Goodbye, Norma Jean (1976)

Aspiring actress Norma Jean Baker lives in squalor in the early '40s as she works at the munitions plant and dreams of being a movie star. Abused as a child and an adult, she lacks ... See full summary »

Director:

Larry Buchanan

Writers:

Larry Buchanan, Lynn Shubert

Stars:

Misty Rowe, Terence Locke, Patch Mackenzie

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Misty Rowe	...	Norma Jean Baker
Terence Locke	...	Ralph Johnson
Patch Mackenzie	...	Ruth Latimer
Preston Hanson	...	Hal James
Marty Zagon	...	Irving Oblach
Andre Philippe	...	Sam Dunn
Adele Claire	...	Beverly
Sal Ponti	...	Randy Palmer
Paula Mitchell	...	Cynthia Palmer
Jean Sarah Frost	...	Ethel
Lilyan McBride	...	House Mother
Burr Middleton	...	Sleasy Photographer
Stuart Lancaster	...	George
Ivy Bethune	...	Ruby Kirshner
Robert Gribbin	...	Terry (as Robert Gribbon)

Storyline

Aspiring actress Norma Jean Baker lives in squalor in the early '40s as she works at the munitions plant and dreams of being a movie star. Abused as a child and an adult, she lacks self-confidence, but photographer Ralph Johnson takes some publicity shots and convinces her to try for her dream, and supports her as she's bounced from casting couches to sleazy photo shoots. She befriends once-powerful producer Hal James, who tries to steer her toward her dream of stardom, to where she will eventually be known as Marilyn Monroe.

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Plot Keywords:

lesbian | female nudity | showbiz | price of fame | rape | 

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Taglines:

They knew her as Norma Jean Baker. The world would soon know her as Marilyn Monroe

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Australia USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

February 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Young Marilyn

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Austamerican Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In casting the role of Marilyn Monroe, director Larry Buchanan conducted a "National Marilyn Monroe Lookalike Contest" which was won by unknown 21-year-old Alexis Pederson. After reading the script Pederson turned down the role and instead it was offered to Misty Rowe, who took it.

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Connections

Referenced in Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s (2002)

User Reviews

You did know there was a sequel, right?

Rather surprised not to see "Goodnight, Sweet Marilyn" listed as a Larry Buchanan movie, or mentioned here. "GSM" is the sequel Buchanan mainly edited together in 1989. Two actresses are credited for the title role, Misty Rowe as "Norma Jean Baker", and Paula Lane as "Marilyn Munroe". The big problem is that all Misty's scenes are from the first film, (I vaguely recall some possible redubbing of scenes, but it has been years), and there isn't a whole lot of credible resemblance between the actresses. While "Goodbye, Norma Jean" showed a bit of flair, reminiscent of Buchanan's "Art" film, "Strawberries Need Rain", I'm afraid that this overblown cut-and-paste job, is definitely the work of the man who gave us "Zontar, The Thing From Venus". It kind of started the whole trend of "sequels that use as little new footage as possible", later a hallmark of the dreadful "Silent Night, Deadly Night" series. Over half of "Goodbye, Norma Jean" gets repeated here, and not even the filmstocks match. As often happens with his work, Buchanan was both ahead, and behind, the times simultaneously.

--Judex.1--