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Essential Marilyn Monroe Films You Need To Watch |
By the late fifties fame and personal problems would start taking their toll on the actress, before her untimely death in 1962 at the age of 36. But in the decade preceding her passing, Monroe left a legacy of films which would make her into a true cultural icon, one of the most mythologised actresses ever and the ultimate American sex bomb. There will never be another like Marilyn Monroe.
10. Asphalt Jungle (John Huston, 1950)
Essential Marilyn Monroe Films You Need To Watch |
Master criminal Erwin “Doc” Riedenschneider (Sam Jaffe) has just been released from prison after a seven year stretch and immediately gets involved in a planned jewellery heist by crooked lawyer Alonzo Emmerich (Louis Calhern) . Doc assembles a team, which includes a hooligan named Dix (Sterling Hayden), a driver called Gus(James Whitmore) and professional safecracker Louis Ciavelli (Anthony Caruso). The job is meticulously planned and executed but on their way out Louis get shot in the belly when Dix slugs a security guard whose gun drops and goes off accidentally. From there on in, the team’s perfect plan slowly starts to unravel as the police close in and the men start double-crossing each other.
A classic film noir with a fantastic heist sequence, which takes up about 11 minutes of screen time, The Asphalt Jungle is a suspenseful and gritty caper. Monroe wasn’t famous at the time of its release and consequently not mentioned on the film’s original posters but this would all soon change and later, when the film would get re-released, she would be prominently featured on the advertising amongst the other stars. Beautifully shot in moody black and white and featuring a great cast, the film managed to pick up four Academy Award nominations for Best Director, Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay and Cinematography.
9. All About Eve (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1950)
Essential Marilyn Monroe Films You Need To Watch |
The film follows Eve Harrington (Baxter) as she works her way into the life of aging Broadway star Margo Channing (Davis) by initially becoming her personal assistant, after expressing her admiration for the star and telling her her sad life story. But not before long it becomes apparent that Eve is just using Margo and those around her to further her own agenda, threatening Margo’s career and personal life in the process.
Whilst Monroe once again had a tiny role in All About Eve, this performance and the one before it in The Asphalt Jungle garnered her enough attention to make the jump to larger supporting roles. It didn’t hurt that All About Eve was a resounding success, winning six Academy Awards that year, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Actor for George Sanders.
8. Clash By Night (Fritz Lang, 1952)
Essential Marilyn Monroe Films You Need To Watch |
The film tells the story of Mae (Barbara Stanwyck), who after a ten year period of absence, comes back home to live with her brother Joe, who is seeing factory girl Peggy (Monroe). Soon after her arrival she meets Jerry, a local fisherman, and starts dating him, which leads to marriage and a child despite the fact that Mae doesn’t really love Jerry and is only seeking stability. Meanwhile Joerrys friend Earl (Robert Ryan) starts making moves on Mae and soon the two are having affair, causing a rift between the two former friends.
A melodrama with some noir elements, Clash By Night is an aptly directed film by master filmmaker Fritz Lang. The last small role by Monroe you’ll find on this list before she would become a star, she nonetheless was credited with much of the success of the movie due to the buzz surrounding her at the time. She would soon make the jump to leading roles in Don’t Bother To Knock and finally making it into the big time with the next entry on this list: Monkey Business.
7. Monkey Business (Howard Hawks, 1952)
Essential Marilyn Monroe Films You Need To Watch |
The story is as silly as screwball comedies tend to get. Dr. Barnaby Fulton (Grant) is an absent minded professor who is trying to come up with a concoction that will restore one’s youth. Try as he may, he can’t seem to find the right formula but when a lab chimpanzee is let loose, the animal manages to mix chemicals in just the right amounts to actually create the elixir of youth. Unknowingly Dr. Fulton drinks some and spontaneously regresses to his twenties. As a result he spends the day with his boss’ secretary (Monroe) which greatly upsets his wife (Rogers). But when she also drinks some of the elixir, she turns out to act even worse and soon everybody seems under the potion’s spell.
A goofy comedy, if ever there was one, and also quite reminiscent of Hawk’s earlier Bringing Up Baby, Monkey Business sealed the deal and turned Monroe into a star. The following year she would capitalise on this new found stardom and truly become the sex symbol we still know her as today with the production of not one or two, but three iconic films in her repertoire, one of which would see her join forces once again with Howard Hawks.
6. Niagara (Henry Hathaway, 1953)
Essential Marilyn Monroe Films You Need To Watch |
The film tells the story of two couples. Polly (Jean Peters) and Ray Cutler (Casey Adams) are on their honeymoon and arrive at Niagara Falls, only to find their cottage occupied by another couple, George Loomis (Joseph Cotten) and his wife Rose (Monroe). Soon enough Polly finds out that Rose is having an affair with Patrick (Richard Allan) and Rose seems to flaunt her sexuality constantly, which causes her husband to have violent episodes.
It’s all part of the plan though as Rose and Patrick want to kill George and people to consequently think that his violent temper might have been the cause of some sort of accident. But things don’t go as planned as George outwits the lovers and ends up killing Patrick instead. From there on in things go from bad to worse as George also wants to kill his wife in revenge for her cheating and conniving ways. But before he is able to do so, Polly runs into him, discovering that he is still very much alive and informing the police of what’s going on.
Niagara wasn’t a critical darling at the time but that didn’t stop the audience from turning up in droves. The film is also noteworthy as it allowed Marilyn got to extend her acting chops a bit since her role here required her to be a scheming femme fatale instead of the vulnerable dumb blonde she had basically always been asked to play before. Unfortunately for her, the critics didn’t praise her for her performance and the audience ultimately did not come to see her act. They just came to see the gorgeous natural beauty in the film, both Niagara’s and Monroe’s.