The Girl

by Michelle Morgan

  One person who saw a lot of Marilyn during her vacation time was Lee and Paula’s daughter, Susan. She was still a teenager, but shared a room with the actress and suffered equal amounts of jealousy and happiness while in her company. She cared for her surrogate sister, and the two would often gossip about all manner of subjects, including their love lives, makeup, and clothes. However, Susan was still insecure about the amount of time and attention the actress received from her parents and found it hard to accept that after searching for a father all her life, the one Marilyn actually found was Susan’s.

  On October 20, 1955, Marilyn made the pivotal decision to officially say a firm good-bye to Los Angeles by having her belongings shipped to the East Coast. When they eventually arrived, she moved everything into her new apartment on Sutton Place. Then on October 27, her divorce from Joe DiMaggio was finalized. Earl Wilson was eager to hear if she had been in touch with him in recent months. “No,” she said. “At least I haven’t made any appointments to see him.” When Wilson asked if she’d like to be married again, Marilyn refused to give anything away. “I do, but it’s not as simple as that and I don’t see any time for that now.” She also assured Wilson—falsely—that there was no man in her life. When the same reporter caught up with DiMaggio and asked about the failed marriage, he shrugged and replied, “I never think about that anymore.”

  In November 1955, rumors swirled that not only was Marilyn close to negotiating a new contract with Fox, but she had also secured herself a magnificent role in a new film called Bus Stop. This story was treated with caution by Marilyn, but she did speak to columnist Edwin Schallert about her immediate plans for the future. During the chat, Marilyn revealed that she would embrace the freedom of acting onstage, had every intention of staying in New York indefinitely, and wanted to continue her studies at the Actors Studio.

  “The public deserves its money’s worth when I appear in a picture,” she said, before adding that was precisely why she wanted the best directors and training. When asked a little later which directors had been beneficial in her career, Marilyn showed no hesitation, listing John Huston, Billy Wilder, and How to Marry a Millionaire’s Jean Negulesco. However, while she certainly appreciated Negulesco’s direction, the film itself was not a favorite, and she saw the character of Pola as a gimmick and not at all genuine.

  On December 12, Marilyn attended the premiere of The Rose Tattoo with actor, friend, and occasional love interest Marlon Brando. The performance doubled as a benefit event for the Actors Studio, and Marilyn seemed to revel in posing for pictures for Milton Greene and other photographers. She grew shyer, however, when a radio reporter pounced on her, Marlon, actor Sid Caesar, and playwright Tennessee Williams. Brando seemed to take over almost the entire fifteen-minute chat, and at one point he and Caesar were so busy talking and asking questions that the female journalist seemed irrelevant to the proceedings.

  It was clear that out of the four people standing in front of the reporter, it was Marilyn she most wanted to speak to, but getting past Brando was quite a task. When she was able, Marilyn confirmed that she attended the Actors Studio twice a week, participated in Lee Strasberg’s private classes also twice a week, and then additionally observed at others. When questioned by Brando about the nature of her studies, the surprised actress revealed she was studying Ulysses and improvisation.

  Once Brando and the others had gone, Marilyn further explained that she hoped her next film would be Bus Stop, and that acting on the stage was a definite plan for the future. At that point, Helen Hayes, the “First Lady of the American Theater” joined the conversation and Marilyn seemed rather shy in her presence. The veteran actress confirmed that the two had met just days before when they were both at the Actors Studio, but offered no further comment. At that point, Marilyn managed to find a way to escape and the radio interview was brought to a swift finish.

  No doubt if the reporter had asked Marilyn about her stage plans while Marlon Brando was still nearby, he’d have had a lot to say. The actor greatly enjoyed working in theater and spoke about his feelings just a few months before The Rose Tattoo premiere: “On the stage there is a feeling of integration within the company, which is lacking in films. On the stage you’re dealing with art, pure and simple.”

  IT HAD NOW BEEN a year since Marilyn walked out of Hollywood and into her new life. While it had been one of learning, making friends, and exploring the city, there had also been moments of frustration because of her ordeal with Fox. Marilyn mentioned this to Maurice Zolotow: “My fight with the studio is not about money. It is about human rights. I am tired of being known as the girl with the shape. I am going to show that I am capable of deeper acting.”

  Milton Greene spoke about Twentieth Century Fox in an interview with John Gold: “They were pretty tough on Marilyn at times. Some of the things that were said came pretty close to intimidation. It took courage for her to sit it out all those months and not give way. But Amy and I told her we would win in the end—and we did.”

  Milton was correct. On December 31, 1955, Marilyn finally signed a new contract with Twentieth Century Fox. After continuing to receive thousands of demanding fan letters over the past year, the studio bosses knew that they really had no option but to bow to her demands. Spyros Skouras was a seasoned businessman, and he knew that Marilyn was good for the studio, even if Darryl F. Zanuck refused to admit it. For a long time the two men argued about how many rights the actress should have, but Skouras was adamant that the contract needed to be finalized without any further delay. Eventually Zanuck conceded, gave in to the actress’s demands, and the feud came to an end.

  The contract Marilyn and her associates were able to negotiate was nothing short of revolutionary. Gone was the clause that insisted she must work solely for the studio. Instead, she would have to shoot just four Fox movies in the space of seven years and would be allowed the freedom to make films for Marilyn Monroe Productions too. In addition, she could perform in a number of television and radio programs. The script, choreographer, and cinematographer of each film would be approved by her, but more importantly, the directors on her handwritten list were now the only ones she had to work with. These included Billy Wilder, George Cukor, Elia Kazan, Joshua Logan, William Wyler, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Alfred Hitchcock, David Lean, John Ford, John Huston, Vittorio De Sica, Fred Zinnemann, Lee Strasberg, George Stevens, Vincente Minnelli, and Carol Reed.

  Marilyn had won a huge battle both for herself and for other actors who wished to have some creative freedom. She spoke about the deal to reporter Earl Wilson: “What I have settled for is a compromise. It is a compromise on both sides. I do not have story approval, but I do have director approval. That’s important. I have certain directors I’ll work for and I have trust in them and will do about anything they say. I know they won’t let me do a bad story. Because, you know, you can have a wonderful story and a lousy director and hurt yourself.” Normally loath to discuss money, Marilyn was anxious for Wilson to know that her contract was worth $100,000 a picture. “The same $100,000 that they said I walked out on before!” She did not add, however, that there were several bonuses and other clauses that gave her the opportunity to earn much more than that.

  Around the same time that the new contract arrived, a decision was made to relieve company director Frank Delaney of his duties within Marilyn Monroe Productions. After Marilyn’s death, he told her former business manager, Inez Melson, that he felt that Marilyn and others in the company could not wait for him to go. He regretted any negative feelings toward him, however, since he felt perhaps he could have helped in her future career.

  To biographer Maurice Zolotow, Delaney revealed that by the time the new contract was signed, Marilyn had piled up a huge amount of expenses, all of which had been paid by Milton Greene. The money had become such a concern that if the contract had not been executed, he would surely have gone broke.

  Ironically, just two months after the end of Marilyn’s standoff with the studio, Darryl F.
Zanuck was accused of walking out on his own contract when he announced that he wished to step down from the helm of Twentieth Century Fox. In echoes of Marilyn’s battle, he then left Hollywood—only he moved to Europe, not New York—before coming back to negotiate a new contract for himself as an independent producer. He eventually returned to take control of Twentieth Century Fox in 1962.

  ON JANUARY 2, 1956, the New York Times carried an announcement that Marilyn was to act in the screen adaptation of Terence Rattigan’s play The Sleeping Prince. Scheduled to be shot over the summer months, the film would apparently be directed by John Huston and costar legendary British actor Sir Laurence Olivier.

  Dubbed “an occasional fairy tale,” the play was set in 1911 and revolved around the Grand Duke Charles, who invites a young American showgirl called Elaine Dagenham (who later reveals her real name to be Mary) to have dinner with him at his private residence. Unbeknownst to her, it is strictly a dinner for two, though the duke’s attempts at seduction do not go far, particularly when his eccentric wife turns up and takes a shine to Elaine, asking the young woman to accompany her to the king’s coronation. A thread running throughout the tale is Elaine’s theory that the duke does not have enough love in his life. By the end, both parties have decided that they love each other, though circumstances prevent them from continuing any further with the relationship.

  The play opened to great applause at London’s Phoenix Theatre in 1953 and starred Laurence Olivier as the duke and his wife, Vivien Leigh, as the showgirl. Having played various American roles in the past, Leigh was eager to turn the part into a British one instead. However, being American was essential for the role, since there is a pivotal scene where Elaine reveals she has specific political opinions related to her country. Leigh relented, and according to Theatre World magazine, audiences “gave Vivien Leigh the most enthusiastic welcome of her career.”

  Vivien declared Olivier to be her favorite leading man, though critics did sometimes question the partnership. “One wonders,” said a columnist for Theatre World, “if there might be some disadvantage in a leading lady having her husband for a leading man.” The same anonymous reporter did have to admit, however, that “by knowing each other so intimately in private life, they are bound together by a mutual understanding that enables them to communicate ideas to each other on the stage without so much as a suggestion of sign language.”

  The play was brought to Marilyn’s attention by Charles Feldman in 1954, and later by Milton Greene, who was eager to purchase it for MMP. By the time Marilyn became interested in it as a vehicle, director William Wyler was in the running to buy the property, but the moment he withdrew, MMP stepped in and won the deal. Much was said about the fact that Vivien was dropped from the starring role, with some suggesting the harsh cinema lighting made her too old to play the part. There is possibly some truth in that theory, though more likely is the fact that with Marilyn’s company producing the material for the screen, she was certainly not going to pass up the opportunity of starring in it herself.

  In early February 1956, Laurence Olivier and Terence Rattigan arrived in New York to meet with Marilyn and attend several other business meetings. It was not the first time she had met the actor; the two had been introduced during her starlet days, when she was in the company of agent Johnny Hyde. However, even Marilyn doubted that Olivier had actually remembered such a meeting, so when the two finally did get together, it was regarded as a brand-new experience for both.

  Marilyn’s agent, Jay Kanter, remembers that the actress was enamored by the prospect of working with Olivier, and he was given the task of meeting both the actor and playwright at the airport. According to Kanter, the plan was to take them to a hotel and Marilyn would meet them there, but New York City was suffering a particularly awful downpour and as the car sped from the airport, Olivier announced, “No, let’s not have her out in the rain.” Instead, he wanted to meet at her Sutton Place apartment, so as soon as he could, Jay called Milton to let him know what was going on and to alert Marilyn.

  After freshening up in the hotel, Jay took the men to the apartment, where they were met by Milton Greene. “Come in,” he said enthusiastically, and proceeded to serve them food and drink while Marilyn readied herself in the bedroom. Unfortunately, she took so long to get ready that everyone was left wondering whether she would ever come out at all. An hour went by and finally Jay told Milton that both Rattigan and Olivier would need to leave for another meeting fairly soon, which prompted the photographer to go see what was going on.

  When he returned, Milton announced that it wouldn’t be too much longer, but after more time passed, Jay ended up going into the room himself. The actress was sitting in front of her dressing table mirror. “Marilyn, they’re waiting and have to leave soon,” he told her. Jay recalls that she was scared to death of meeting the English heavyweight, but finally got up and went into the living room. The two were introduced and Olivier was “so gracious and she was very silent but in total awe of him.”

  Olivier charmed her throughout the meeting, to the point where Marilyn came away thinking that he really was the greatest actor in the world. The relationship had gotten off to a fantastic start, and this was cemented when Marilyn and Olivier attended a performance of The Diary of Anne Frank together. Unfortunately, a trip backstage was not as positive as it could be, after Susan Strasberg asked the actor what he thought of her performance as Anne. When Olivier criticized her, Marilyn without hesitation jumped to her friend’s defense.

  Even this early in their relationship, there were rumblings of trouble. Olivier had attended a lesson at the Actors Studio and witnessed Lee Strasberg berating a student he believed to have many faults. Olivier thought the episode was a form of bullying, and he told Strasberg so, in the most polite way he could. He was not, however, the first to witness such behavior. Writer James Roose-Evans wrote in 1957 that Lee easily lost his temper with those refusing to take criticism. To one actress he was heard complaining, “I wish you would use some of that emotion in the scene. You waste my time, our time, and I’m insulted.”

  Laurence Olivier did not support the Method, but he had actually read Stanislavski and found his teachings interesting. What he did not appreciate, though, was anyone who brought the man’s ideas and actions onto a film set. In his opinion, if one was to study Stanislavski’s System or Strasberg’s Method, one should do so at home and then leave them firmly at the studio door.

  In addition to acting methods, there was also the problem of directorial credit. While Marilyn was extremely happy with the idea of costarring with Laurence Olivier, she had not initially thought about him as a director. That was why it had been originally announced that John Huston would take the job, because the director had already been in negotiations with Rattigan before the project was confirmed. Olivier had directed the play, however, and when Huston dropped out, the British actor was soon given that job on the film production too. Marilyn went along with the decision, but according to Susan Strasberg, her father Lee was not the least bit happy about it. To complicate matters further, the film would be released under the banner of both Marilyn Monroe Productions and Laurence Olivier Productions.

  A press conference was called to announce the project, but it was all rather stilted and formal. In fact, some reporters felt that Olivier answered most of the questions as if he were the prime minister, such was his rigidity and politeness. However, they were all intrigued by the announcement that the film would mean Marilyn moving to England for four months. Then when her dress strap broke in front of the entire room, the reporters went wild and the normal chaos of a Monroe press conference ensued.

  When Olivier was due to leave the States, newspapers were filled with gushing quotes between the new business partners. “Marilyn is an expert comedienne and therefore a good actress,” he was quoted as saying. “Olivier has always been my idol” was her reply.

  On his arrival at London airport, Olivier told reporters that he had adored spending time
with Marilyn. “She is very sweet, very charming, very talented and very easy to get on with,” he said. “I am not in the least surprised to be playing against Miss Monroe. I am delighted. It seemed a very good idea to make a film with her.”

  Even Vivien Leigh was quoted as saying she was thrilled that the part she had played onstage had now gone to Marilyn. “I cannot think of anyone better than Miss Monroe,” she said, before adding that the actress was more than welcome to live with her and Olivier in London. Anyone hoping that the Gone with the Wind star would laugh at Marilyn’s acting talents was left severely disappointed. Instead, Leigh expressed her belief that she was “an absolutely brilliant actress” and was sure that she could act in any Shakespeare play she wished to.

  The teaming with Laurence Olivier seemed to bring out a new way of thinking toward Marilyn not only as an actress, but as a revolutionary too. Alan Brien from the Aberdeen Evening Express was first to recognize that she was undoubtedly leading a revolt of Hollywood actors against the studios. Noting that stars such as Jane Russell and Burt Lancaster had also taken up the fight in the past six months, Brien said that Marilyn was winning the battle and had achieved in one year the freedom it had taken Orson Welles and Laurence Olivier a lifetime to secure.

  OLIVIER AND RATTIGAN BEGAN the mammoth task of changing elements of The Sleeping Prince to suit the screen. Out went the name Elaine Dagenham/Mary, and in came the prettier Elsie Marina. Then the part of the duke’s eccentric wife was changed into a vague and brusque mother-in-law. Along with the name change, Elsie’s character was also softened slightly, since in the play she was something of a political philosopher. “You can hardly expect Marilyn Monroe to depict a political theorist,” said Rattigan. “Shall we say that, as played by Miss Monroe, she will be a girl whose thought processes do not work quite so fast.”