Cute and promiscuous "Kelly Williams" (Connie Stevens as Marilyn Monroe) sleeps her way to stardom. Along the way, she is hounded by bitchy press (Shelley Winters as "Agatha Murphy"). Not satisfied with her status as "The Sex Symbol", Ms. Stevens wants to be an Actress. Stevens has unhappy love affairs and marriages with "Grant O'Neal" (Don Murray as John F. Kennedy), "Calvin Bernard" (James Olson as Arthur Miller), "Buck Wischnewski" (William Smith as Joe DiMaggio), and others. She feeds her pain with barbiturates and alcohol. You know the rest.
This movie begins with an outrageous lie: "The characters and incidents portrayed and the names used herein are fictitious, and any similarity to the name, character, or history of any person is entirely coincidental and unintentional." Stevens is a beautiful woman, but quite unlike Monroe. An explicit nude scene occurs near the end - Stevens spills a drink, and removes her slip; it could not have been shown on US television in 1974. Whatever its intentions, "The Sex Symbol" is insulting and unflattering. And, some of those involved knew, and worked with, Monroe.
*** The Sex Symbol (9/17/74) David Lowell Rich ~ Connie Stevens, Shelley Winters, Don Murray
This movie begins with an outrageous lie: "The characters and incidents portrayed and the names used herein are fictitious, and any similarity to the name, character, or history of any person is entirely coincidental and unintentional." Stevens is a beautiful woman, but quite unlike Monroe. An explicit nude scene occurs near the end - Stevens spills a drink, and removes her slip; it could not have been shown on US television in 1974. Whatever its intentions, "The Sex Symbol" is insulting and unflattering. And, some of those involved knew, and worked with, Monroe.
*** The Sex Symbol (9/17/74) David Lowell Rich ~ Connie Stevens, Shelley Winters, Don Murray