Monkey Business (1952), a comedy film directed by Howard Hawks. Cast: Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Charles Coburn and Marilyn Monroe. It is a story about a chemist, who's life is turned upside down after one of the chimpanzees, mixes some chemicals together and pours the mix into the water cooler. After drinking the drink he feels like a new man... Barnaby leaves the laboratory.. getting a crew-cut and buying a wild, sportscoat.
Video:
In one of my favorite scenes in the film, is when Barnaby is at the car dealership, buying a new sports car and asks Miss Laurel (who has been sent to go out and find him) to go for a ride...
As Young as You Feel (1951). Is a comedy film starring Monty Woolley, Thelma Ritter, and David Wayne, with Marilyn Monroe in a small role.
Sixty-five-year-old John Hodges must retire from Acme Printing. He decides to impersonate the president of the parent company and arrives at his old plant on an inspection tour.
Acme president McKinley is so nervous not even his beautiful secretary Harriet can calm him. McKinley's wife Lucille has her eye on Hodges...
Video: all of Marilyn scenes.
We're Not Married (1952). A romantic comedy film directed by Edmund Goulding. Cast: Victor Moore, Ginger Rogers, Fred Allen, Marilyn Monroe, David Wayne, Eve Arden, Paul Douglas, Eddie Bracken, and Mitzi Gaynor. Co-stars included Louis Calhern, Zsa Zsa Gabor, James Gleason, Paul Stewart, and Jane Darwell.
Video: From We're Not Married (1952).
O. Henry's Full House (1952). (although he was not in the same scene as Monroe). Five O' Henry stories, each separate. The most well known, "The Cop and the Anthem". Soapy tells his friend Horace another bum, that he is going to get arrested so he can spend the winter in a warm jail cell. The problem is, he can't even accost a streetwalker. The other stories are: "The Clarion Call", "The Last Leaf", "The Ransom of Red Chief" and "The Gift of the Magi".
Video: "The Cop and the Anthem", in full
How to Marry a Millionaire (1953). Three New York models, Shatze, Pola and Loco set-up in an exclusive apartment with a plan: they intend to use all their talents to trap and marry three millionaires, but run into trouble along the way.
William Travilla (March 22, 1920 – November 2, 1990), was an American costume designer for theater, film and television. He maybe best known for dressing Marilyn Monroe in eight of her films.
After working on several B movies, he worked his way to winning an Oscar in 1949 for the Errol Flynn swashbuckler, Adventures of Don Juan, and in 1951 designed the costumes in the classic sci-fi, The Day the Earth Stood Still. He then worked at Twentieth Century-Fox, where designed the costumes for the film, Viva Zapata!.
By 1952, he became good friends with Marilyn Monroe and created the costumes for: Don't Bother to Knock and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Travilla created one of the most famous costumes on the silver screen. The pleated white cocktail dress Monroe wore in the film, The Seven Year Itch(1955).
When Travilla began working with Marilyn in 1952 in Don't Bother to Knock, he was still one of the many costume designers of 20th Century Fox.
In 1955 he designed the white cocktail dress worn by Marilyn Monroe while his wife Dona Drake was on vacation. According to Dale McConathy and Diana Vreeland, Travilla did not design the dress, but bought it off the rack (although the costume designer always denied this claim).
The ivory cocktail dress, was a popular style of the 1950's and 1960's. The halter-like bodice was made of two pieces of softly pleated fabric that come together behind the neck, leaving the arms, shoulders and back bare. The dress fits closely to the waistline. A soft and narrow self belt was wrapped around the torso, criss-crossing in front and then tied into a small neat bow at the waist, at the front on the left side. Below the waistband is a softly pleated skirt which reaches to mid-calf or below the calf length. There is a zipper at the back of the bodice, and tiny buttons at the back of the halter.
In the film, the white dress appears in the sequence in which Marilyn Monroe and co-star Tom Ewell are leaving the Theatre, after just watching the 1954 horror film Creature from the Black Lagoon.
When they hear a subway train passing below the grate in the sidewalk, Monroe's character steps onto the grate saying "Ooo, do you feel the breeze from the subway?", as the wind blows the dress up exposing her legs.
Originally the scene had been scheduled to shoot on the street outside the Trans-Lux at 1:00 am on 15 September 1954. However, the presence of the actress and the cameras caught the curiosity of thousands of fans, so the director Billy Wilder was forced to reshoot on a set at 20th Century Fox.
After Monroe's death in 1962, Travilla kept the dress locked up with many of the costumes he had made over the years for the actress, to the point that for years there was talk of a "Lost Collection".
The dress, was later purchased by actress Debbie Reynolds, for $4,600,000 during a 2011 auction.
Monroe once wrote to Travilla, "Billy Dear, please dress me forever. I love you, Marilyn."
Travilla was nominated for the Academy Award for How to Marry a Millionaire(1953), There's No Business Like Show Business(1954) and The Stripper(1963).
Travilla best known project was the TV mini-series, The Thorn Birds(1983).
Travilla was nominated for Emmy awards seven times for his work on television.
In 1980, he won the Emmy for "Outstanding Costume Design for a Limited Series or a Special" for The Scarlett O'Hara War, and in 1985 he won the "Outstanding Costume Design for a Series" Emmy for his work on the television show Knots Landing.
Travilla died on November 2, 1990 in Los Angeles, California, of lung cancer. In 2008 an exhibition of the collection of William Travilla began in England, then came to Los Angeles and in 2009 to Palm Springs, California.
The collection includes gowns worn by: Marilyn Monroe, Dionne Warwick, Whitney Houston, Faye Dunaway, Judy Garland, Sharon Tate, Jane Russell, Betty Grable, Lana Turner, Diahann Carroll, Susan Hayward, Loretta Young, Joanne Woodward and Barbara Stanwyck.
Some Like It Hot(1950). When two Chicago musicians, Joe and Jerry, witness the the St. Valentine's Day massacre, they want to quickly get out of town and go into hiding.
The only job they can find is with an all-girl band heading to Florida.
They show up at the train station as two girls named.. Josephine and Daphne, the new saxophone and bass players. They become "best friends" with Sugar Kane Kowalczyk, who sings and plays the ukulele.
Joe, begins dating Sugar, while Jerry/Daphne is wooed by a millionaire, Osgood Fielding III. One of the funnest scenes in the film, is when Jerry, comes up with a list of reasons why he and Osgood cannot get married..
Jerry: Oh no you don't! Osgood, I'm gonna level with you. We can't get married at all.
Osgood: Why not?
Jerry: Well, in the first place, I'm not a natural blonde.
Osgood: Doesn't matter.
Jerry: I smoke! I smoke all the time!
Osgood: I don't care.
Jerry: Well, I have a terrible past. For three years now, I've been living with a saxophone player.
Osgood: I forgive you.
Jerry: (tragically) I can never have children!
Osgood: We can adopt some.
Jerry: But you don't understand, Osgood! Ohh... (Jerry finally gives up and pulls off his wig) Jerry: (normal voice) I'm a man!
Osgood: (shrugs) Well, nobody's perfect!
Jerry looks on with disbelief as Osgood continues smiling with indifference.
How to Marry a Millionaire (1953). Romantic/comedy. Director: Jean Negulesco. Produced and written by Nunnally Johnson. Music by Alfred Newman. Cinematography: Joseph MacDonald. Costumes: Travilla. Cast: Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, William Powell, David Wayne, Rory Calhoun, Cameron Mitchell, Alexander D'Arcy, and Fred Clark.
The story begins when, high fashion model Schatze Page, leases a luxury New York City apartment owned by Freddie Denmark, a businessman "on the lam" from the Internal Revenue Service. She quickly calls her friend calls, Pola Debevoise, to tell her that they rented the apartment.
Pola, arrives and convinces Schatze to also invite her friend Loco Dempsey, to come live with them. Loco Instructed to bring lunch, arrives with several bags of groceries and Tom Brookman, who paid for her food. Schatze, immediately kicks him out (not knowing that he is rich), tells the girls" that a man met at the cold cuts counter is not the kind of man they want to get hooked up with."
Over hot dogs and champagne, Schatze tells Loco that she and Pola have taken the apartment in order to find rich husbands and that after divorcing a "gas pump jockey," she now wants to live in luxury. Thinking Schatze's scheme is the smartest thing they ever heard, Loco and Pola agree.
After three months, none of the girls have become engaged and Schatze has to sell the furniture to pay the rent.
One afternoon, Loco comes home with another gentleman helping her with her boxes. J. D. invites the women to a reception that night, where the girls meet promising looking men.
Afterward, the women accompany their dates to a fancy restaurant. Pola is escorted by J. Stewart Merrill, "Arab" who brags about his money, while Loco is accompanied by Waldo Brewster, a rich businessman who complains about his wife. Now all the girls have to do is use all their talents to trap and marry 3 millionaires.
Marilyn, Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall all make wonderful gold-diggers, that you cant help but love. In this movie with all it's cute twists and turns, which make it worth watching, on a Sunday afternoon.
FUN FACTS:
This film was the final box-office success in Betty Grable's 26 year movie career.
Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe, then on her way to major stardom, became friends during filming with Betty Grable, who said to her "Honey, I've have mine. Go get yours."
When Lauren Bacall's character, Schatze, says, "I've always liked older men... Look at that old fellow what's-his-name in The African Queen. Absolutely crazy about him." She is referring to Bacall's real-life husband, Humphrey Bogart.
When Betty Grable listens to her then-husband Harry James on the radio in Maine, the song playing is "You'll Never Know," which then becomes the love theme for Miss Grable and Rory Calhoun. The Oscar-winning song of 1943 (music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Mack Gordon) had been sung by Alice Faye in two musicals, Hello Frisco, Hello and Four Jills in a Jeep, and then sung by Betty Grable in Diamond Horseshoe, and also sung by Ginger Rogers in Dreamboat.
Before becoming a major Hollywood success, Lauren Bacall worked as a model for several years of her teenage life while auditioning for roles on Broadway. The modeling she did is exactly like that of her character Ms. Paige, showing pieces for clients.
In one scene the three women are talking to each other about who they would like to marry. Marilyn Monroe's character says she wouldn't mind marring Mr. Cadillac. Lauren Bacall's character replies "No such person, I checked". There was a Mr. Cadillac. He was the French governor of Canada (founded the city of Detroit and in 1710 was named the governor of Louisiana). The Cadillac was named for him and his surname lives on in the form of his descendants.
Signed to Twentieth Century-Fox since October 35, 1939, Betty Grable informed the studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck during production that she would not commit to the remaining three years of her latest contract. On June 3, 1953, a studio press release announced the official split. Returning only once to Fox, Betty would star in How to Be Very, Very Popular, a vehicle in which Marilyn refused to appear and was replaced by Sheree North. Two unfulfilled proposals to have Miss Grable film again at Fox were the mother role (subsequently played by Ginger Rogers) in Teenage Rebel and then in 1964, another mom part in a project ultimately canceled named "High Heels."
This film's plot is similar to The Greeks Had a Word for Them, in which 15-year-old Betty Grable showed up briefly as a hatcheck girl, and also to Moon Over Miami, one of Miss Grable's most popular Technicolor vehicles.
The on-screen orchestra at the beginning plays music that was composed by Alfred Newman for the 1931 film Street Scene. The music was also used in 20th Century-Fox's I Wake Up Screaming, also with Betty Grable, and in Gentleman's Agreement.
While Betty Grable received top billing as the credits rolled -- a contractual promise made to her by Twentieth Century-Fox -- Marilyn Monroe was promoted to first place in the trailer and poster art.
Now on Blu-Ray. Includes: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes How To Marry A Millionaire River Of No Return There's No Business Like Show Business The Seven Year Itch Some Like It Hot The Misfits.
David Wayne (January 30, 1914 – February 9, 1995) was an American actor with a career spanning nearly 50 years. Wayne's first major Broadway role was Og the leprechaun in Finian's Rainbow, for which he won the Theatre World Award and the first ever Tony for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.
While appearing in the play, he and co-star Albert Sharpe were recruited by producer David O. Selznick to play Irish characters in the film Portrait of Jennie (1948).
It was in 1948 as well that Wayne became one of those fortunate 50 applicants (out of approximately 700) granted membership in New York's newly formed Actors Studio.
He was awarded a second Tony for Best Actor in a Play for The Teahouse of the August Moon and was nominated as Best Actor in a Musical for The Happy Time.
He originated the role of Ensign Pulver in the classic stage comedy Mister Roberts and also appeared in Say, Darling, After the Fall, and Incident at Vichy.
Later in films, Wayne was most often was cast as a supporting player, such as the charming cad opposite Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn in Adam's Rib (1949).
He portrayed the child killer, originally played by Peter Lorre, in the remake of M (1951), a chance to see him in a rare leading role, even rarer as an evil character.
He costarred in The Tender Trap (1955) with Frank Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds, and Celeste Holm.
Wayne also appeared in four films with Marilyn Monroe (more than any other actor): As Young as You Feel (1951), We're Not Married (1952), O. Henry's Full House (1952) (although he was not in the same scene as Monroe) and How to Marry a Millionaire (1953).
Wayne appeared in the late 1950s on ABC's The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom and the Twilight Zone episode Escape Clause. He starred as Darius Woodley in two 1961 episodes of NBC's The Outlaws television series with Barton MacLane. Wayne was also noted for his portrayal of Dr. Charles Dutton in the 1971 film version of Michael Crichton's The Andromeda Strain.
He also played the Mad Hatter, one of the recurring villains in the 1960s TV series Batman. In 1964, he guest-starred in the series finale, "Pay Now, Die Later", of CBS's drama, Mr. Broadway, starring Craig Stevens as public relations specialist Mike Bell. In the story line, Wayne's character, the wealthy John Zeck, hires Bell to prepare Zeck's obituary before his death.
1951
In the 1960s, Wayne was a radio host on NBC's magazine program Monitor.
Wayne appeared as Uncle Timothy Jamison in the NBC sitcom, The Brian Keith Show. He co-starred with Jim Hutton in the 1970s television series Ellery Queen (as Queen's widowed father).
From 1978 to 1979, Wayne played Digger Barnes on the CBS hit drama Dallas. He left that show to star in the television series House Calls with Lynn Redgrave and later Sharon Gless in the role of Dr. Weatherby, Keenan Wynn replaced him as Digger Barnes. He played "Big Daddy"—Blanche's father on The Golden Girls—after the death in 1986 of Murray Hamilton, the first actor to play that part.
In 1975, Wayne starred on Gunsmoke in the episode "I have Promises to Keep" as a controversial reverend who brought a church to Indian territory with ambitions of a school. The episode addresses many emotions of the post Civil War period where the horrors of the Indian wars were fresh. Met with a vengeful townspeople the reverend is confronted by an unsupportive town. While coming back from delivering a prisoner in a nearby town, US Deputy Marshal Festus Hagen (played by Ken Curtis) gets involved and defends the reverend's mission. Wayne is in a lead role in this episode, considered one of his best performances.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes(1953). A film adaptation of the 1949 stage musical, released by 20th Century Fox, directed by Howard Hawks. Cast: Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell, with Charles Coburn, Elliott Reid, Tommy Noonan, Taylor Holmes and Norma Varden. The screenplay by Charles Lederer. Music By songwriting teams: Hoagy Carmichael and Harold Adamson and Jule Styne and Leo Robin. The songs by Styne and Robin are from the Broadway show, while the songs by Carmichael and Adamson were written especially for the film. Monroe's song, "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" and her pink dress have been copied by Madonna, Geri Halliwell, Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman, Anna Nicole Smith, Christina Aguilera and James Franco.
It is not long after gold-digger Lorelei Lee and down to earth Dorothy Shaw finish their nightclub act, when Lorelei receives an engagement ring from her wealthy boyfriend Gus Esmond, Jr., much to the amusement of her best friend, Dorothy. Gus's father, does everything he can to prevent his son from marrying her.
Gus sends Lorelei and Dorothy, ahead on the ocean liner Isle de Paris, headed for Paris, cautioning Lorelei to stay out of trouble. As the girls board the ship, the American men's Olympic team comments that "neither would drown if the ship sank".
Dorothy, has her eyes set on the athletes, while Lorelei searches the passenger list looking for a man for her best friend. Gus's father has hired private detective Ernie Malone, to keep an eye on Lorelei. While on the job, Malone, falls for Dorothy and bribes the headwaiter for a place at Lorelei and Dorothy's table.
That afternoon, while Malone is getting to know Dorothy better he questions her about Lorelei. While Lorelei, is busy with Sir Francis "Piggy" Beekman, who owns a diamond mine in South Africa. Lorelei, is beside herself when Piggy's wife, Lady Beekman, shows off her tiara.
After dinner, Malone tells Lorelei that he "clips coupons," and she mistakenly believes that he is wealthy. As the days pass, Dorothy falls for Malone, even though he does not seem to like her best friend.
One afternoon, Dorothy catches Malone taking pictures through the porthole of her and Lorelei's cabin and rushing inside, she sees Lorelei pretending to be a goat while Piggy, demonstrating how pythons encircle their prey. Now, knowing that Malone is a spy, the girls need to find a way to get his damaging film.
While Dorothy talks with Malone at the bar, Lorelei searches his cabin but cannot find the film. Trying to escape through the porthole, Lorelei gets stuck, but the little boy they had dinner with comes to her rescue.
The girls are able to get some strong drinks and sleeping pills down Malone and snoop through his clothes where they find the film. After developing the pictures, Lorelei shows them to Piggy, who is so grateful that he gives her Lady Beekman's tiara.
After they leave the cabin, Dorothy catches Malone, red handed retrieving his tape recorder that he had planted in their room. Malone, promises Dorothy that his feelings for her are real, but.. she does not believe him.
After arriving in Paris, Dorothy and Lorelei go on a spending spree and when they try to check into their hotel room, they discover that Gus, who has received Malone's report, has cancelled their reservations and credit.
With nowhere left to go, the women land jobs at a local nightclub and soon after, Gus comes looking for Lorelei. Hurt Lorelei, wants to make him jealous with her dance number, "diamonds are a girl's best friend."
After Lorelei's number, the authorities arrive to retrieve Lady Beekman's tiara, but.. the jewelry has been stolen. Dorothy, wearing a blonde wig, then impersonates Lorelei in court while her friend tries to find Gus.
Will they ever find the tiara and will Lorelei ever convince Esmond, Sr. that she would be the perfect wife for his son?
Fun Facts:
Originally bought by Fox as a vehicle for Betty Grable. After the success of Niagara (which featured Marilyn Monroe), however, the studio believed they had a more potent and far less expensive sex symbol than Grable (who was earning around $150,000 per picture vs. Monroe's $18,000).
Marilyn Monroe kept insisting on retakes despite approval of takes by director Howard Hawks. When Fox asked Hawks how production could be sped up he retorted: "three wonderful ideas: Replace Marilyn, rewrite the script and make it shorter, and get a new director."
Marilyn Monroe wears a gold lame evening dress previously worn by Ginger Rogers in Dreamboat.
In the "Ain't There Anyone Here for Love?" sequence, Jane Russell's fall into the pool was an accident. When Howard Hawks saw the dailies, he kept it in the film.
When told she was not the star of the film, Marilyn Monroe was quoted: "Well whatever I am, I'm still the blonde."
The ship model shown is the one used previously in Titanic and was refurbished to resemble the SS Ile de France, which is clearly named in the film. The model (2009) resides in a Marine Museum in Falls River, Massachusetts. Some of the ocean liner sets used were also left over from "Titanic".
According to Marni Nixon, the studio initially wanted Marilyn Monroe's entire voice dubbed, as they thought her voice was silly. Nixon thought that was "awful", as she felt Monroe's voice suited her persona so beautifully. Nixon told The New York Times in March 2007 that she ended up only dubbing the operatic "no, no, nos" at the beginning of the song and the phrase "these rocks don't lose their shape".
This was Jane Russell's only film with Marilyn Monroe. They got along well. Russell called Monroe "Blondie" and was often the only person on the set who could coax Monroe out of her trailer to begin the day's filming.
The story was based on an ocean voyage to Europe that Anita Loos took on the same boat taking the US Olympic Team. Whichever ship she actually took, the liner that is mentioned in this film was the SS Ile de France. The famous liner was actually used in the film The Last Voyage, but it has a more heroic place in history. It was the SS Ile de France that played a major role in the rescue of the passengers from the Italian liner Andrea Dorea in 1956, after the latter ship collided with the Swedish ship Stockholm off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts. The SS Ile de France was decommissioned shortly before the filming of "The Last Voyage," in which she was partially sunk for several key scenes. When filming was completed, she was towed to the scrap docks.
Marilyn Monroe reportedly suggested the line "I can be smart when it's important, but most men don't like it."
Judy Holliday turned down the role of Lorelei Lee because she felt no actress other than Carol Channing (who played the part on Broadway) should be cast.
The teaming of Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe proved to be so successful, critically and commercially, that Fox wanted to re-team the duo. A December 1954 item in the Hollywood Reporter's "Rambling Reporter" column indicated that the studio wanted Russell and Monroe to star in the film How to Be Very, Very Popular. Monroe passed on the project because she didn't like the script. In January 1955, the studio cast Sheree North as Curly (the part intended for Monroe) and Betty Grable as "Stormy Tornado" (originally intended for Russell).
For this film Gwen Verdon coached stars Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe in both their dance and walk - Monroe with less sex, Russell with more. It's rumored that at one point in the film, Verdon dubs both Monroe's and Russell's swaying bottoms.
The film showcases Monroe's bubbly personality… in this light-hearted story about when a woman goes bad and men do not seem to really care… The dance numbers are what make this film so popular. I also loved the wardrobe in this film..
Now on Blu-Ray. Includes: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes How To Marry A Millionaire River Of No Return There's No Business Like Show Business The Seven Year Itch Some Like It Hot The Misfits.
Norma Varden (20 January 1898 – 19 January 1989) she trained as a concert pianist in Paris and performed in England before deciding to take up acting. She studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and made her first appearance as Mrs Darling in Peter Pan.
She acted in rep and made her West End theatre debut in The Wandering Jew in 1920.
From Shakespeare to farce, she established herself as a regular member of the Aldwych Theatre company where she appeared in plays from 1929 to 1933.
She then began to appear in British films, usually in haughty upper class roles.
Visiting California with her ailing mother in the 1940s, she decided to settle permanently there and began her American film career.
She appeared in Casablanca (1942), The Major and the Minor (1942), The White Cliffs of Dover (1944), National Velvet (1944), The Green Years (1946), Forever Amber (1947), Strangers on a Train (1951), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), Witness for the Prosecution (1957) and The Sound of Music (1965).
She had a recurring role in the 1960s sitcom Hazel as Harriet Johnson, the Baxters' dotty neighbour.
She also appeared on I Love Lucy as "Mrs. Benson", the next door neighbor.
Fun fact:
"Very few of my friends know I can play the piano." (Marilyn Monroe)
Norma Jeane's, successful modeling career brought her to the attention of Ben Lyon, a 20th Century Fox executive, who arranged a screen test for her. Lyon believed, that she was Jean Harlow all over again. She was offered a standard six-month contract with a starting salary of $125 per week. Lyon did not like the name Norma Jeane and chose "Carole Lind" as a stage name, after Carole Lombard and Jenny Lind, but he soon changed his mind.
Monroe was invited to spend the weekend with Lyon and his wife Bebe Daniels at their home. It was there that they decided to find her a new name. Following her idol Jean Harlow, she decided to choose her mother's maiden name of Monroe. Several variations such as Norma Jeane Monroe and Norma Monroe were tried and initially "Jeane Monroe" was chosen.
Eventually, Lyon decided Jeane was too common and he suggested "Marilyn", saying that she reminded him of Marilyn Miller. Monroe, at first did not like it because Marilyn, was the contraction of the name Mary Lynn, a name she did not like. Lyon, felt that the name "Marilyn Monroe" was sexy, had a "nice flow", and would be "lucky" due to the double "M".
Marilyn Monroe (1 June 1926 – 5 August 1962) was a actress, singer, model, and one of the most famous Hollywood icons who ever lived. Marilyn Monroe, returned to Hollywood in August 1958 to star in the film, Some Like It Hot. Wilder had already dealt with Monroe's tardiness, stage fright and not remembering her lines during filming of the film, The Seven Year Itch.
This time was no different, she refused to participate in filming with her outbursts. Even with all her bad behavior, Some Like it Hot was nominated for six Academy Awards. Monroe won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Wilder commented that the film was the biggest success he had ever been associated with.
She then went on to perform in the film, Let's Make Love, which was to be directed by George Cukor, but she was not happy with the script, and Arthur Miller rewrote it. Monroe, began to leave the film set early and on several occasions failed to show up, but her attitude improved after being confronted by Montand.
Monroe's health continued to deteriorate and she began to see a psychiatrist, Dr. Ralph Greenson. Where she complained that she had trouble with insomnia.
In 1956, Arthur Miller wrote a story about a divorced woman and a aging cowboy. By 1960 he had written the screenplay and thought it would be a perfect role for Monroe. It became her last completed film. The Misfits, directed by John Huston and starring Clark Gable, Montgomery Clift, Eli Wallach and Thelma Ritter. Shooting began in July 1960 and in August, Monroe was rushed to Los Angeles where she was hospitalized for ten days.
Monroe returned to Nevada to complete the film. Making the film also took it's tole on the other the actors: Montgomery Clift had frequently been unable to perform due to illness, and by the final day of shooting, Thelma Ritter was in hospital suffering from exhaustion. Gable, also said that he felt unwell. Within ten days Gable had died from a heart attack. Gable's widow, Kay, blamed it on the "eternal waiting" on the set of, The Misfits.
Monroe received the 1961 Golden Globe Award as "World Film Favorite" in March, 1962, five months before her death. Huston later commented that Monroe's performance was taken from her own experiences, rather than a character.
During the following months, Monroe's dependence on alcohol and prescription medications began to take a toll on her health and in February she voluntarily entered the, Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic.
She phoned Joe DiMaggio and he traveled from Florida to New York to help transfer her to the, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. She remained there for three weeks. She underwent surgery to correct a blockage in her Fallopian tubes and in May underwent gallbladder surgery. She returned to California and rented an apartment.
In 1962, Monroe began filming Something's Got to Give. It was to be directed by George Cukor, and co-starred Dean Martin and Cyd Charisse. She was ill with a virus as filming was about to begin, and suffered from high temperatures. Henry Weinstein recalled seeing her being physically ill as she prepared to film her scenes.
On May 19, 1962, she attended the early birthday celebration of President John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden, at the invitation of Kennedy's brother-in-law, actor Peter Lawford. Monroe performed "Happy Birthday". Kennedy said, "Thank you. I can now retire from politics after having had 'Happy Birthday' sung to me in such a sweet, wholesome way."
Monroe returned to the set of Something's Got to Give and filmed a scene in which she was nude in a swimming pool. Commenting that she wanted to "push Liz Taylor off the magazine covers", she gave permission for several partially nude photographs to be published by Life.
Having only reported for work for a total of 35 days of filming, Monroe was fired. The studio 20th Century Fox filed a lawsuit against her for half a million dollars. Monroe was replaced by Lee Remick, and when Dean Martin refused to work with any other actress, he was also threatened with a lawsuit.
Soon after, Monroe gave an interview to Cosmopolitan and was photographed at Peter Lawford's beach house sipping champagne and walking on the beach. She next posed for Bert Stern for Vogue that included several nude photos. Published after her death, they became known as 'The Last Sitting'. Richard Meryman interviewed her for Life, in which Monroe talked about her fans and her uncertainties as a "star" and "sex symbol".
In the final weeks of her life, Monroe continued negotiations on the film, Something's Got to Give. Among her other projects was a biography of Jean Harlow filmed two years later with Carroll Baker. Starring roles in Billy Wilder's Irma la Douce and What a Way to Go! were also discussed. Shirley MacLaine eventually played the roles in both films. Kim Novak replaced her in Kiss Me, Stupid, a comedy in which she was to star opposite Dean Martin.
A film version of the Broadway musical, A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, and an unnamed World War I-themed musical co-starring Gene Kelly were also discussed, but the projects were never to be because of her death.
Her dispute with 20th Century Fox was resolved, and her contract renewed into a $1 million two-picture deal, and filming of Something's Got to Give was scheduled to resume in early fall 1962.
Also, there was an Italian four film deal worth 10 million giving her script, director, and co-star approval. Allan "Whitey" Snyder who saw her during the last week of her life, said Monroe was looking forward to her future and that she never looked better.
On August 5, 1962, LAPD police sergeant Jack Clemmons received a call at 4:25 am from Dr. Ralph Greenson, Monroe's psychiatrist, proclaiming that Monroe was found dead at her home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California. She was 36 years old. At the autopsy, Dr. Thomas Noguchi of the Los Angeles County Coroners office recorded cause of death as "acute barbiturate poisoning,". Many theories, including murder, circulated about the circumstances of her death.
On August 8, 1962, Monroe was interred in a crypt at Corridor of Memories, at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. Lee Strasberg delivered the eulogy. Joe DiMaggio took control of the funeral arrangements which consisted of 31 close family and friends. Police were also present to keep the press away. Her casket was solid bronze and was lined with champagne colored silk. Allan “Whitey” Snyder did her make-up which was supposedly a promise made in earlier years if she were to die before him. She was wearing her favorite green Emilio Pucci dress. In her hands was a small bouquet of pink teacup roses. For the next 20 years, red roses were placed in a vase attached to the crypt, courtesy of DiMaggio.
I highly recommend watching on YouTube: Marilyn: The Last Sessions, a very revealing documentary, based on tapes made during psychoanalysis sessions in the months prior to her death. I would post the videos here, but.. it is recommended for mature audiences..
