Q&A: Delving into Marilyn Monroe’s career and legacy
Delve into the legacy of an icon...
Despite being one of the most recognisable movie stars of all time, Marilyn Monroe is arguably not remembered for her movies themselves.
HOME’s film season Happy Birthday, Ms Monroe (running from now until Sun 21 Jun) aims to address that by offering a simple, obvious and deeply rewarding reframing of Marilyn Monroe’s legacy: to think of her as a performer first and foremost, before considering her status as a public figure or a product of popular culture.
We spoke to Phil, HOME’s resident film programme producer, to learn about the films featured in this series, and discuss Marilyn’s legacy as a performer…
Why has HOME programmed ‘Happy Birthday, Ms Monroe’ as a film season?
Phil: We knew The Misfits was going to be re-released on what would have been Marilyn Monroe's 100th birthday. And as good and as interesting as The Misfits is, I think to only screen that film would have not been wholly representative of what is quite an unusual filmmaking career.
Equally, although she is probably the most famous film star ever, she's no longer really known specifically for her films, which seems like a strange thing to say. So it felt like there was an obvious gap to be addressed there.
Why do you think Marilyn is often overlooked as a performer?
Phil: I would say that Monroe is now more looked at as a pop culture figure or a celebrity, rather than an actor.
You could view that in a positive light and say that she's transcended filmmaking, and she's gained wider cultural significance. But equally you can see a downside in that situation: that her primary artistic output, and the work that she cared a lot about, has been semi-forgotten in terms of her legacy.
I think if you ask most people to think of Marilyn Monroe now, they’d either think of individual images from her films - say the subway grate shot from The Seven Year Itch - or iconic pop culture moments like her singing Happy Birthday to John F. Kennedy.
When her legacy is reduced to those isolated images or moments, it serves to flatten or overlook her primary artistic output – which was feature films.
Out of all Marilyn’s appearances, which performance do you think is most underrated?
Phil: The underrated gem in our season is a film called Don't Bother to Knock, which was one of the first times Monroe had a starring role.
It's an interesting film in the context of Monroe’s legacy because it's quite a small, low budget, and unusual film noir. It's set entirely inside a hotel, largely inside a single room.
For a first starring role, it’s not the easiest assignment to give an emerging actor.
Monroe plays Nell Forbes: a woman staying across the hall from the film’s hero, Jed Towers (played by Richard Widmark). Jed sees Nell through the window and, hoping for a fling, invites her round. But he soon realises that, beyond this woman’s beauty, there’s something sinister beneath the surface.
So Monroe not only has to play the object of desire, the bombshell next door type character that she’s often associated with, but also this psychologically damaged person who eventually morphs into the film’s anti-hero.
At the time, the film and Marilyn’s performance were not received particularly well.
The film has her go to quite dark and strange places, and the marketing campaign perhaps didn’t match up with the film’s actual thematic intent. The film didn’t meet people’s expectations of Marilyn as Hollywood’s next starlet and as an uncomplicated sex symbol.
But in hindsight, it’s a more interesting and rewarding performance as a result of the range Monroe displays.
How did Marilyn’s early appearance in All about Eve shape the rest of her career?
Phil: Monroe’s part in All About Eve is a small one, but we wanted to include it in the season due to its significance for the rest of her career. This is arguably the first time Monroe's archetypal character appears on screen.
The classic Monroe character is typically understood as a comedic “ditzy blonde”: she’s blonde, beautiful, often underrated by those around her and considered slightly ornamental.
Monroe’s role as aspiring actress Claudia Caswell in All About Eve is so interesting because even at this stage in her career this character encapsulates the Monroe archetype. Claudia is blonde, beautiful and not-so-bright; she’s certainly not considered a serious performer in the world of the film – the “real” actors are Margot Channing and Eve Harrington. Claudia is merely a charming guest at the party, a plus one on the arm of Addison DeWitt – and, invariably, the butt of all of his jokes.
But, in reality, you can only play dumb as well as Monroe does if you’re really smart. You can only be so successfully the butt of the joke if you have great comic timing, which Monroe most definitely does.
Monroe’s performance as Claudia is an ironic projection of the way people perceived her as a mere blonde bombshell. It’s a very playful and challenging thing to do as an actor.
Marilyn had a rich, often troubled, and well-documented personal life – how do you think this influenced her films?
Phil: The Misfits is a very interesting film for Monroe in this context.
It’s her last film, and is the role in which the chaos and intrigue of her personal life leaks into her character in the most profound ways.
This film was written by Marilyn’s husband at the time, Arthur Miller. At the point of making the film, Monroe was struggling with addiction and mental health problems, and her marriage to Miller was in serious trouble.
And Miller writes this part for Monroe which, when you consider these factors, is quite bold and unusual. Monroe plays Roslyn: a woman who gets divorced at the very start of the film and emerges into a world that she is fundamentally incapable of supporting herself in. She quickly latches onto a pair of ageing cowboys and attempts to make a new life for herself on the fading frontier of the Once-Wild West.
Given what was going on in her personal life at that time, it’s an interesting and challenging role; but ultimately a really illuminating performance.
It’s a standout role in her career, partly because of how effective it is, but also because of how unusual it is compared to her other major roles. It's difficult to pin down what sort of character she's playing because Roslyn has so obviously been filtered through the lens of her and Arthur Miller's personal life.
Some new recordings of Arthur Miller reflecting on that point in their lives together have recently come to light. They really reinforce the complications and contradictions at the heart of their relationship, which must have informed The Misfits and the character of Roslyn in significant ways:
“I was really not prepared for what I should have been prepared for, which was that she had literally no inner resources. She wanted a father, a lover, friend, agent, above all someone who would never criticize her for anything, or else she would lose confidence in herself. I don't know if that human being exists.” Source
Which is your favourite film in the line-up and why?
Phil: Some Like it Hot.
The script, the performances, the pacing; everything in that film is difficult to beat.
It's a great advert for the Golden Age of Hollywood studio system – to be able to bring together that collection of talented scriptwriters, directors, stars and technicians into a single production. You don’t get many films where all of those elements come together so perfectly.
I think the comedy still stands up too; it’s arguably still pretty progressive by today's standards. I mean, how often do you have the two of the biggest stars of the day playing gender-swapped characters in a massively successful production? They were doing this in the late-50s!
What do you hope HOME audiences will take away from the series?
Phil: Just to have an appreciation of Marilyn Monroe as a creative person, an artist, and a filmmaker. She has something you can’t quite put a word or your finger on when you see her on screen. She’s fascinating and I hope people enjoy her work as an actor.
And of course, I hope they enjoy this rare opportunity to see these films on the big screen. It’s 100% where they belong; they were solely made to be experienced at the cinema.
Don't miss your chance to catch these iconic films on the big screen, running at HOME until Sun 21 Jun:
Browse all films in the series