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Marilyn’s Greatest Hits (IMO)

Today marks the 87th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe’s birth. Monroe is principally remembered and known as an icon, a sex symbol whose image remains ageless – a paragon of movie star forever frozen in time.

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Lest we forget that she was also an actress who in spite of the circus that would accompany her throughout her life, by all accounts wanted to be taken seriously as an actress. The following are a list of films that I rank among her best performances (sorted by date released).

  • All About Eve (1950): a small yet memorable role.
  • Don’t Bother to Knock  (1952): check out my previous post.
  • Seven Year Itch (1955): it is a signature performance with many unforgettable scenes that played perfectly well with Monroe’s image (the first of her collaborations with co-writer/director Billy Wilder).
  • Bus Stop (1956): this film provided me with the opportunity to see her true acting range.
  • Some Like It Hot (1959): this film is so well executed; this screwball comedy is elevated by Billy Wilder’s writing and bolstered by the performances of all the cast.

You may be wondering – why isn’t a film like The Misfits or Gentlemen Prefer Blondes on the list? Well, the answer is simple – I HAVE NOT SEEN THEM. Yeah I know that is a sacrilege, but frankly there are not enough hours in the day for me to see all (I wish there were) …

Anyway, what are some of your favorite Marilyn Monroe films? Please share 🙂

 

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Tuesday’s Overlooked Film: Don’t Bother to Knock (1952)

SYNPOSIS (via Wikipedia):

Based on the book Mischief by Charlotte Armstrong published in 1951, Don’t Bother to Knock features Marilyn Monroe as a disturbed babysitter watching a child at the same New York hotel where a pilot, played by Richard Widmark, is staying. Her strange behavior makes him increasingly aware that she is the last person the parents should have entrusted with their daughter.

After seeing this film a couple of time, I have come to the following conclusion: this should have been a signal to audiences and the public at large that Monroe’s rather terrifying portrayal was a bit close to home. For my money, she was quite believable as a mentally fragile woman on the verge of a pure psychotic break – then again maybe it is just a bit of hindsight.

A bit of trivia: Don’t Bother to Knock marked the film debut of Anne Bancroft.

Check out other overlooked films on Todd’s blog Sweet Freedom.

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Awesomely Iconic Poster for the 65th Cannes Film Festival

Check out this lovely poster for the 65th annual Cannes Film Festival, featuring Marilyn Monroe blowing out the candle on what appears to be a coconut cake (yummy)!

This continues the long line of awesome Cannes festival posters that I have liked and/or collected, including:

 

   

For those of you (like me) who are likely to add this poster to your collection, it goes on sale early next month (April).

The Cannes Film Festival takes place from May 16-27th.

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