The Sex Symbol (1974)

A thinly disguised version of the life of Marilyn Monroe, detailing her ups and downs in life and how her erratic behavior contributes to her deteriorating career.

Director:

David Lowell Rich

Writer:

Alvah Bessie (novel)

Stars:

Connie Stevens, Shelley Winters, Jack Carter

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Connie Stevens	...	Kelly Williams / Emmaline Kelly
Shelley Winters	...	Agatha Murphy
Jack Carter	...	Manny Fox
William Castle	...	Jack P. Harper
Don Murray	...	Senator Grant O'Neal
James Olson	...	Calvin Bernard
Nehemiah Persoff	...	Nick Fortis
Madlyn Rhue	...	Joy Hudson
Milton Selzer	...	Phil Bamberger
Tony Young	...	Rick Roman
William Smith	...	Butch Wischnewski
Rand Brooks	...	Edward Kelly
Malachi Throne	...	Otto Litsky (American television version) (voice)
Frank Loverde	...	Investigator
Bing Russell	...	Public Relations Man

Storyline

A thinly disguised version of the life of Marilyn Monroe, detailing her ups and downs in life and how her erratic behavior contributes to her deteriorating career.

---

Plot Keywords:

female nudity | hollywood | actress | filmmaking | abc movie of the week | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 September 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Il simbolo del sesso

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Broadcasting Company (ABC), Columbia Pictures Television, Douglas S. Cramer Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min 107 min (European Film Market)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shelley Winters, who appears in this thinly veiled biography of Marilyn Monroe's life, in fact lived, and was very good friends with Monroe for a time when the pair were budding young actresses.

User Reviews

Introducing Dorothy Dandrich...um Marilyn Monroe...um Kelly Williams

Nothing on television ever rivalled ABC's Tuesday Night at the Movies, a anthology of made-for-TV films which pushed the envelope on what could be shown on TV. Movies like "Duel," "Tribes," "Crowhaven Farm," "Satan's School for Girls," and "The Sex Symbol" were cutting edge stories that still hold up by today's standards. I guess that's why they call them classics. "The Sex Symbol" was a thinly veiled telling of the Marilyn Monroe story (in this case "The Kelly Williams Story"). Connie Stevens gave an acclaimed performance which seemed to have inspired Halle Berry in another excellent biopic "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge" with some of the scenes being frightfully similar. I wish "The Sex Symbol" were available somewhere (especially the European version. Connie allowed some rare nude scenes to be shot for inclusion in prints that would among other places, be shown to military troops overseas) but for now I must depend only on my memory of the original broadcast, and Halle Berry in "IDD."