MARILYN AS YOU MAY NEVER HAVE SEEN HER
Yes I'm talking about Marilyn Monroe - to most people the dumb
sexy blonde from Hollywood. As a kid growing up into adulthood,
this was the impression I got from the media. And yes as I began
to watch some of her movies, this is what Hollywood seemed to
want to have her be - sexy dumb blonde. But underneath all that
hype I detected there was more to this pretty looking gal with
the great figure. I read more serious articles about her,
that she first of all did not want to be this sexy dumb blonde
character, that she read a lot of educational books, took serious
acting lessons, and singing lessons.
I've collected just about all of her movies over the years, and
with today's standards of morality her sexy blonde stuff is
mickey mouse in comparison to the steamy sex they shove in the
movies today, as Roy Rogers was fond of saying, "stuff I would
not let Trigger see."
And Marilyn DID have talent! Yes she really did.
Two of the most recent movies I've wanted for a long time, I've
finally obtained through moviesunlimited.com
The one is RIVER OF NO RETURN with Robert Mitchum and Rory
Calhoun. It was filmed on location in the Jasper area of the
Canadian Rockies. So the scenery is breathtaking. Made in 1954,
and surprisingly the river rapid scenes were done with no stunt
doubles.
Apparently Marilyn fell in a few times and had to be rescued by
Mitchum. Calhoun got sick from the cold, and they had to hold up
production till he was fit again. It shows that Marilyn was a pretty
tough gal, to do what she did with no stunt double. In the
movie she sings and even plays the guitar, and being a guitar
player I know it was her doing it, you can easily tell when
someone is faking playing the guitar. This was no fake. There is
a boy in the story, and it carries a teaching lesson.
So I give it two thumbs up for all it contains - a good story
line and a good ending. Yes, one of Marilyn's different ones.
The second Monroe movie I've wanted for some time is BUS STOP - a
modern cowboy rodeo guy who thinks Marilyn is the gal for him.
But goes about getting her, or trying to get her, in all the wrong
ways. You have some good rodeo scenes, a little music. Marilyn
does an unusual take on the song "Old Black Magic" and throughout
the movie she has this southern drawl. She really could act, and
does a great job on this character. Entertaining, with a good
supporting cast, Don Murry doing a fine performance of this loud,
forceful, ill-experienced with girls cowboy, trying to catch his
girl like wrestling a steer. He learns his mistakes, and it all
ends happily.
Yes indeed, two good Marilyn Monroe movies, good for the whole
family.
Oh, yes, one interesting true story about filming RIVER OF NO
RETURN in Jasper Canada. Marilyn was out one day by herself (you
could do that up in Jasper in 1954) by the river, and she fell
in. The Canadian Mountie sent to keep an eye on her, had to pull
her from the water, take her to his car, turn the heater on and
cuddle her, to get her warm. They interviewed him not too long
ago on TV, now an old man. So he was relating the story. That is
something to remember, cuddling Marilyn Monroe in your police car
to get her warm. Then they finished the interview with telling us
our Mountie had his own Marilyn Monroe at home; his wife; they
put up a picture of her and indeed she was pretty, yes sir.
Well two fine and interesting movies that show the talent of this
pretty blonde (decidedly blonde you know - one day she decided to
be blonde - was actually a brunette in real life) gal, that died
way too soon.
You can get them from moviesunlimited.com
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