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IMDb > Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend (1987)

Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend (1987) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
8.4/10   43 votes
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Up 10% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Gene Feldman
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Writers:
Gene Feldman (written by) and
Suzette Winter (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
November 1987 (USA) more
Genre:
Documentary more
User Comments:
silk on one side, sandpiper on the other more

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Marilyn Monroe ... Herself (archive footage)

Richard Widmark ... Narrator

Don Murray ... Himself - Interviewee
Susan Strasberg ... Herself - Interviewee
Joshua Logan ... Himself - Interviewed Director

Robert Mitchum ... Himself - Interviewee
Laszlo Willinger ... Himself - Interviewed Photographer
Sheree North ... Herself - Interviewee

Shelley Winters ... Herself - Interviewee
Clark Gordon ... Himself - Interviewee
Celeste Holm ... Herself - Interviewee
John Springer ... Himself - Publicist
rest of cast listed alphabetically:

Lauren Bacall ... Actress in Movie Clip (archive footage)
Scotty Beckett ... Actor in Movie Clip (archive footage)
Eric Blore ... Actor in Movie Clip (archive footage)

Clara Bow ... Actress in Movie Clip (archive footage)
Louis Calhern ... Actor in Movie Clip (archive footage)
Charles Coburn ... Actor in Movie Clip (archive footage)
Elisha Cook Jr. ... Actor in Movie Clip (archive footage)
Joe DiMaggio ... Himself - Monroe's Second Husband (archive footage)
Tom Ewell ... Actor in Movie Clip (archive footage)

Betty Grable ... Actress in Movie Clips (archive footage)
Amy Greene-Andrews ... Herself (archive footage)
Milton H. Greene ... Himself - VP of Marilyn's Production Company (archive footage)

Jean Harlow ... Actress in Movie Clip (archive footage)
Taylor Holmes ... Himself (archive footage)

Buster Keaton ... Actor in Movie Clip (archive footage)

Jack Lemmon ... Actor in Movie Clip (archive footage)

Dean Martin ... Actor in Movie Clip (archive footage)

Groucho Marx ... Actor in Movie Clip (archive footage)
Gary Merrill ... Actor in Movie Clip (archive footage)
Arthur Miller ... Himself - Monroe's Third Husband (archive footage)
Augusta Barnett Miller ... Himself - Arthur Miller's Mother (archive footage)
Isidore Miller ... Himself - Arthur Miller's Father (archive footage)
Edward R. Murrow ... Himself - Television Interview Host (archive footage)
Patricia Newcomb ... Herself - Publicist (archive footage)
Arthur O'Connell ... Actor in Movie Clip (archive footage)

Laurence Olivier ... Actor in Movie Clip (archive footage)
Jean Peters ... Herself (archive footage)
Queen Elizabeth II ... Herself (archive footage)
Gregory Ratoff ... Actor in Movie Clip (archive footage)

Jane Russell ... Herself (archive footage)

Robert Ryan ... Actor in Movie Clip (archive footage)
George Sanders ... Actor in Movie Clip (archive footage)
Max Showalter ... Himself (archive footage)

Phil Silvers ... Actor in Movie Clip (archive footage)

Barbara Stanwyck ... Actress in Movie Clip (archive footage)

Rudolph Valentino ... Actor in Movie Clip (archive footage)
David Wayne ... Actor in Movie Clip (archive footage)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend - An Intimate Portrait (Australia)
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Runtime:
60 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Certification:
Australia:PG

Fun Stuff

Movie Connections:
Features It (1927) more
Soundtrack:
That Old Black Magic more

FAQ

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful:-
silk on one side, sandpiper on the other, 20 August 2004
Author: petershelleyau from Sydney, Australia

This Gene Feldman documentary features funny anecdotes and insights from Sheree North and Celeste Holm especially, describing the drive and will behind Monroe's sadomasochistic help-me pose. Holm tells that Monroe studied Betty Grable, in particular, to imitate her, though Monroe only occasionally paralleled Grable's brassy quality.

Feldman edits the song Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend to footage of Monroe's ascending success at the time of the film it came from, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, but the narration incorrectly names her last film as Something HAS to Give.

What emerges from this study is the irony of Monroe's celebrity and how her need for publicity and attention to further her career did not come with the respect she so wanted as an actress. The end does not comment on the way Monroe died, with no mention of the Kennedy- associated murder conspiracy theory, and the highlight of Monroe's acting is said to be in Bus Stop. Otherwise, the label 'sex goddess' is repeated to an extent that you would guess that Marilyn herself would feel is reductive.

Actors Clark Gordon and Susan Strasberg all offer impersonations of Monroe, with Strasberg's own natural elegance in counterpoint to Monroe's perceived tackiness.

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