Marilyn had been looking forward to seeing the film, especially since it was the first she had made since she began her work at the Actors Studio. However, she came away outraged after discovering that one of her major scenes—talking to Hope Lange on the bus—was cut so dramatically that some of her best lines had completely disappeared. She became so incensed about it that when she later bumped into Logan during the making of The Sleeping Prince, she slammed a door in his face and refused to speak to him. She did not attend the premiere either, and told fellow actors that she did not like the way she looked in the movie.
Thankfully, the tension between Logan and Marilyn did not last forever, though they never did work together again. He later told Lee Strasberg that he had loved directing her, before adding that the actress’s presence in the movie gave it a distinction that would have certainly been absent without her.
While Marilyn may have complained about the way Bus Stop had been edited, the critics seemed to enjoy it mightily. Alan Dent for the Illustrated London News appreciated Don Murray’s performance, and exclaimed that Marilyn as Cherie had progressed a stage on her acting journey. According to him, Bus Stop showed that she “has some talent.” However, he was unfairly critical about Marilyn’s close-up shots, declaring that she showed no expression or emotion whatsoever while Murray’s character was speaking to her. To even the most casual observer, this comment seems totally unfair, for Marilyn’s tearful eyes reveal one of the most soulful performances of her life.
Thankfully, the New York Times was steadfastly on Marilyn’s side and acknowledged her performance as confirmation of her being a genuine actress, as opposed to a sex symbol. They told readers that while the film was a good one, Marilyn was certainly the best part of it. The New York Herald Tribune thought similarly and gave the actress great acclaim as a “New Marilyn.” Bus Stop, it said, “fools the skeptics about her ability as a serious actress. Her work had beauty, action, mobility and was very touching.”
This would have greatly pleased Marilyn. Shortly before the release of the film, she spoke about being known as a glamour girl. “If that part about my being a symbol of sex is true,” she said, “it ought to help the box office, but I don’t want to be too commercial about it. After all, it’s a responsibility… being a symbol I mean.”
While not naming the film directly, actor James Mason was thoroughly impressed with everything Marilyn had to offer to the world of acting. “[She is] the only phenomenon of the old fashioned glory of the movies that is left,” he told reporters in New York, explaining that she was “strides ahead of other young actresses with the possible exception of Gina Lollobrigida.”
One person who did not see the film however, was Kim Stanley, the actress who had played the part of Cherie on Broadway. When asked why this was, she replied, “I didn’t avoid the film because I thought [Marilyn] would ruin the part, or because I was afraid she might have done it better. But frankly, it’s possible she could do it better than I could—especially on close-ups. Marilyn has that wonderful child-like quality that is explosively sexy. Because she’s a fine actress, Hollywood couldn’t have made a better choice for the part.”
While the play’s leading lady might have been reluctant about the film, its writer William Inge was more than happy to take a look. Joshua Logan and screenwriter George Axelrod were both apprehensive about what Inge would make of the movie, considering a lot of his work had been cut out. However, a phone call from his agent, Audrey Wood, put all nerves to rest. Wood greatly enjoyed the film, and a follow-up telegram from Inge confirmed how well Logan and Axelrod had done. Logan admitted that it wasn’t quite the film Inge would have hoped for, but given the time restraints and deadlines, he felt they’d all done a fine job.
Perhaps the saddest part of the Bus Stop legacy is that while Don Murray was nominated for an Academy Award for his part as Bo, Marilyn was completely overlooked. In her entire career—performing in a variety of comedic, musical, and dramatic roles—not once was the actress ever nominated. For someone who fought so hard to gain success in cinema, it is a tragedy that she was forever ignored. Perhaps if she had been nominated even once, her legacy would have the critical support it merits.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The Woman Who Impacted the World
IN 1952, MARILYN HAD complained bitterly when her nude calendar photo suddenly began appearing on trinkets such as ashtrays and glassware. At the time, she was quoted as saying, “I don’t know exactly what rights I have, but it seems to me I should have some say in the way my picture is used.” By 1954 onward, however, Marilyn’s appeal had taken on an entirely new form. Now instead of just a picture on a plate or cup, her image became a way of introducing discussion, keeping delegates’ attention in meetings, enabling fans to dress like their idol, and even more.
In May 1955, Dr. Robert Williams spoke at a meeting of the American Society for Clinical Investigation. His talk was to show how statistical graphs and charts could be too complicated to understand. Projecting a giant photo of Marilyn in her famous nude calendar pose, Dr. Williams used a beam of light to follow the curves of her body in the picture. “Notice the kind of curves that are quickly understood and appreciated,” he said, while the room burst into applause. “Do I make my point?” he asked.
At the Grantham and District Young Farmer’s Club meeting in the United Kingdom, one member asked what kind of woman would make a perfect wife. “She should be a cross between an African farmer’s wife and Marilyn Monroe!” was the reply. This wasn’t the only time Marilyn was mentioned by British agriculturalists. In 1956, a meeting was held by the National Farmers Union, at which the discussion was how to boost sales of beef. County councilor Mr. J. W. Irvine-Fortescue told delegates, “The thing that always takes the trick nowadays is sex. Let us ‘fee’ Marilyn Monroe to advertise farm products on television, saying that British beef is best.” Many delegates agreed, but the idea was ultimately scrapped when another member of the council decided he’d prefer his steaks to be advertised by British bombshell Diana Dors.
In Washington, plans for a Marilyn Monroe supersonic fighter plane were revealed, much to the amusement of newspapers around the United States. To the disappointment of fans, however, the aircraft did not have Marilyn’s famous features painted on the side; instead, it sported an hourglass shape. This design gave it a smaller middle, which was said to reduce drag on the aircraft by 15 to 25 percent. Then in 1956, the US Navy announced that the crew of the atomic submarine Nautilus had hung a poster of Marilyn on the inside to boost morale.
The British North Western Gas Board saw an ingenious way of using Marilyn’s image to promote its annual report. Wanting to be sure that readers would actually look at the journal, a photograph of a swimsuit-clad Marilyn was sent out with each of the twenty thousand issues. “Figures are dreary if presented in the ordinary way of an annual report and accounts,” said a spokesperson. “But they are not half as dreary if presented in conjunction with another kind of figure—the kind belonging to Marilyn Monroe.”
Even schoolboys saw Marilyn as an opportunity to make money and gain street cred. In Los Angeles during 1953, a nine-year-old boy started a business whereby he sold the actress’s phone number to school friends for five cents. He made quite a lot of money, until Marilyn married Joe DiMaggio and his business went bust. His mother laughingly told reporters that it was she who had provided the much-sought-after phone number, but it was actually the general line for the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Marilyn’s influence reached far and wide. In Great Britain, her image was used to illustrate the point of many talks and discussions, including one given to the Luton and District Industrial Safety Association. Talking about eye protection, the speaker lightheartedly added, “With Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe to be seen, it is up to you to protect your eyesight!” If the rest of his speech failed to get the attention of the audience, the mention of Marilyn most certainly did.
In Portsmouth, Councilor S. H. Monard thought Marilyn’s
name might swing the vote in a campaign for safety at a children’s playground. “I don’t know whether you have fallen on concrete,” he told county council staff. “If you have, it is not funny. Falling on tarmac or bitumen compared with falling on concrete is really like a caress from Marilyn Monroe.” While his comment might have excited his colleagues, he did not win his case and the playground was installed with concrete instead.
For those who could not act but still wanted to be like the star, there were classes to help them fulfill the ambition. American choreographer Arthur Murray created a dance called the Marilyn Monroe Mamba, while several British teachers offered lessons in the art of perfecting the Monroe walk. An article about moving with grace singled her out as a perfect example. “Marilyn Monroe is a good walker,” said teacher Liljan Espenak. “She has perfect coordination.” Reporter Ed Weisman commented that this was great news, “if only that a woman has something nice to say about Marilyn.”
In 1957, designer Christian Dior released an uplift panty girdle, which reviewers quickly dubbed the perfect item to give women a Marilyn Monroe walk. New York reporter Olga Curtis was keen to try it for herself, so spent a day wandering around the city in the item. While it was comfortable, she ended the experiment declaring that she still didn’t look anything like Marilyn. “But what can you do?” she wrote. “The Marilyn Monroe walk can be had only if you’ve got the Monroe-type of natural resources to start with.”
For those able to perfect the Monroe look and walk, there were look-alike competitions to enter. It would be fair to say that most young women wanted to win one, including a seventeen-year-old skater involved in an ice show in Weymouth, Dorset. When she heard that they were having a Marilyn look-alike competition on the promenade, Penny Wilson pulled off her skates, changed into a bikini, and then ran down to the seafront. She won the contest and then returned in time to complete the second half of the skating show.
In Steger, Illinois, a little girl named Cheryl Ooms dressed up as her idol and won first prize in the age-seven-to-twelve category of the local fete. Meanwhile, in Atlanta, Georgia, twenty-year-old Joan Ferchaud entered and won a Marilyn look-alike competition. Her prize was the opportunity to act in a local play and have her photograph in the newspaper. That was fun but nothing compared to the prize Pauline Spanos won when entering a tribute contest in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1959. The lucky woman was flown to New York, where she stayed at the famed Plaza hotel, then attended the premiere of Some Like It Hot before appearing on the Jack Paar television show.
It wasn’t just young women who won prizes. In Lovington, New Mexico, a hen called Marilyn Monroe tied for third place in a competition to see how many eggs could be laid in the space of a month. “Marilyn” laid twenty-one in total, but was beaten by winner Mary Jane, who won a sack of Purina mash for her efforts. “Mary Jane Beats Marilyn Monroe in Egg Contest” screamed the Lovington Leader newspaper.
At Queen’s University in Belfast, students had a discussion about the charms of Marilyn versus those of cookbook author Mrs. Beeton. The actress—described as “the ultimate triumph of alliteration”—won the debate, though some university lecturers complained about the subject, claiming that there was a great deal of “ill-mannered and boorish behavior from certain sections of the audience.” The subject was classed by some as “flippant and infantile,” though the students themselves seemed to thoroughly enjoy it.
Marilyn even found herself discussed in the House of Lords, during a debate on the effect that television could have on the British film industry. One Lord admitted that he knew nothing about techniques such as 3-D or Cinemascope, but “then there are other phenomena, such as Marilyn Monroe, which is much easier for most of Your Lordships to understand.” Chuckles were heard echoing around the House.
Not every club, organization, or distributor was pleased to be associated with Marilyn, however. In August 1954, the Italian magazine Epoca arrived on the shores of Malta. Government officials checked the issues to make sure there was nothing salacious inside and then proceeded to clip out photos of Marilyn, before taking them to be burned. When asked why they had done it, the censors replied, “They’re indecent.”
In November of the same year, many scenes from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes were cut by censors in New Delhi. The reason for this, they announced, was because of the sight of Marilyn and Jane Russell’s thighs. The “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” number did not fare well, and instead of just a trim, the authorities cut the entire sequence.
Just as the New Delhi censor had finished trimming Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, another problem arose, this time in Vienna. A magazine editor there made the mistake of publishing a nude photograph of Marilyn and found himself hauled into court, charged with “arousing temptation to lasciviousness.” The poor man was eventually found not guilty when the judge told the court that “it cannot be assumed that the photograph would cause such temptation.”
A similar story appeared when the US Post Office banned the Star of Fire Gem Company from selling drink coasters featuring the famous nude calendar photo. Claiming that the items were indecent, the issue was taken to court and Judge William M. Byrne took the side of company boss Eddie LeBaron. According to Byrne, the pictures were not obscene and could be sent after all.
In January 1956, Trinidad film censors banned posters of the subway-grate photo, as they felt them to be “unseemly.” Local distributors responded by sticking the posters up anyway, but with the underwear section blacked out. Censors demanded they be taken down immediately, and when asked why, they said that the blacking out of the panties made the posters even “more unseemly.” Another controversy happened when it was reported that some Japanese women had stopped wearing underwear after hearing that Marilyn did the same. The Japanese underwear industry worried that their companies would be shut down if the women continued following Marilyn’s supposed example, though it turned out to be just a phase.
But for every man, woman, or business that thought negatively about Marilyn’s influence, there were countless others that remained inspired and delighted by her. During the mid-1950s, she was everywhere, as witnessed by one spectator walking through a Wiltshire park. As the man approached two boys on their way to school, he overheard one tell the other that his friend had been asked in English class to write down two words that were frequently said in his home. “And what did he put?” asked one boy. “He wrote Marilyn Monroe,” said the other.
IN LONDON, LAURENCE OLIVIER was busying himself with preparations for Marilyn’s arrival. Just as the adaptation of Bus Stop had caused headaches for screenwriter George Axelrod and director Joshua Logan, now the script of The Sleeping Prince was keeping Olivier up at night. Having acted in the stage production himself, the actor knew that the play was two hours without intermission. While writing the film script, he complained that the story had gained a mind of its own, therefore making the screenplay even longer than the play.
After chopping it down as far as he could, Olivier managed to get the script to two hours ten minutes, but even that was over the standard film time. In something of a panic, he telephoned Warner Bros. mogul Jack Warner to discuss the problem and was somewhat relieved when the executive said the length would be fine. Unaware yet that Marilyn hated his edits, Joshua Logan recommended that Olivier not worry about the length of the script, and instead delete any unwanted footage at the end of filming.
Having sorted that out, Olivier turned to the subject of Marilyn herself. While he had greatly enjoyed being with the actress in Manhattan, he realized that spending a few days with her off set would be nothing like spending four months on. On June 8, the actor/director went to bed wondering if he should write to Joshua Logan for more advice. Quite astonishingly, he woke up the next morning to a letter from Logan himself, offering help on how to handle working with Marilyn.
The director explained the kinds of techniques he had used to get the best performance from the actress, as well as how to calm her fears and anxieties. Probably
thinking about the evening he shouted at her, Logan recommended that Olivier not go in that direction. When the actor later replied, he said that he’d never imagined that anyone would ever yell at Marilyn, though he understood how hard it was to achieve the patience required on set—especially when acting as well as directing. He promised that he would take a break if ever he felt stressed.
Olivier read the letter over and over again, underlining passages and sentences he thought would be particularly useful. Although Logan warned him not to allow Paula Strasberg on the set, Olivier was surprisingly thrilled to hear that she would be accompanying Marilyn to England. He had recently worried that she would have no friends in the country and had actually enlisted the help of his friend Bunny Bruce to become a companion, should the need arise. He also took great comfort in the fact that Logan described Marilyn as being very passionate while working. He could cope with almost anything, he decided, except a lack of enthusiasm.
When Olivier wrote back to Logan on June 9, he did so with great animation. Over the course of six pages, he went over many of the details that the director had shared, and reassured him that everything had been digested. He even went so far as to describe the letter as being a bible not just for him, but for his colleagues too. Time would tell, however, just how much—or little—of Logan’s advice he was actually willing to take.
On June 11, 1956, Arthur Miller received his divorce in Nevada and returned to New York. Now that he was free, the playwright discussed a possible marriage with Marilyn, and the two spent time with his parents. There is some discrepancy as to when the family was formally introduced, but they had certainly seen Marilyn during a performance of Miller’s plays. Whether they ever thought of her becoming part of their family is questionable, so when Arthur did reveal that they were to be engaged, his parents were intrigued but cautious.
Despite initial worries, the actress won them over quickly and they both seemed to like her; in fact, his father—Isidore Miller—was particularly fond of and remained close to Marilyn for the remainder of her life. Marilyn even trusted him enough to read her poetry, and while it wasn’t all to his taste, Isidore sensed a great need for his approval. “When Arthur’s parents told me, ‘Darling, at last you have a father and a mother,’ this was the most wonderful moment of my life—next to marrying their son,” Marilyn said.
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