Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962)
Monroe is one
of the great Hollywood icons and the most famous sex goddess star. That
label though
blighted her career and her memory because it tends to
type her as a blonde bimbo only suitable for the lightest of musicals
and comedies. In fact she was very intelligent and an excellent actress
though she rarely got the chance to demonstrate this to any great
extent. Few of her films made the most of her gifts but the legend
continues to endure.
The legend starts with her sad childhood and a yearning to be accepted. It was her success as a model that led to the movie business in the late 40s though initially she made little impact. She made eye-catching appearances in two major films in 1950 : All About Eve and The Asphalt Jungle but it was her appearance in Niagara (1952) one of her very best movies that really made her a star.
A few frothy musicals consolidated her reputation : How To Marry A Millionaire (1953) and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953). Monroe was a disciple of Lee Strasberg and the Actors' studio and this training was apparent in her performance in Bus Stop (1956) though audiences appeared to prefer the raunchy comedic Monroe of Billy Wilder's The Seven Year Itch (1956).
It was Wilder who directed her best performance in her best film Some Like It Hot (1959) but insecurities about her inability to have children and her worth as an actress were beginning to haunt Monroe. A marriage to playwright Arthur Miller was a mismatch from the start and was falling apart by the time of Marilyn's last film The Misfits (1961). It was a doom laden production also being Monroe's idol Clark Gable's last movie.
In 1962 she began work on Something's Gotta Give but the film was never completed, she was found dead in August of that year apparently due to an overdose of sleeping pills though the circumstances have never really been fully explained. According to biographer Donald Spoto, Monroe was approaching a new self awareness when she died which makes her loss all the more tragic though possibly her good looks might have faded with age. What is sure is that Monroe continues to be remembered as a timeless vulnerable beauty.
Filmography
The legend starts with her sad childhood and a yearning to be accepted. It was her success as a model that led to the movie business in the late 40s though initially she made little impact. She made eye-catching appearances in two major films in 1950 : All About Eve and The Asphalt Jungle but it was her appearance in Niagara (1952) one of her very best movies that really made her a star.
A few frothy musicals consolidated her reputation : How To Marry A Millionaire (1953) and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953). Monroe was a disciple of Lee Strasberg and the Actors' studio and this training was apparent in her performance in Bus Stop (1956) though audiences appeared to prefer the raunchy comedic Monroe of Billy Wilder's The Seven Year Itch (1956).
It was Wilder who directed her best performance in her best film Some Like It Hot (1959) but insecurities about her inability to have children and her worth as an actress were beginning to haunt Monroe. A marriage to playwright Arthur Miller was a mismatch from the start and was falling apart by the time of Marilyn's last film The Misfits (1961). It was a doom laden production also being Monroe's idol Clark Gable's last movie.
In 1962 she began work on Something's Gotta Give but the film was never completed, she was found dead in August of that year apparently due to an overdose of sleeping pills though the circumstances have never really been fully explained. According to biographer Donald Spoto, Monroe was approaching a new self awareness when she died which makes her loss all the more tragic though possibly her good looks might have faded with age. What is sure is that Monroe continues to be remembered as a timeless vulnerable beauty.
Filmography
1947
DANGEROUS YEARS performer
1948 SCUDDA HOO! SCUDDA HAY! performer
1949 LADIES OF THE CHORUS performer
1949 LOVE HAPPY performer
1950 ALL ABOUT EVE performer
1950 THE ASPHALT JUNGLE performer
1950 THE FIREBALL performer
1950 RIGHT CROSS performer
1950 A TICKET TO TOMAHAWK performer
1951 AS YOUNG AS YOU FEEL performer
1951 HOMETOWN STORY performer
1951 LET'S MAKE IT LEGAL performer
1951 LOVE NEST performer
1952 CLASH BY NIGHT performer
1952 DON'T BOTHER TO KNOCK performer
1952 MONKEY BUSINESS performer
1952 O. HENRY'S FULL HOUSE performer
1952 WE'RE NOT MARRIED performer
1953 GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES performer
1953 HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE performer
1953 NIAGARA performer
1954 RIVER OF NO RETURN performer
1954 THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS performer
1955 THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH performer
1956 BUS STOP/ THE WRONG KIND OF GIRL performer
1957 THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWGIRL performer
1959 SOME LIKE IT HOT performer
1960 LET'S MAKE LOVE performer
1961 THE MISFITS performer
1948 SCUDDA HOO! SCUDDA HAY! performer
1949 LADIES OF THE CHORUS performer
1949 LOVE HAPPY performer
1950 ALL ABOUT EVE performer
1950 THE ASPHALT JUNGLE performer
1950 THE FIREBALL performer
1950 RIGHT CROSS performer
1950 A TICKET TO TOMAHAWK performer
1951 AS YOUNG AS YOU FEEL performer
1951 HOMETOWN STORY performer
1951 LET'S MAKE IT LEGAL performer
1951 LOVE NEST performer
1952 CLASH BY NIGHT performer
1952 DON'T BOTHER TO KNOCK performer
1952 MONKEY BUSINESS performer
1952 O. HENRY'S FULL HOUSE performer
1952 WE'RE NOT MARRIED performer
1953 GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES performer
1953 HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE performer
1953 NIAGARA performer
1954 RIVER OF NO RETURN performer
1954 THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS performer
1955 THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH performer
1956 BUS STOP/ THE WRONG KIND OF GIRL performer
1957 THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWGIRL performer
1959 SOME LIKE IT HOT performer
1960 LET'S MAKE LOVE performer
1961 THE MISFITS performer
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Written content of the Golden Age of Hollywood Website (except where indicated) copyright Derek McLellan, 2007.
The Golden Age of Hollywood Banners by Ktrek.
Written content of the Golden Age of Hollywood Website (except where indicated) copyright Derek McLellan, 2007.