After April’s tribute in Lisbon, another Portuguese retrospective – 100xMarilyn – opens at the Batalha Cinema Centre in Porto on Thursday, May 21. (This 1953 photo by Frank Powolny has been used several times recently for magazine and book covers.)
“Born Norma Jeane Mortenson in Los Angeles, Monroe had an unstable childhood, far from the glamour that would come to define her. She started as a pin-up model, but was quickly absorbed into the machinery of Hollywood studios, where she participated in small roles until becoming one of the most popular stars of the 1950s.
Her filmography is proof of this evolution: from the ‘dumb blonde’ in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) to the comedic sophistication of Some Like It Hot (1959), culminating in the raw vulnerability of The Misfits (1961). In each role, Monroe demonstrates a rare gift for comedy and dramatic nuance, capable of transforming fragility into stage presence and sensuality into innocence.
Even when the scripts restricted it, her brilliance escaped through the narrative cracks, making each character irresistibly magnetic … Despite her brief career, Marilyn Monroe continues to inhabit the collective imagination, being continually imitated and reinterpreted, a symbol of nostalgia and, at the same time, an inspiration for new artistic creations.
More than a pop icon, Monroe can today be read as a symbol of the contradictions of Hollywood: the exploitation of the female body and a resilient—not always successful—struggle for autonomy, artistic credibility, and her own voice.”
GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES: May 21, May 27 – “Lorelei and Dorothy, two close but profoundly different performers, travel to Paris pursued by a detective and several admirers. Lorelei (Marilyn Monroe), a blonde bombshell and seemingly naive, believes that a man’s main virtue is his financial power; Dorothy (Jane Russell), a sarcastic and pragmatic brunette, prefers attractive and fit men. Monroe’s iconic performance in ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend’ cemented her status as a sex symbol, while Jane Russell established herself as a symbol of female strength and sharp humour. The contrast between the two goes far beyond their appearance: their artistic chemistry made the film memorable and influenced generations of musical comedies.”
ALL ABOUT EVE: May 23 – “Nominated for 14 Oscars and considered a landmark of classic cinema, All About Eve is notable for one of Marilyn Monroe’s first appearances in cinema: still new to Hollywood, she appears as an uncredited extra, shining in some of the group scenes.”
MONKEY BUSINESS: Family screening, May 30 – “In this screwball comedy , Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, and Marilyn Monroe—along with some unruly chimpanzees—embody a satire on social conventions and the fear of aging.”
DON’T BOTHER TO KNOCK: May 31 – “A noir-themed psychodrama, Don’t Bother to Knock marks Monroe’s first major dramatic role and the debut of Anne Bancroft.”
NIAGARA: June 10 – “During a trip to Niagara Falls, the seductive Rose Loomis (Marilyn Monroe) plots to kill her husband (Joseph Cotten). As they both navigate conflicts and secrets, another tourist couple begins to suspect something sinister. The majestic falls become silent witnesses to the impending crime in this rare case of technicolor noir. A box office success that cemented Monroe’s star status, Niagara includes an iconic scene: a continuous shot that follows the actress walking down the street, her back to the camera—a particularly daring moment of narrative and sexual tension for its time.”
HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE: June 12, June 17 – “Tired of stingy men and a lack of money, three New York models (Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, and Betty Grable) move into a luxurious apartment with a daring plan: to win over and marry three millionaires. Between glamorous parties and sophisticated encounters, they realize that distinguishing truly rich men from imposters isn’t so easy, and end up questioning the real value of money. The film, nominated for an Oscar for Best Costume Design, became one of Monroe’s most beloved comedies.”
THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH: June 13, June 19 – “This unmissable comedy follows Tom Ewell, a married man living alone in New York City, whose imagination is dominated by fantasies about his neighbour. At the height of her career, Marilyn Monroe plays a character who explores the very myth: simultaneously seductive and naive, she subverts the sexualisation of the role … In a narrative that reflects male desire, Wilder uses subtle irony: much of what we see is merely the product of male obsession. A timeless classic, albeit subject to the dated conventions of gender and sexuality of the era.”
THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWGIRL: June 20 – “In this romantic comedy directed by and starring Laurence Olivier, Marilyn Monroe returns to the role of an American showgirl. Visiting London, the naive young woman becomes involved in a political intrigue when the prince of a foreign country tries to seduce her. The film showcases Monroe’s charm in all its splendour, but behind the scenes, alleged tensions marked the filming … The clash between the two resulted in a peculiar chemistry and a film that continues to fascinate with the magnetism of its star.”
SOME LIKE IT HOT: June 21 – “A tumultuous escape from the mafia is the starting point for Billy Wilder’s celebrated comedy that immortalised Marilyn Monroe’s rendition of ‘I Wanna Be Loved by You.'”
THE MISFITS: June 27, July 5 – “Marilyn Monroe’s last completed film, The Misfits, is a dramatic Western written by Arthur Miller, the actress’s husband at the time … In a more restrained register, Marilyn appears stripped of her usual mannerisms, revealing a raw vulnerability. Unusual in American cinema of the time, the film departs from Hollywood classicism and, although it failed commercially, is now considered a modern landmark and a masterpiece of the 1960s.”
The Marilyn Report 