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 ...
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Title: Goodbye, Norma Jean (1976)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Misty Rowe | ... | Norma Jean Baker | |
 |
Terence Locke | ... | Ralph Johnson |
| Patch Mackenzie | ... | Ruth Latimer | |
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Preston Hanson | ... | Hal James |
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Marty Zagon | ... | Irving Oblach |
|
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Andre Philippe | ... | Sam Dunn |
|
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Adele Claire | ... | Beverly |
| Sal Ponti | ... | Randy Palmer | |
|
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Paula Mitchell | ... | Cynthia Palmer |
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Jean Sarah Frost | ... | Ethel |
|
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Lilyan McBride | ... | House Mother |
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Burr Middleton | ... | Sleasy Photographer |
| Stuart Lancaster | ... | George | |
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Ivy Bethune | ... | Ruby Kirshner |
| Robert Gribbin | ... | Terry (as Robert Gribbon) | |
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Plot Summary
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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. Written by Ed Sutton <esutton@mindspring.com>
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She was soon to become the greatest sex symbol the world has ever known. See more »Parents Guide:
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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. See more »Frequently Asked Questions
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See full technical specs »
Details
Language:
EnglishRelease Date:
February 1976 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Young Marilyn See more »Filming Locations:
Los Angeles, California, USACompany Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
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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--