Marilyn Monroe Fest: 4 mini-reviews
October 1st 2010 04:16
Sorry for the lack of updates lately. Been dealing with a lot of personal things. Here's four mini-reviews, after an impromptu Marilyn Monroe film fest.
River of No Return (1954, Preminger)
It’s odd to think of Otto Preminger directing a nationalistic Americana story set in the northwest during 1875. It’s even odder to see Marilyn Monroe among non-descript cowboys and women, sticking out like a sore thumb with her platinum blonde hair. For the first shot of saloon singer Monroe, Preminger admirably doesn’t go for the obvious close-up; instead, he frames Monroe in a wide-angle medium shot. In fact, Preminger keeps his camera at length for most of the film, using long shots for the majority.
The central storyline at the core of the film is rather sweet; a father (Robert Mitchum) reconnecting with the son he last saw years ago. The ominous title of course infers there will be action and danger abound. This comes in the form of Monroe’s relationship with her scheming husband. It’s obvious from one of the first scenes the way this tale will play out yet it doesn’t really seem to matter. Preminger’s camera takes it’s time to detail the glorious landscape of the river, mountains and valleys and the cinematography is utterly breathtaking.
Filmed in Cinescope, it’s possible the blue mountains behind Monroe, which are not sacrificed to give the male gaze a gratifying close-up, are even more gorgeous than she is. Racism is naturally in full swing here, with hollering, face painted, barn burning “Indians” who terrorize the trio at random moments in the film for no apparent reason. After Monroe’s good-for-nothing husband takes off find gold, the three are left to travel down the ‘river of no return”. This is where the film begins to wane in terms of interest.
Always pleasing to look at, the plot soon becomes mundane and the character dynamics are not as strong as they ought to be. Before long, there’s the inevitable quasi-rape but its okay because although she said no a handful a times she stops resisting in the end; luckily, this is interrupted by a mountain lion. The best thing about the film is Preminger’s decisions as a director; the lack of close-ups, the gorgeous wide-angles, the exclusion of music during a fight scene or big reveal. These decisions make Point of No Return worth a view from a technical standpoint. In terms of plot, the film becomes lackadaisical after the first 20 minutes; Monroe, however, is still a pleasure to watch and does the best she can with a lackluster script. The most interesting facts about River of No Return are the off-screen dramas that occurred while shooting, which led Preminger to cancel his contract with FOX.
Don’t Bother to Knock (Baker, 1952)
Don’t Bother to Knock is refreshing for an obvious reason: it features a lounge performer character that isn’t played by Monroe. Instead, Anne Bancroft in her debut role dons this task. Monroe plays Nell Forbes, a psychologically unstable woman who is roped into a babysitting job for the evening in the New York hotel where her uncle works. The role was an attempt by Monroe to prove she could act. What most didn’t realize was she was always acting.
Monroe’s performance is equal parts unsettling, child-like, and dangerous. In one scene, as she threatens a little girl, her eyes are menacing. It’s learned Nell was in a mental institution and has attempted suicide in the past. Her unstable past is awakened through her interactions with a lecherous hotel guest Jed, played by Richard Widmark. Jed has just broken up with Lyn (Bancroft) and is merely looking for some mindless human interaction when he spots Nell across the way and phones her. Events soon escalate and Nell begins to believe Jed is her dead boyfriend, Phillip, who was also a pilot. Perhaps it’s the confined space of a hotel room that elevates Nell’s paranoia, as if once again inhabiting a mental institution. With a mere 76 minutes, the film does an admirable job at establishing the characterizations of the three main roles and tension without feeling rushed or forced. That is, until the film’s final 30 seconds in which we encounter the inevitable ‘let’s tie our romantic subplot into a nice, tidy, completely unrealistic package.’ Monroe’s performance in Don’t Bother to Knock appears effortless at times; emotions flitter across her face. She looks lost, confused, and scared. At these moments, the off-screen connotations are unavoidable. For these reasons alone, this is truly a fascinating piece of celluloid to behold.
Love Nest (1951, Newman)
Marilyn Monroe only has a supporting role in this, which isn’t expanded to its full potential, yet she’s still the best thing in the film. The rest is a post-WWII situational romantic comedy/drama without much depth or substance; it’s rather a throwaway film. The plot to Love Nest is simple. Jim Scott (William Lundigan) comes back from war to his wife Connie (June Haver) who has invested in an apartment building. Soon the two are facing the marital problems of this fixer-upper which include bills, shady tenants and the arrival of Jim’s old friend from the service named Bobby aka Roberta (Monroe). The subplots fail to sustain real interest and Haver and Lundigan’s chemistry leaves much to be desired. The direction is standard and the writing is clunky. I would only recommend the film for true Monroe fans who are longing to see some of her pre-stardom work.
Niagara (1953, Hathaway)
I’m about 95% sure I’ve seen Niagara before. However, I barely remember it. Monroe is utterly stunning in it. I’m convinced Technicolor was invented just so Marilyn Monroe could be viewed in it. Monroe plays Rose, a femme fatale who dons skin tight dresses that visually pop off the screen (and she sings to boot!) Hathaway takes full advantage of Monroe’s sex appeal and features, framing her in close-ups and at seductive angles. Rose is married to George (Joseph Cotton), a hot-tempered, jealous man. While vacationing at Niagara falls, the two befriend a couple. Unwittingly, the pair gets pulled into Rose’s dangerous game as she and her lover plot George’s murder. The film features some standard noir tropes (and suffers from an overbearing, if perfectly understandable for the time period, score). Surprisingly, we aren’t given the money shot of the murder, which is meant to add suspense to the twist that comes a later. The film is rather short, and thus sparse in terms of substantial plot. Further, it lacks adequate set-up, which is necessary in order to care about George. Without this, the viewer is merely an observer rather than actively invested in the action. Cotton’s role, therefore, is rather thankless and the film is sadly maligned by the inclusion of the second couple. It would have been more interesting to see the plot unfold solely from Rose and George’s points of view.
Again, Monroe is the main stand-out here. She’s captivating, gorgeous, and does a convincing job as a manipulative, murderous femme.
_____________________________ ________________
Have you seen any of the above films? If so, what are your thoughts on them? What's your favorite Monroe performance?
River of No Return (1954, Preminger)
It’s odd to think of Otto Preminger directing a nationalistic Americana story set in the northwest during 1875. It’s even odder to see Marilyn Monroe among non-descript cowboys and women, sticking out like a sore thumb with her platinum blonde hair. For the first shot of saloon singer Monroe, Preminger admirably doesn’t go for the obvious close-up; instead, he frames Monroe in a wide-angle medium shot. In fact, Preminger keeps his camera at length for most of the film, using long shots for the majority.
The central storyline at the core of the film is rather sweet; a father (Robert Mitchum) reconnecting with the son he last saw years ago. The ominous title of course infers there will be action and danger abound. This comes in the form of Monroe’s relationship with her scheming husband. It’s obvious from one of the first scenes the way this tale will play out yet it doesn’t really seem to matter. Preminger’s camera takes it’s time to detail the glorious landscape of the river, mountains and valleys and the cinematography is utterly breathtaking.
Filmed in Cinescope, it’s possible the blue mountains behind Monroe, which are not sacrificed to give the male gaze a gratifying close-up, are even more gorgeous than she is. Racism is naturally in full swing here, with hollering, face painted, barn burning “Indians” who terrorize the trio at random moments in the film for no apparent reason. After Monroe’s good-for-nothing husband takes off find gold, the three are left to travel down the ‘river of no return”. This is where the film begins to wane in terms of interest.
Always pleasing to look at, the plot soon becomes mundane and the character dynamics are not as strong as they ought to be. Before long, there’s the inevitable quasi-rape but its okay because although she said no a handful a times she stops resisting in the end; luckily, this is interrupted by a mountain lion. The best thing about the film is Preminger’s decisions as a director; the lack of close-ups, the gorgeous wide-angles, the exclusion of music during a fight scene or big reveal. These decisions make Point of No Return worth a view from a technical standpoint. In terms of plot, the film becomes lackadaisical after the first 20 minutes; Monroe, however, is still a pleasure to watch and does the best she can with a lackluster script. The most interesting facts about River of No Return are the off-screen dramas that occurred while shooting, which led Preminger to cancel his contract with FOX.
Don’t Bother to Knock (Baker, 1952)
Don’t Bother to Knock is refreshing for an obvious reason: it features a lounge performer character that isn’t played by Monroe. Instead, Anne Bancroft in her debut role dons this task. Monroe plays Nell Forbes, a psychologically unstable woman who is roped into a babysitting job for the evening in the New York hotel where her uncle works. The role was an attempt by Monroe to prove she could act. What most didn’t realize was she was always acting.
Monroe’s performance is equal parts unsettling, child-like, and dangerous. In one scene, as she threatens a little girl, her eyes are menacing. It’s learned Nell was in a mental institution and has attempted suicide in the past. Her unstable past is awakened through her interactions with a lecherous hotel guest Jed, played by Richard Widmark. Jed has just broken up with Lyn (Bancroft) and is merely looking for some mindless human interaction when he spots Nell across the way and phones her. Events soon escalate and Nell begins to believe Jed is her dead boyfriend, Phillip, who was also a pilot. Perhaps it’s the confined space of a hotel room that elevates Nell’s paranoia, as if once again inhabiting a mental institution. With a mere 76 minutes, the film does an admirable job at establishing the characterizations of the three main roles and tension without feeling rushed or forced. That is, until the film’s final 30 seconds in which we encounter the inevitable ‘let’s tie our romantic subplot into a nice, tidy, completely unrealistic package.’ Monroe’s performance in Don’t Bother to Knock appears effortless at times; emotions flitter across her face. She looks lost, confused, and scared. At these moments, the off-screen connotations are unavoidable. For these reasons alone, this is truly a fascinating piece of celluloid to behold.
Love Nest (1951, Newman)
Marilyn Monroe only has a supporting role in this, which isn’t expanded to its full potential, yet she’s still the best thing in the film. The rest is a post-WWII situational romantic comedy/drama without much depth or substance; it’s rather a throwaway film. The plot to Love Nest is simple. Jim Scott (William Lundigan) comes back from war to his wife Connie (June Haver) who has invested in an apartment building. Soon the two are facing the marital problems of this fixer-upper which include bills, shady tenants and the arrival of Jim’s old friend from the service named Bobby aka Roberta (Monroe). The subplots fail to sustain real interest and Haver and Lundigan’s chemistry leaves much to be desired. The direction is standard and the writing is clunky. I would only recommend the film for true Monroe fans who are longing to see some of her pre-stardom work.
Niagara (1953, Hathaway)
I’m about 95% sure I’ve seen Niagara before. However, I barely remember it. Monroe is utterly stunning in it. I’m convinced Technicolor was invented just so Marilyn Monroe could be viewed in it. Monroe plays Rose, a femme fatale who dons skin tight dresses that visually pop off the screen (and she sings to boot!) Hathaway takes full advantage of Monroe’s sex appeal and features, framing her in close-ups and at seductive angles. Rose is married to George (Joseph Cotton), a hot-tempered, jealous man. While vacationing at Niagara falls, the two befriend a couple. Unwittingly, the pair gets pulled into Rose’s dangerous game as she and her lover plot George’s murder. The film features some standard noir tropes (and suffers from an overbearing, if perfectly understandable for the time period, score). Surprisingly, we aren’t given the money shot of the murder, which is meant to add suspense to the twist that comes a later. The film is rather short, and thus sparse in terms of substantial plot. Further, it lacks adequate set-up, which is necessary in order to care about George. Without this, the viewer is merely an observer rather than actively invested in the action. Cotton’s role, therefore, is rather thankless and the film is sadly maligned by the inclusion of the second couple. It would have been more interesting to see the plot unfold solely from Rose and George’s points of view.
Again, Monroe is the main stand-out here. She’s captivating, gorgeous, and does a convincing job as a manipulative, murderous femme.
_____________________________ ________________
Have you seen any of the above films? If so, what are your thoughts on them? What's your favorite Monroe performance?
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Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
My fave is probably The Misfits.
Some Like it Hot is great of course. RIP Tony Curtis.
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
I'm not huge on Marilyn, but I'm a big Robert Mitchum and Otto Preminger fan so River of No Returnranks for me.
For me Marilyn's best performance is in The Misfits.
Her best films are The Asphalt Jungle, Clash By Night and All About Eve.
I do enjoy Niagara.
I think she puts in effort with The Prince and The Showgirl.
I really laugh in the Seven Year Itch.
And Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a guilty pleasure. Though that is mainly for the delicious Jane Russell, the greatest bombshell this side of Ava Gardner.
Comment by Cinema is Truth
Cinema is Truth
Cinema is Truth
Comment by Cinema is Truth
Cinema is Truth
Cinema is Truth
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
"Some like It Hot" is a great film, but Marilyn's pouty over pronunciation really tarnishes the experience. That and her exaggerated and uncomfortable squirms. She was capable of playing sexy (Bus Stop) but was trying to hard in this for me.
Sorry but I always wish someone else was cast. As you said "she was always acting" and it was seldom natural on screen. She was so forced, always looked like she was trying to be something she wasn't.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a guilty one for me because of how shallow it is despite having the potential to be comedy that has a deeper purpose to it ala The Seven Year Itch. That's one I wish Billy Wilder had Directed.
I think my overall view of Marilyn is why I am in awe of her raw performance in The Misfits. Substantially better than everything that came earlier. had she lived I feel her best work was still to come...