In honor I suppose of the new film “My Week With Marilyn” being released shortly, The Playlist has listed their five best/favourite Marilyn Monoroe peformances. They quite rightly that her premature passing and her off-sreen life has somewhat overshadowed her screen performances which were quite brilliant in their own right.
Close to fifty years after to her premature passing at the age of 36, there are few stars, living or dead, who have the same effect that Marilyn Monroe continues to have. An icon the likes of which the starlets of today simply can’t compete with, her legacy continues to loom large, despite a relatively brief time on top (less than fifteen years passed between her first speaking role and her final picture, “The Misfits”) and aided in no small part by her tumultuous personal life — three troubled marriages, including to playwright Arthur Miller and baseball legend Joe Di Maggio, and reported affairs with both President John F. Kennedy and his brother Bobby.
But it’s easy to overlook her screen achievements with the legend, and the woman born Norma Jeane Baker in Los Angeles in 1926 was a star for a reason. Despite being slighted as a weak actress by some, she was an accomplished comic talent, and capable of far more when she was allowed. With the new biopic “My Week With Marilyn,” starring an Oscar-tipped Michelle Williams as Monroe opening this week, it seemed like as good a time as any to pick out five key performances in Norma Jean’s career.
The Misfits” (1961)
Some Like It Hot” (1959)
”The Prince and the Showgirl” (1957)
”The Seven Year Itch” (1955)
Niagara” (1953)
Details on each performances and interesting notes can be found at the Playlist. Do you agree with the above list? I haven’t seen one or two, but have seen several and Marilyn was probably an under rated comedic actress. Comedy is hard and she pulled it off skillfully.
