Marilyn Monroe deserved so much more than the studio pin-ups Hollywood pegged her for. She was a genuinely fantastic screen performer who transcended gender cliches.
Hawks and Marilyn reunited in this musical comedy. It’s probably one of her best movies. Her white dress scene over the subway grate is iconic.
1. The Seven Year Itch
The Seven Year Itch is the movie that cemented Marilyn Monroe as a pin-up icon. The scene of her white Norman Norell dress billowing in the air blast of a subway grate was immortalized on posters and ads across the country, even though filming was far from smooth. She was constantly late and forgot her lines, and her marriage to Joe DiMaggio was on the rocks at this time.
Still, director Billy Wilder bent censorship codes until they nearly snapped in this lusty 1950s time capsule about a doughy middle-aged man whose daydreams of his sexy neighbor upstairs drive him crazy. Marilyn shines with her naive sensuality, and this movie is a delight. It also paved the way for Howard Hawks’ bright, bubbly musical comedy Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
2. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Marilyn Monroe’s first role as a leading lady was the classic musical Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. It firmly established her status at 20th Century Fox and made her the most popular star on the planet.
This fun flick focuses on nightclub singers Lorelei Lee (Marilyn) and Dorothy Shaw who are best friends going on a cruise to Paris. The girls woo many men, including a multimillionaire, and a detective. Director Howard Hawks is able to coax a very entertaining performance out of Monroe.
Her characterization of Lorelei is sultry and funny, and her banter with Jane Russell makes for a great gomovies film. The songs – including the famous “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend” – are lively and entertaining, too. Taken with a grain of salt, this movie is a delightful bit of fluff you and your musical-loving tweens and teens won’t mind watching again and again.
3. The Misfits
Monroe was no deer-in-the-headlights dumb blonde, as her hypnotic performance in this tense drama shows. She’s a woman of her own mind, capable of discerning men’s intentions, and unwilling to be taken advantage of.
Directed by John Huston, who gave her her best work, this film is haunting in its mood and meaning. The realism of the relationships and performances, combined with its production’s real life tragedies (both Monroe and co-star Montgomery Clift would die within a week of the film’s release) make it one to think about, feel and understand.
Despite often being typecast as a secretary, trophy date or gold digger, Monroe shines in this wry comedy. She has a great chemistry with Cary Grant and delivers her best “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” moment. She also shows off some impressive dramatic skills in the underrated Niagara (1953; Google Play). A must-see.
4. The Seven Year Itch (Broadway)
A stage version of the film that gave us one of the most iconic pop-culture images of all time — Marilyn Monroe standing on a subway grate with her white dress blowing upwards — is now playing at Gunston Theater. It’s not as raunchy as the movie was, but it still pushes boundaries in some ways.
Monroe is luminous as the girl-next-door seducing a philandering husband (Tom Ewell) with subtle comedic timing and a sense of naiveté that’s almost dangerous. She’s also a delight in her earlier roles, whether she’s resisting the coercion of a saloon singer in Howard Hawks’ tawdry 1950s noir Niagara or arguing with Arthur Miller in Bus Stop.
She even makes a credible attempt at a Western in Otto Preminger’s River of No Return, though it doesn’t rank among her best movies.
5. The Seven Year Itch (Broadway)
A sexy toothpaste model causes an urban executive to rethink his smug beliefs about the “seven year itch.” Tom Ewell (reprising his stage role) and Marilyn Monroe make this 1955 film version of the Broadway play one of the most enjoyable movies of all time.
The infamous white, windblown dress from this film has become one of the most iconic pop-culture images of all time. But director Billy Wilder’s comedy and Monroe’s wit and buoyancy are also on display.
The slinky Technicolor noir Niagara (1953; Amazon) and the bittersweet Bus Stop (1956; Apple TV) show more sides of the blonde bombshell. In the latter, Monroe is stunning as a saloon singer resisting the abusive coercion of a marriage-minded cowboy. She also shows her lithe, chilly smarts in the movie’s memorable number, Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.
