Doc Films, a student-run cinema at the University of Chicago, open to the public – and according to MoMA, America’s oldest student film society – is hosting a three-film tribute, ‘Marilyn Monroe on the Centennial,’ this weekend.
“Few stars have been so defined by their image as Marilyn Monroe, and few stars have so insistently resisted that image. On the year where she would have turned 100, this Marilyn Monroe weekend marathon looks to the varied screen persona she developed even at the earliest stages of her career. The triple feature of films from 1952-1953 focuses on a moment after her small but influential cameo roles in All About Eve (1950) and The Asphalt Jungle (1950) and before her true rise to stardom with Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire later in 1953.
In this weekend’s films Monroe moves from screwball comedy to noir to an early dramatic role that showcases her serious acting abilities. In Monkey Business, Monroe is still a supporting character but already demonstrates the comedic timing and intelligence later shown in her most beloved roles. Don’t Bother to Knock is a counterpoint, her first major dramatic starring role; her performance of a psychologically troubled woman reveals an actress more interested in emotional complexity than critics might have credited her as being. Niagara is the moment Monroe’s persona became a true phenomenon. Seen together, the films chart Monroe’s emergence from a bit-part contract actress to a cultural icon: an actress still testing out her persona on screen.”
- NIAGARA: Saturday, November 7, at 9:30 pm
- MONKEY BUSINESS: Sunday, November 8, at 4:00 pm
- DON’T BOTHER TO KNOCK: Sunday, November 8, at 7:00 pm