Something's Got to Give (1962)

Unfinished remake of "My Favorite Wife," due to the firing of Marilyn Monroe from the film. She was eventually re-hired, but died in August, 1962. Film was never completed.

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Bella Spewack (screenplay "My Favorite Wife"), Sam Spewack (screenplay "My Favorite Wife")

Stars:

Marilyn Monroe, Dean Martin, Cyd Charisse

Cast

Cast overview:
Marilyn Monroe	...	Ellen Arden
Dean Martin	...	Nick Arden
Cyd Charisse	...	Bianca Arden
Tom Tryon	...	Stephen Burkett
Alexandra Heilweil	...	Lita
Robert Christopher Morley	...	Timmy
Wally Cox	...	Shoe Salesman
Phil Silvers	...	Insurance Salesman
John McGiver	...	The Judge
Grady Sutton	...	Bailiff
Eloise Hardt	...	Secretary

Storyline

Years after his wife, Ellen, was lost at sea, Nick has her declared legally dead and remarries. That same day, Ellen is rescued from a desert island and returns home. This unfinished remake of "My Favorite Wife" was the last film Marilyn Monroe worked on before her death in 1962. Most of the footage was unseen, until it was restored into a 37-minute short which aired on television on June 1, 2001.

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Plot Keywords:

lead actor's last film | unfinished film | screwball comedy | united airlines | color remake of black and white film | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Short

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 June 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Something's Got to Give

Filming Locations:

Stage 14, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

37 min (2001)

Sound Mix:

Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The instrumental version of "Something's Gotta Give" by Ray Anthony & His Orchestra was originally in Daddy Long Legs (1955) which starred Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron. When the digital restoration and reconstruction was undertaken for the unfinished film, 20th Century-Fox inadvertently mixed in Anthony's instrumental version of the song for Marilyn's famous 'swimming pool' sequence at no cost since Fox also produced the Astaire vehicle. A different instrumental background - originally to be for the film - can be heard in an alternate take of the swimming pool scene that appeared on a Marilyn Monroe CD compilation issued by Hollywood Soundstage; this music was eventually used later on in the film as Monroe's character is encountered by Phil Silvers as she rests nude on the edge of the pool.

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Quotes

Ellen Wagstaff Arden: Would you have lunch with me?
Shoe Salesman: [Flustered] I bring my lunch to the store.
Ellen Wagstaff Arden: [Leaning forward, putting her chin in her hand] I'd be so grateful if you'd take it out.

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Alternate Versions

Existing footage in the vaults of Twentieth Century Fox Film studios was edited by Tori Rodman into a 37-minute film and shown in its entirety in Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days (2001) (TV).

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Connections

Referenced in Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood (2001)

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Soundtracks

Something's Gotta Give
Written by Johnny Mercer
Courtesy of Twentieth Century Music Corporation
Vocal version performed by Frank Sinatra
Courtesy of The Frank Sinatra Estate

User Reviews

Marilyn was more beautiful in this film than in any other!

I watched the documentary on AMC that aired on her 75th birthday, 6-01-2001.

I was disappointed in the fact that the documentary said that in 1999, AMC, 20th Century Fox and the Estate of Marilyn Monroe had started and completed restoration of 9 hours of film from Something's Got to Give. I believe this but find it hard to believe that they only could get 37 minutes out of 9 hours of film! There is more film footage available as in 1991 there was a documentary on this film that showed at least 10 minutes of film where Marilyn in her Greta Garbo accent was showing Dean Martin and Cyd Charisse around the house. Marilyn was absolutely hilarious. There is a lot of material that was left out on this attempt to make a picture out of what was left of the original film. Personally, I think someone concerned with this effort really didn't want to let people see Marilyn look so good when all they did was talk so bad about her while the filming was in progress. Just my point of view. Someday, I hope they will somehow finish this film with computerization. If filmmakers finished Jean Harlow's last film in the 1930's after her death with a stand in, I'm sure that someone could finish "Something's Got to Give" today, especially with all the film that has been restored and also with the technology that is available to film makers today. I hope that whomever or whatever is holding this back will have a change of heart and release a complete 2 hour film. After all, 9 hours of film is a lot to restore if you are not going to show it!