Like most people, I used to believe that Marilyn Monroe was no more than a sex bomb who became an Old Hollywood Starlet. Her image has become highly commercialized and she’s known now more for her face than what she did with it. Like most people, I just didn’t think she was much more than a sexy starlet who rose to fame and died.
But then one day, I actually watched Gentleman Prefer Blondes and my perception changed. She was so much more than just a sex bomb, she was funny and captivating. Next to the fabulous Jane Russell (whom I already loved), Marilyn shined so bright and many times out-performed Russell. I started to realize that this woman was actually talented, and a lot more than just a pretty face and a hot body. She was actually an actress, and the dumb blonde act was really an act, and not who she was. From then I became intrigued with her. Thanks to Turner Classic Movies, I got the chance to watch The Seventh Year Itch shortly after that. And again, I was impressed that she was actually a good actress. She was sexy and she used that to her advantage, but she acted from the top of her head to the bottom of her toes. Every move she made was calculated, but seamless onscreen.
In one of my film history classes, Some Like it Hot was screened on the only day I had to miss class due to an appointment, so I NetFlix’ed the film and watched it on my own at home. Her performance is vulnerable and honest, but funny as hell and endearing. Her acting style is so subtle that you might miss her brilliance if you blink; her acting is in her eyes and her facial expressions; the way she moves her hand or flips her hair; the way her laugh can be so free and innocent or nervous and forced. But it wasn’t until I watched The Misfits until my love for Marilyn the actress was cemented. The Misfits is legitimately one of the saddest films I’ve ever watched, and it wasn’t because the story was particularly sad, it was the performances. It was the last film appearance for both Clark Gable and Monroe, and I really think it was the most trying film for them both to complete. Gable’s performance was so backwards from everything I’ve ever imagined Gable to be. Instead of being the dashing, cunning, strong, and delectable character I knew him as, he was a weak and downtrodden and angry cowboy with no control of his life. His character was miserable, and it seemed as if the misery inside of Gable the man was able to be expressed through Gay Langland. Like Langland, Gable was over the peak of his life, and couldn’t do a damn thing about it. It was a perfect matching of star and character. Equally perfect was Monroe as Roslyn Taber, a divorced woman looking for love and a place to land on the ground. Like Marilyn, Roslyn was a wandering soul looking for a partner in every corner. She was troubled but put on a happy face, anyways. Roslyn and Marilyn were beautiful women who were only assessed by their beauty and nothing else. No one expected Roslyn or Marilyn to have more attributes than beauty or interests past it, and everyone’s focus on their beauty harmed their perception of themselves. Marilyn Monroe’s performance was haunting, beautiful, and heart breaking. Though The Misfits wasn’t planned to be her final film, it was a fitting film for Marilyn to end her career with. If no other film proves her acting ability, The Misfits proves that she was more than just a sex symbol, but a true actress.
After looking at Marilyn as a actress, I read a bit about her life as well. She had a troubled and unstable childhood with a mentally ill mother and a went through plethora of foster homes until she ended up married at 16. Undoubtedly, her childhood effected the rest of her life as well as her famed on-set antics. She suffered from extreme stage fright that followed her throughout her career. She was also terribly insecure, despite being labeled as the sexiest woman in the world. Though most people believe her to be the dumb blonde she portrayed in most of her films, she cared a lot about bettering herself and attended UCLA for art and literature and read a ton of books throughout her life. Monroe was a dedicated actress, despite beliefs that she got by on being blonde and pretty. Lee Strasberg, the famous acting coach of The Actors Studio, said of Monroe: “I have worked with hundreds and hundreds of actors and actresses, and there are only two that stand out way above the rest. Number one is Marlon Brando, and the second is Marilyn Monroe.” Monroe studied under Strasberg until her death, and she became apart of his family. Upon her death, her estate was left with Strasberg, where it remains to be managed by his family until this day.
Not too long ago, a box filled with notes and poetry written by Monroe was discovered and published into a book called Fragments: Poems, Intimate Nones, and Letters which reveals Monroe’s heart, personal struggles, self doubt, and her many insecurities. After reading through that, I couldn’t just look at Marilyn Monroe as just an actress or sex symbol, but a human.
I think that Marilyn would be pleased with that.
Happy Birthday, Ms. Monroe.
For us, Marilyn was a devoted and loyal friend – a colleague constantly reaching for perfection. We shared her pain and difficulties, and some of her joys. She was a member of our family…. It is difficult to accept the fact that her zest for life has been ended by this dreadful accident. Despite the heights and brilliance she had attained on the screen, she was planning for the future. She was looking forward to participating in the many exciting things. In her eyes, and in mine, her career was just beginning…. She had a luminous quality. A combination of wistfulness, radiance, and yearning that set her apart and made everyone wish to be part of it – to share in the childish naivete which was at once so shy and yet so vibrant.
– Lee Strasberg’s Eulogy for Marilyn’s Funeral
Extremely Behind the Camera 