She was a model, actor and a sex symbol of the 1950’s when she ruled supreme.
Despite her untimely death aged 36, Marilyn Monroe left an indelible mark in Hollywood, and the world over…
She played the vivacious blonde to perfection and became the heartthrob of millions the world over. The famous skirt flying scene over a subway grate is one of the best ever shots in cinema.
She remains a popular icon, a mysterious blonde with an hourglass figure who took her life for some strange reason despite having the world at her feet.
Here are five films which show what an impression Monroe created in her brief stay in our world.
How To Marry A Millionaire (1953)
Cast: Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, Lauren Bacall, William Powell, David Wayne, Rory Calhoun, Cameron Mitchell, Cameron Mitchell
Director: Jean Negulesco
Three young ladies, Schatze (Bacall), Loco (Grable) and Pola (Monroe), hire a penthouse from the owner Freddie (Wayne) who flees to Europe over tax issues. They are looking for rich men whom they can marry and live happily ever after.
But that leads to desperation and finally confusion. Schatze likes the older, classy widower J D Hanley (Powell) but is pursued by Tom (Cameron Mitchell) whom she refuses because he seems poor. Loco finds a grumpy businessman but transfers her love to the poorer outdoorsman Eben (Calhoun). Pola finds Freddie finally as her true love. Then Schatze gets a shock as Tom turns out to very rich.
Some Like it Hot (1959)
Cast: Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Marilyn Monroe, Joe E Brown, George Raft, Pat O’Brien
Director: Billy Wilder
Set in Chicago during the Prohibition era, two jazzmen get entangled with a band disguised as women when on the run. Joe (Curtis) is a playboy and gambler and Jerry (Lemmon) is the sensible one. They are forced to flee after witnessing a murder committed by a mobster Spats (Raft).
Joe falls in love with a member of the band Sugar (Monroe) but he is dressed as a woman so can’t get further. Sugar has sworn off men but Joe reappears in a millionaire’s role and tries to woo her. Meanwhile, Jerry, now Daphne, is pursued by a millionaire Osgood (Brown) and finds it difficult to shake him off. Then Fate plays his hand.
The Seven Year Itch (1953)
Cast: Marilyn Monroe, Tom Ewell, Evelyn Keys, Sonny Tufts, Oscar Homolka, Sonny Tufts
Director: Billy Wilder
Richard Sherman (Ewell) is a publishing executive and a faithful husband until he gets struck with the seven year itch. This is compounded when a young model (Monroe) rents the flat upstairs.
Sherman’s imagination goes wild at first. Then he invites the girl upstairs for a drink and his mind goes into overtime as he imagines all kinds of fantasies with her. He thinks she is responding to his moves but she is least interested. The famous subway skirt flying scene is in this film.
Niagara (1953)
Cast: Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters, Max Showaiter, Richard Allan
Director: Henry Hathaway
Two couples Ray (Showaiter) and Polly Cutter (Peters) and George (Cotten) and Rose Loomis (Monroe) are holidaying at the Niagara Falls when deceit, deception and murder spoil things for them. George finds that his wife is having an affair with Patrick (Allan).
However, Patrick and Rose are planning to kill of George. But when Patrick and George wrestle with each other, it is Patrick who is killed. Rose faints when she is asked to identify the body. The plot thickens.
Bus Stop (1956)
Cast: Marilyn Monroe, Don Murray, Arthur O’Connell, Betty Field, Eileen Eileen Heckart
Director: Joshua Logan
An inept and clumsy cowboy Beau (Murray) is on his way from Montana to Phoenix, Arizona, with his friend Virgil (O’Connell) when they come across Cherie (Monroe) who is a singer in a cafe they stop by on their journey.
Beau is an innocent man who does not know how to deal with women but Virgil coaches him on how to approach them. Beau is looking for an angel but finds Cherie is worldly-wise and has had many boyfriends. Beau tries to hold on to her but she keeps escaping before a small gesture by him changes her heart.
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