Friday, July 11, 2008

Marilyn @ the Beach

Marilyn Monroe in New York in 1957, photographed by Sam Shaw. She was 31 years old.

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She was in her first year of marriage to the great playwright Arthur Miller and her new movie The Prince and the Showgirl was opening in theaters. She died five years later on the other coast, after only three more movies, forever cementing her legend as the sex symbol of Hollywood.

Time capsule: That summer was eventful. In August Marilyn's husband was convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to name names in the paranoid McCarthy hearings you've seen fictionalized versions of in so many movies. In non-Marilyn related events: Paul McCartney and John Lennon were meeting for the first time as teenagers, eternal blight on America Senator Strom Thurmond was famously fighting against a civil rights bill with a 24 hour long filibuster (what a swell guy!), punk icon Siouxsie Sioux was born, Eric von Stroheim died and "Love Letters in the Sand" by Pat Boone was the only non Elvis Presley #1 hit for most of the summer. A Face in the Crowd, Gunfight at the OK Corral, Silk Stockings and Love in the Afternoon were all playing in movie theaters.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Okay, this has like nothing to do with the post whatsoever but since your list of favourite actresses has gone up in thin air I have to ask you, Nat, what you think of my favourite European actress Liv Ullman. Once again, I apologise for talking about something completely other than the post

Anonymous said...

Nathaniel loves Liv Ullman... Don't you know that?

Anonymous said...

Liv Ullman is one of his 50 favorite actresses of all time

Anonymous said...

At least according to his last list of 50 favorites actresses of all time...

Anonymous said...

Excuse me, I shouldn't answer for him...

Neel Mehta said...

Producers and casting directors would consider Marilyn Monroe to be fat by today's standards, which tells me one thing: these people need to throw away today's standards.

I doubt times in general were better back then, but at least people believed in va-va-voom.

P.S. It may just be a costuming illusion, but thank God for Mad Men and Christina Hendricks.

NATHANIEL R said...

i really need to rent season 1 od Mad Men. Liked what i've seen but obviously need all...

Glenn said...

And, it must be said, a really quite excellent actress when given the chance. The Misfits, Bus Stop, Niagara, Some Like It Hot, Prince and the Showgirl...

Anonymous said...

I loved her in that white, criss cross dress that she sports in The Seven Year Itch. I fall in love with her every time I watch that movie.

Anonymous said...

mmmmm curves, va-va-voom indeed.

The camera sure loved her.

Janice said...

That poster is astonishly sexy (especially for a poster of the '50's) and has a terrific, very clean, minimalist graphic quality to it that reminds me of some of the 1890's Moulin Rouge posters (the place, not the movie this time. The only part I don't like is the medal flapping out - like we need ANYTHING to draw our attention to Marilyn's breast?

I admit I though that I would never have recognized the fellow in it as Olivier based on that "likeness" if the poster hadn't identified him.

Anonymous said...

She’s is such hottie. BTW,I saw her photo and profile at the celebrity age gap dating club ★★★AgelessFriends.com★★★ - where you can meet your like-minded local younger/older friends or partners