8 Iconic Marilyn Monroe Movies You Need To Watch
There was a time when Marilyn Monroe could sell out theatres quicker than you can say “boop boop de boop”.
Her name was enough to sell any magazine and a wink was enough to steal your husband. Marilyn couldn’t sing or act like Audrey Hepburn, but the twitch of her eyebrows and the flutter of her voice became the most enchanting part of every movie.
Being the most desired woman in the world was a curse as well as a selling point. Each of her iconic films tells a story that something darker was happening in her world.
Best Marilyn Monroe Movies
All About Eve
1950
DIRECTOR: JOSEPH L MANKIEWICZ
Just as Marilyn Monroe was just starting out as an actress, she was cast in a small part alongside some huge female names including Bette Davis. All About Eve was the only film in Oscar history to receive four female acting nominations and earned 14 Academy Award nominations in total. What better way to start out in Hollywood.
Niagara
1953
DIRECTOR: HENRY HATHAWAY
By 1953, Marilyn earned her first big role in a “film noir”- a popular genre of film in the 40s/50s that was based on crime drama. The movie advertised the beauty of Niagara falls being comparable with the beauty of Monroe. It worked and many reviews praised her ability to wear a dress.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
1953
DIRECTOR: HOWARD HAWKS
1953 quickly became Marilyn’s year. She was cast as Jane Russell’s bezzie in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Marilyn played the dumb blonde who loved shiny things, especially diamonds… Her character believed that the only way a woman could succeed financially was by marrying a millionaire.
How To Marry A Millionaire
1953
DIRECTOR: JEAN NEGULESCO
Marilyn continued her search for millionaires with Betty Gable and Lauren Bacall. Together they performed in the first movie ever to be filmed in CinemaScope. Naturally with all that starlet power, How To Marry A Millionaire was the fourth highest grossing movie of that year. Which is probably why Nicole Kidman’s film company bought the rights to the movie.
The Seven Year Itch
1955
DIRECTOR: BILLY WILDER
Two years later, Marilyn Monroe was a Hollywood star with a seven-year contract with 20th Century Fox. And through the release of The Seven Year Itch, she became an icon. The movie was about some psychologists’ theory that after seven years in a relationship, the interest in monogamy wanes. In this story, Monroe plays the naive girl next door, but due to strict censorship codes, the husband remains faithful and the only racy moment is when a subway grate blows up her dress.
Some Like It Hot
1959
DIRECTOR: BILLY WILDER
Marilyn worked with Billy Wilder again on the English remake of the 1935 french movie Fanfare Of Love. By this time, Marilyn was beginning to build a bad reputation. She was consistently late and it took her 47 takes to say “It’s me, Sugar”. Despite this, the movie was a huge success, even though it wasn’t approved by the strict movie censorship code that bound director Billy Wilder in the last movie.
Lets Make Love
1960
DIRECTOR: GEORGE CUKOR
Five years on from signing her contract with Fox, Marilyn had only made one movie for them. So, she was assigned opposite Gregory Peck for Let’s Make Love. Her husband Arthur Miller took the script and expanded her part. Gregory Peck, disliking the new focus on her role, dropped out and they hired French actor Yves Montand even though he didn’t speak a word of English. The pair bonded over their frustrations with the script and became very close. Rumours were flying that they were having an affair and many reported that Marilyn was actually turning up on time for filming.
The Misfits
1961
DIRECTOR: JOHN HUSTON
Marilyn finally got to star opposite her childhood hero Clark Gable. When she was younger she would tell people that he was her father. The Misfits was penned by her husband as a valentine to her. Although a big gesture, her marriage broke down during the filming, and by its release, Arthur Miller had a new wife. This was Marilyn Monroe’s last released movie, and also Clark Gable’s who died shortly before the release.
Whilst filming her next movie, Something’s Gotta Give, Marilyn was found dead in her bed, with her hand on the telephone. Only six years after her sharp rise to fame in 1953, she’d begun developing a fear for performing, a punctuality problem and a pill addiction.
We often hear the stories of the ones who overcame their addictions. The ones who went to rehab, came back fighting and left toxic people behind. But Marilyn Monroe’s story is a cruel example of how Hollywood and fame can ruin you.
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