciple of Method acting. But the men were only interested on her looks.

Blame it on her blonde hair.

The new Führer

Josef Mengele was a notorious German physician in the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. He performed unscientific and deadly human experiments on prisoners, and he wasn't arrested and tried for it. He fled to South America, evading capture. Ira Levin had something in mind.

"The Boys from Brazil" (1976) saw Mengele devising a diabolical plan. It wasn't about recruiting more men with blond hair and blue eyes. He wanted a clone of Adolph Hitler. This ambitious experiment was conducted discreetly and spanned many years. There were 94 targets in Europe and North America. There should be a thirty-year age difference between the target's parents and the man must be dead when the boy reached his thirteenth year. Only Hitler lived under those circumstances. Dr. Mengele could have pulled it off if not for Yakov Liebermann.

Loosely based from Simon Wiesenthal, Liebermann was a Nazi hunter who ran a center in Vienna that documented Nazi crimes against humanity. He struggled to keep the center from closing down. The media also find him a nuisance. Then a mysterious caller from Brazil tipped him about Mengele. The Holocaust survivor didn't take it seriously, until receiving a parcel from that person containing photos of Amazon Indians with blue eyes and strands of blond hair.

To be blond may be fun on reading, but it was the farthest from the truth.