• Height: 5’6″ • Date of Birth: June 1, 1926 • Number of (successive) Husbands: 3 • Executive Producer (uncredited): The Prince and the Showgirl (1957) • Golden Globe Wins: 2 (plus 2 other nominations) • Combined Films Box Office Gross: Approx. $2 billion US¹
When she was on her Game, she made it look easy. Yes, there was the substance abuse and the breakdowns, and the overdose at the end. She was a victim of her own success, and much has been written about That.
But she was a Phenomenon – and still is. Her face is as familiar to us as our own: The arched eyebrows, the just-so beauty spot, and a smile that makes it seem she’s having the time of her life.
In some ways, it might feel as though we know her, even though we don’t.
A newly-released documentary, Marilyn Monroe: Beauty is Pain, looks at Marilyn’s career and private life. It draws upon interviews with those who knew her personally, including first husband James Dougherty, method acting guru Lee Strassberg, and Marilyn herself.
It would not be easy to create a documentary about Marilyn Monroe, because so much has been Said. However, Beauty is Pain feels original because all the interviews are with her contemporaries. Despite the age of the footage, the film, overall, feels timeless.
Beauty is Pain reminds us what Marilyn accomplished in her short life, and gives us a glimpse at the making of a Legend.
Before Marilyn, she was Norma Jean Baker, and, although she grew up in LA, she had few of life’s advantages. Her mother suffered from mental illness, and was committed to a hospital when Norma was seven years old. The girl spent most of her childhood being shuffled between family friends/relatives and an orphanage, even though she had a legal guardian.
Memo to Norma Jean: You’re on your own, kid.
In 1942, when she was 16, she was slated to return to the orphanage, but she instead married 21 year-old James Dougherty, at (apparently) the suggestion of his mother. The Doughertys gave Norma Jean a home while James served overseas in WWII.
She began working at a munitions factory. As Luck would Have It, she was photographed for an employee morale campaign, which led to a modelling career. She moved out of her in-laws’ house, and eventually landed a six-month contract with 20th Century-Fox, where she learned the moves of a Movie Star.
She also learned the business of being Marilyn Monroe.
Although her Fox contract wasn’t renewed, she was, according to the documentary, known for being a hard worker. When she signed a contract at Columbia Pictures in 1948, she was cast in small, but notable roles in films such as The Asphalt Jungle (1950) and All About Eve (1950).
Beauty is Pain shows us some of the bizarre attributes of stardom.
Look at the time Marilyn was taken to the hospital, escorted by then-husband Arthur Miller. We see footage of Miller helping Marilyn though crowds of fans and into a waiting ambulance. Even while she’s lying on the stretcher inside the ambulance, people are calling to her, and Marilyn is gamely smiling at them. Isn’t it a grand day to be hospitalized?
But stardom does come with power. Look at the press conference when she returns to Hollywood, after forming her own production company, and a reporter asks if she can choose her own directors. (Duh.) Marilyn gives the journalist a long, measured look, and we suspect she learns more about reporter than the other way around.
Unsurprisingly, the media could not get enough Marilyn. Some have argued this was a monster she herself created, but, as we have seen, the media is not easily tamed by anyone.
Some of Marilyn’s highest-grossing films.
John Huston, who directed her last film, The Misfits, said, “Marilyn had a strange, startling impact on the world. Even today, her gentle, haunted image continues to appear… We see human despair too late.”
That is true, sadly, and it’s one of the striking observations made by those who knew her. The thoughtful interviews included in Marilyn Monroe: Beauty is Pain make it a film worth watching.
♥
Disclosure: EM Productions sent us a link to view this documentary in exchange for an unbiased review.
Marilyn Monroe: Beauty is Pain – Narrated by Gale Cruz. Written & directed by Danielle Winter. EM Productions, 2021, B&W and Colour, 53 mins.
Here’s a very cool fact about Marilyn Monroe: she was a voracious learner and reader. She had a private library consisting of thousands of books ranging from classic literature to science to religion to philosophy, etc. She even made marginal notes of her thoughts, critique/analysis, and follow up questions of what she read in some of them, which have sold for millions at auction. A very bright and classy woman.
Yes, she was a voracious reader. Her friend, Jane Russell, used to talk about Marilyn reading Nietzsche, etc., something many people haven’t tackled (including me). Like you said, a very bright woman indeed.
Hey Karen, sorry for the delay in responding. The production co. says the film will be ready to stream June 1st, and they’ll send me a link closer to that date. When I receive it, I’ll forward it to you.
Such a classic, once in a lifetime beauty with a beautiful heart, gone much too soon. I love every single movie I’ve seen her in. I’ve always felt a special connection to Marilyn Monroe, because we were both born on June 1st.
I like her very much, she was not just an astonishing beauty but a very good actress too: you cannot do something as funny as Some like it hot if you are not smart enough to understand your character and your lines! Then there are other movies (Niagara and River of no Return) where it’s evident how talented she really was.
I really like her in both those dramas, especially Niagara. And her comic timing is superb in Some Like It Hot. She always makes me laugh out loud in How to Marry a Millionaire.
Silver Screenings 
Here’s a very cool fact about Marilyn Monroe: she was a voracious learner and reader. She had a private library consisting of thousands of books ranging from classic literature to science to religion to philosophy, etc. She even made marginal notes of her thoughts, critique/analysis, and follow up questions of what she read in some of them, which have sold for millions at auction. A very bright and classy woman.
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Yes, she was a voracious reader. Her friend, Jane Russell, used to talk about Marilyn reading Nietzsche, etc., something many people haven’t tackled (including me). Like you said, a very bright woman indeed.
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This documentary about Marilyn Monroe sounds like it offer a fascinating into the life and times of this movie icon.
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It’s really good. I hope you get a chance to see it.
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As you know, she was excellent in her final movie, The Misfits. A great movie in all aspects.
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She was amazing in The Misfits, wasn’t she? She almost breaks your heart.
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Imagine all she could have done if she’d lived longer or had been born in a different time. She really was incredible.
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You said it. The more I learn about her, the more I admire her.
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Loved your gorgeous images, and I will be looking for this documentary! Where can it be found?
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Hey Karen, sorry for the delay in responding. The production co. says the film will be ready to stream June 1st, and they’ll send me a link closer to that date. When I receive it, I’ll forward it to you.
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Wow, then the centenary of her birth is coming up in 5 years!
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Whoa! You’re right. I didn’t even think about that.
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Thank you so much for letting us know about the release of this new documentary on Marilyn Monroe. What a true icon she was and still is!
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It’s amazing, isn’t it, that she’s still so famous almost 60 years after her death. Just shows what an impact she had.
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I’ve always been a big Marilyn Monroe Fan – I’ll definitely have to get my hands on a copy of that.
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Oh yes – I hope you get the chance to see it!
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Such a classic, once in a lifetime beauty with a beautiful heart, gone much too soon. I love every single movie I’ve seen her in. I’ve always felt a special connection to Marilyn Monroe, because we were both born on June 1st.
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You share the same birthday? That is completely awesome, my friend.
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Thank you! Morgan Freeman and Spider-Man actor Tom Holland were also born on June 1st. I love my birthday!
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I like her very much, she was not just an astonishing beauty but a very good actress too: you cannot do something as funny as Some like it hot if you are not smart enough to understand your character and your lines! Then there are other movies (Niagara and River of no Return) where it’s evident how talented she really was.
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I really like her in both those dramas, especially Niagara. And her comic timing is superb in Some Like It Hot. She always makes me laugh out loud in How to Marry a Millionaire.
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I always felt so connected to her and I know that many still do as well. A kind soul surrounded w/ pain.
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I know what you mean. She had a way of connecting through the screen and across the decades, would you say?
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