Remembering Marilyn at the BBC

Two of Marilyn’s most sparkling comedies will air on BBC television in the UK over the next week, the Radio Times reports. Some Like It Hot is on BBC2 this Saturday at 1:15 pm, followed by a documentary, Talking Pictures: Marvellous Musicals. Then on Thursday, August 4th – on the 60th anniversary of Marilyn’s passing – BBC4 will air Gentlemen Prefer Blondes at 8:45 pm, followed by another showing of Some Like It Hot at 10:15 pm. This movie double bill is bookended by two interesting documentaries: Scene by Scene at 8 pm, featuring a rare interview with Jane Russell; and Arthur Miller: Finishing the Picture (2004) at 12;10 am Friday, August 5.

In his magazine review of Some Like It Hot, David Parkinson notes that Tony Curtis “didn’t always get along with Monroe and compared their embraces to kissing Hitler (ironically, the name she gave bullying director Billy Wilder!)” Maybe Parkinson is joking, but while the Curtis rumour is regrettably true, the Wilder story is a tall tale.

Thanks to A Passion for Marilyn