Let's Make Love (1960) - Star of the month... Gene Kelly

Let's Make Love is the 1960 romantic musical comedy starring Marilyn Monroe with French actor Yves Montand and funny man Tony Randall. The supporting cast includes British singer Frankie Vaughan and Wilfred Hyde-White. The film was directed by the legendary George Cukor and features surprise guest cameos by three Hollywood greats appearing as themselves: Gene Kelly, Milton Berle and Bing Crosby.

Yves Montand stars as Jean-Marc Clement, a billionaire who is advised he is about to be parodied in an off-Broadway revue. Jean-Marc visits the theatre to find out more about it, but is mistaken as an actor auditioning for the role. He is offered the role due to his uncanny resemblance and real life performance. He is bewildered by the show's star Amanda Dell (played by Monroe), and decides to play along with the charade. Jean-Marc hires Milton Berle to teach him to tell jokes, Bing Crosby to teach him to sing, and Gene Kelly to teach him to dance. Despite this first rate tuition, Amanda teaches Jean-Marc money can't buy you love.

Upon release the film was not a critical or commercial success, and was one of Marilyn's only films to lose money.

Musical highlights

Let's Make Love features quite a few unmemorable and unexciting musical numbers. There are fortunately two stand out numbers: "My Heart Belongs To Daddy" and "Specialisation".

Song: "My Heart Belongs To Daddy" - Marilyn Monroe

Did you know...

• Marilyn was not satisfied with the script and had her then-husband Arthur Miller review and rewrite it.
• The following actors all turned down the role of Jean Clement: Gregory Peck, Cary Grant, Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner and Rock Hudson
• Montand and Monroe reportedly had an off-screen affair during the filming of this film

Concluding remarks

Despite its unrealistic plot and very predictable ending, overall the film is amusing to watch with quite a few laughs. The highlight for me was Milton Berle, who gets more laughs in his 8 minutes cameo than any of the other lead actors. Worth watching if you're a fan of Marilyn or Milton Berle.

The Seven Year Itch (1955) - Spotlight on... Trailblazers

Spotlight on... Trailblazers

"When it's hot like this, do you know what I do? I keep my undies in the inbox." - Marilyn Monroe (as The Girl)

The Seven Year Itch is a 1955 comedy directed by Billy Wilder and starring Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell. The supporting cast includes Evelyn Keys and Carolyn Jones.

This film is contains one of the most iconic images of the 20th century... the infamous scene of Marilyn's white dress blowing up by the air from the subway grating.

The amusing sex farce depicts the troubles of a middle aged married man and is based on the successful Broadway play of the same name by George Axelrod.

Marilyn stars as The Girl (with no name)

Richard Sherman (played by Ewell) sends his wife Helen (played by Keyes) and son away to Maine for the Summer. Meanwhile The Girl (the character has no official name - played by Marilyn) rents the apartment directly above Richard.  Consequently Richard gives a new meaning to the saying when the wife's away, the man will play, by overtly flirting with The Girl and engaging in a number of sexual fantasies.

The cast

Tom Ewell is perfectly cast in the film, reprising his stage role of Sherman.

Marilyn tickles, sizzles and tantalises with her sexy yet innocent portrayal as the girl upstairs.

Carolyn Jones (best known for playing Morticia Addams in the 1960's version of The Addams Family) has an amusing cameo as an oversexed nurse, Miss Finch, in one of Richard's dreams.

Controversy

Although innocent and tame by today's standards, 'The Seven Year Itch' pushed the limits while it is being filmed and was extremely controversial, with Hollywood censors closely watching the filming.

The film shocked audiences with its explicit footage of marital infidelity, breaching the Hays Production Code stating adultery must never be used for comedy or ridicule. In the stage play, Richard has an affair with The Girl, whereas in the film, only a fantasy is implied.

The Catholic Legion of Decency also condemned the film and discoraged Catholics from attending the film.

Marilyn's skirt blowing scene

Despite the film's poster and iconic image, this is as high

as the dress blows up in the final film

The infamous skirt blowing scene was filmed on Lexington Avenue at 52nd Street in New York City. A large crowd watched the filming, including Marilyn's infuriated husband Joe DiMaggio, who separated from Marilyn shortly after. Marilyn wore two pairs of undies to ensure her modesty was protected.

Did you know...

• Walter Matthau screen tested for the role of Richard Sherman
• Tom Ewell never watched any of his films, including this one, as he did not a fan of film as an art form, and preferred acting on the stage
• This was one of Evelyn Keyes' final major film roles
• The exterior location of Richard's apartment is 164 East 61st St, Manhattan

Awards and nominations

• Golden Globe Award winner - Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy (Tom Ewell)
• Directors Guide of America Award nomination (Billy Wilder)

Closing remarks

'The Seven Year Itch' is truly a fun film to watch over and over again. Marilyn superbly plays the blonde bimbo, and immortalised herself with the famous skirt blowing scene. In my opinion this is Marilyn's funniest film (even funnier than 'Some Like It Hot').  I recommend 'The Seven Year Itch' to anyone who enjoys a good laugh.

Let's Make Love - Star birthday... Milton Berle

Milton Berle

Milton Berle singing 'The Entertainer' with The Muppets

Milton Berle was born on 12 July 1908. Beginning his career in vaudeville, Berle enjoyed a very prolific career as an actor/comedian in on stage, on radio, on television and on film. He is best remembered for being the first major American television star, and was known throughout his career as "Mr. Television" and "Uncle Miltie". 


Milton Berle died on 27 March 2002 at the age of 93 after a battle against colon cancer.

Recommended viewing

• Lil Abner (1940)
• Always Leave Them Laughing (1949)
• Let's Make Love (1960)
• It's a Mad, Mad. Mad, Mad World (1963)
• The Loved One (1965)
• The Oscar (1966)
• The Muppet Show (TV SERIES - guest appearance) (1977)
• The Muppet Movie (1979)
• Broadway Danny Rose (1984)
• 
  Pee Wee's Big Adventure (1985)

Let's Make Love (1960)

Let's Make Love is the 1960 romantic musical comedy starring Marilyn Monroe with French actor Yves Montand and funny man Tony Randall. The supporting cast includes British singer Frankie Vaughan and Wilfred Hyde-White. The film was directed by the legendary George Cukor and features surprise guest cameos by three Hollywood greats appearing as themselves: Gene Kelly, Milton Berle and Bing Crosby.

Yves Montand stars as Jean-Marc Clement, a billionaire who is advised he is about to be parodied in an off-Broadway revue. Jean-Marc visits the theatre to find out more about it, but is mistaken as an actor auditioning for the role. He is offered the role due to his uncanny resemblance and real life performance. He is bewildered by the show's star Amanda Dell (played by Monroe), and decides to play along with the charade. Jean-Marc hires Milton Berle to teach him to tell jokes, Bing Crosby to teach him to sing, and Gene Kelly to teach him to dance. Despite this first rate tuition, Amanda teaches Jean-Marc money can't buy you love.

Upon release the film was not a critical or commercial success, and was one of Marilyn's only films to lose money.

Musical highlights

Let's Make Love features quite a few unmemorable and unexciting musical numbers. There are fortunately two stand out numbers: "My Heart Belongs To Daddy" and "Specialisation".

Song: "My Heart Belongs To Daddy" - Marilyn Monroe

Did you know...

• Marilyn was not satisfied with the script and had her then-husband Arthur Miller review and rewrite it.
• The following actors all turned down the role of Jean Clement: Gregory Peck, Cary Grant, Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner and Rock Hudson
• Montand and Monroe reportedly had an off-screen affair during the filming of this film

Concluding remarks

Despite its unrealistic plot and very predictable ending, overall the film is amusing to watch with quite a few laughs. The highlight for me was Milton Berle, who gets more laughs in his 8 minutes cameo than any of the other lead actors. Worth watching if you're a fan of Marilyn or Milton Berle.

All About Eve (1950)

Star birthday... George Sanders

Star birthday... George Sanders

George Sanders was born in Russia on 3 July 1906. He began his film career in British film before moving to Hollywood. His strong English accent often led him to be typecast as sophisticated and villainous roles.

George Sanders died 25 April 1972 at age 65 by suicide. He took five bottles of Nembutal and left a suicide note reading:

"Dear World, I am leaving because I am bored. I feel I have lived long enough. I am leaving you with your worries in this sweet cesspool. Good luck"

George Sanders is best known for his role as Addison DeWitt in All About Eve (1950), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Recommended viewing

• Rebecca (1940)
• The Lodger (1944)
• The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
• All About Eve (1950)
• Ivanhoe (1952)
• Moonfleet (1955)
• The King's Thief (1955)
• The Last Voyage (1960)
• Village of the Damned (1960)

All About Eve (1950)

"Fasten your seat belts... it's going to be a bumpy night!"

'All About Eve' is a 1950 drama about one of the most cunning and evil people in the world... Eve Harrington.

The film stars Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Garry Merrill, Thelma Ritter, Hugh Marlowe, Barbara Bates and Marilyn Monroe in one of her earliest roles. Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, the film is a multi-award winner, including the Best Picture Oscar.


Watch the trailer:

In 1990, the film was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant."

The stars of the film

All About Eve is a very special film for me, as it is the only film to feature my two favourite movie stars, Bette Davis and Marilyn Monroe. What's better is they even share some scenes. Marilyn plays aspiring actress Miss Claudia Caswell, who is described as a "student of the Copacabana School of Dramatic Art". For her performance Marilyn was $500 per week, with at least one week guaranteed.

A then "unknown" Marilyn Monroe shares a scene
with Bette Davis

Eve Harrington (played by Baxter) is an innocent, die hard fan of Margo Channing (played Davis), who has seen every single performance of Margo's latest play. With the help of a playwright's wife Karen (played by Holm), Eve becomes Margo's assistant and moves into the guest room of her home.

While working for her, Eve studies Margo, begins to talk and dress like her, and even weasels her way into becoming Margo's understudy. As a prank Karen conspires with Eve to enable Margo to miss a performance, to give each a chance to perform. Knowing she will be performing Eve invites all the local theatre critics to view the performance, for which she gets fantastic reviews.

Eve adds strain to Margo's relationship with playwright Lloyd (played by Marlowe), and her boyfriend Bill (played by Bette Davis' real life husband at the time Gary Merrill). 

All of this heats the pot in what becomes a dramatic saga of bitchyness and deceit, as Eve connives her way into the lives of Margo and her friends, doing her best to destroy each of them.

Calling the character Eve is clever, considering it was Eve who betrayed Adam, causing them both to be banished from the Garden of Eden.

George Sanders as cold blooded theatre critic
Addison DeWitt

Awards and nominations

• Academy Award winner for Best Picture
• Academy Award winner for Best Director
• Academy Award winner for Best Supporting Actor (George Sanders)
• Academy Award winner for Best Costume Design for a Black and White film (Edith Head)
• Academy Award winner for Best Writing, Screenplay
• Academy Award winner for Best Sound Recording
• Academy Award nomination for Best Leading Actress (Bette Davis)
• Academy Award nomination for Best Leading Actress (Anne Baxter)
• Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress (Celeste Holm)
• Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress (Thelma Ritter)
• Academy Award nomination for Best Set Direction for a Black and White film
• Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography for a Black and White film
• Academy Award nomination for Best Film Editing
• Academy Award nomination for Best Music Score
• Golden Globe winner for Best Motion Picture Screenplay
• Golden Globe nomination for Best Drama Motion Picture
• Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress for a Drama (Bette Davis)
• Golden Globe nomination for Best Director
• Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor (George Sanders)
• Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress (Thelma Ritter)

Closing remarks

I absolutely love this film, and enjoy watching this over and over. In my opinion it is one of Bette Davis's greatest performances, and definitely Marilyn Monroe's best film, although she is only a minor role in it. Had the film been made 15 years earlier, Bette Davis would have been the ideal actress to play Eve.

Remember, this film is a warning... beware of Eve. The world is full of Eve's...  Young innocent protégées with hidden ambition who secretly drive nails into the backs of their mentors. If you have an assistant watch your back, your assistant might just "pull an Eve" on you.

Something's Got To Give (1962)

Star of the month... Marilyn Monroe

Something's Got To Give is Marilyn Monroe's final film, which is still incomplete.

Marilyn goes for a skinny dip

The comedy is a remake of the 1940 screwball comedy 'My Favorite Wife', and was to be directed by George Cukor and to co-star Dean Martin, Cyd Charisse, Phil Silvers, Tom Tyron and Wally Cox. The film was abandoned after Marilyn's death, and the 37 minutes of footage which still survives is included in the documentary 'Marilyn: The Final Days'.

Ellen Wagstaff Arden (played by Monroe) has been lost at sea in the Pacific for five years and declared legally dead. Meanwhile her husband Nicholas Arden (played by Martin) has just remarried a new wife, Bianca (played by Charisse). Whilst they are on their honeymoon, Ellen is rescued and returns to her husband and his new wife. Upon learning Ellen had spent the past few years on a desert island with another man, Stephen Burkett (played by Tyron), Nicholas becomes jealous.

The pool scene

Marilyn filmed a scene where she appears swimming nude in a swimming pool. The studio had provided Marilyn with a flesh coloured body suit, however Marilyn took it off and was filmed wearing only bikini bottoms. Had the film been finished and released, Marilyn would have been the first mainstream film star to be appear in a Hollywood film nude.

Watch a video of The pool scene:

Production cancelled

Production of the film stopped once Cukor had filmed every scene not involving Marilyn, and she was still unavailable. As a result, 20th Century Fox fired Marilyn and replaced her with Lee Remick. This led Dean Martin to quit as his contract specified he would be starring with Marilyn. With the production already $2million over budget, Fox decided to shut down the project. Marilyn was found dead in her home less than two months later.

Happy Birthday Mr. President (1962)

Star of the month... Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn sings "Happy Birthday"

Although not a film, "Happy Birthday Mr. President" it is a very significant moment and still an iconic image of Marilyn Monroe fifty years after her death, so I thought it only appropriate to write a short blog about it, so here it goes...

On Saturday 19 May 1962, at the suggestion of actor Peter Lawford, Marilyn Monroe attended the early 4th birthday celebration of President John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden in New York. 

Marilyn performed "Happy Birthday"in a sultry voice, with a specially written verse based on the Bob Hope song, "Thanks for the Memory". 

JFK thanks Marilyn

The dress Marilyn wore
 to the event

At the end of the performance, Kennedy responded with: "Thank you. I can now retire from politics after having had 'Happy Birthday' sung to me in a such a sweet, wholesome way."

Over 15,000 people attended the event - JFK's wife Jackie was not in attendance

The event is significant for two reasons...

• it was one of Marilyn's final public appearances, before her death on 5 August 1962
• there are rumours Marilyn and Kennedy had an affair, giving the performance a new layer of meaning

In 1999, the dress Marilyn wore (designed by Jean Louis) sold at auction for US$1.26 million.

Watch the performance on YouTube:

Early Marilyn (1947-1950) - Star of the month... Marilyn Monroe

I probably normally wouldn't publish a blog post, talking about a number of films I haven't seen. But seeing Marilyn Monroe (Star of the Month for June 2012) is such an icon, I felt it was important to pay tribute to her early film roles which I have not yet seen. Although many of these films are difficult to find in full, short clips of Marilyn's brief roles are widely available, so I thought I would link these clips with a short introduction.

The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (1947)

Marilyn's film debut was in The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (1947), in which Marilyn has a very small blink and miss her uncredited role as a Telephone Operator, saying only one line. Directed by George Seaton, the film stars Betty Grable, who would later star with Marilyn in 'How to Marry A Millionaire' (1953), and Dick Haymes.

Dangerous Years (1947)

In her second film appearance in Dangerous Years (1947), Marilyn has a very small uncredited role as Evie, a waitress in the restaurant scene.  Directed by Arthur Pierson, the film stars Billy Halop and Ann E. Todd.

Marilyn as waitress Evie in 'Dangerous Years'

While I wasn't able to find the full film, I found a brief clip of her performance on YouTube:

Green Grass of Wyoming (1948)

Marilyn has an uncredited role as a square dance extra in the western Green Grass of Wyoming (1948). Directed by Louis King, the film stars Peggy Cummins and Charles Coburn.

You Were Meant For Me (1948)

Marilyn appears briefly as an uncredited extra lady in waiting in the musical You Were Meant For Me (1948). Directed by Lloyd Bacon, the film stars Jeanne Crain and Dan Dailey.

Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! (1948)

Marilyn has another blink and miss her role in 'Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!' (1948) as Betty. She is the parishioner walking out of the church who says "Hi Rad".  Marilyn filmed another scene for the film in a canoe, but it was cut from the film. For her work she was paid $150 a week. Directed by Hugh Herbert, the film stars June Haver and Natalie Wood.

I found a clip of Marilyn's brief role from YouTube:

Love Happy (1949)

Marilyn has a brief walk on role as Grunion's Client in the final Marx Brothers film 'Love Happy' (1949). The film was directed by David Miller.  Although Marilyn appears for less than a minute, home video releases display Marilyn's image on the cover. 

Marilyn's photo appears on a home video
release for 'Love Happy', although she
appears in the film for ~40 secs

Here is a clip of Marilyn's appearance:

A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950)

Marilyn appears briefly in 'A Ticket To Tomahawk' (1950) as showgirl Clara. Directed by Richard Sale, the film stars Dan Dailey, Anne Baxter and Rory Calhoun.

Here is a clip of Marilyn's scene from the film. She is the blonde dancer in the yellow dress.

Right Cross (1950)

Marilyn has a brief uncredited role as Dusky Ledoux opposite Dick Powell in the MGM drama 'Right Cross' (1950). The film was directed by John Sturges and co-stars June Allyson.

Here is a clip of Marilyn's appearance on YouTube:

The Fireball (1950)
Marilyn has a brief role as Polly in the 1950 drama The Fireball, starring Mickey Rooney and Pat O'Brien. The is directed by Tay Garnett.

This YouTube video presents a montage of the 6 short scenes featuring Marilyn: