Posts Tagged with How To Marry A Millionaire

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PROJECTIONS: MARILYN MONROE’S ON SCREEN PERSONA


16 April 2018 – 30 April 2018
Mondays 7-9pm

Freud Museum, London. United Kingdom, 20 Maresfield Gardens, Hampstead, London NW3 5SX

PROJECTIONS: Marilyn Monroe’s onscreen persona

Three Week Evening Course

Norma Jeane Baker transformed into Marilyn Monroe inside Hollywood’s ravenous glare. She began her entertainment career as a pinup model and soon secured her place as a bona fide international movie star. The ever-luminous Marilyn stole every scene she appeared in; many cinema scholars equate Monroe with the essence of the art form itself, due to the magic she invariably conjured up on the silver screen. She possessed an instinctive and sophisticated understanding of how to construct memorable images, and was not afraid of being vulnerable in her artistic process.

But beauty, talent and success did not diminish the pain of emotional difficulties Marilyn lived through. Abandoned in childhood by her parents, she experienced the vagaries of fame in her professional life, was bullied by powerful studio bosses, had three unsuccessful marriages and endured fertility problems, turning to alcohol and pills to cope with debilitating neuroses. Beneath the social mask of cheerful joie de vivre, Marilyn suffered enormously – and had the wherewithal to channel sorrow into her craft, evident in her interest in psychoanalysis and reliance on Method Acting to deliver authentic performances. Her untimely death at the age of 36 did not stop the ascension of her star in popular culture; quite the opposite, film experts and amateurs alike see her as a modern-day Aphrodite.

In this new PROJECTIONS series, we will examine the creation of Marilyn Monroe’s onscreen persona, and the psychological underpinnings that shaped not only how she projected herself, but also the ways in which film audiences continue to respond to her. We will consider the symbolism contained in Marilyn’s most famous film characters within three categories: the origins of her celebrity, the establishment of her icon, and a burning desire to disrupt widespread perceptions of who she was.

Advance viewing is optional, select scenes and montages will be shown during weekly sessions (see filmography below).

Week 1 – A STAR IS BORN

Ladies of the Chorus (1948), All About Eve (1950), Monkey Business (1952), Niagara (1953)

Week 2 – ICONIC PERFORMANCES

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), The Seven-Year Itch (1955), Some Like It Hot (1959)

Week 3 – ROCKING THE BOAT

Bus Stop (1956), The Prince and the Showgirl (1957), Let’s Make Love (1960), The Misfits (1961)

https://www.freud.org.uk/events/77120/projections-marilyn-monroes-onscreen-persona/

The BAFTAS
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The BAFTAS

The British Academy Film Awards (or the BAFTAS as they’re more commonly referred to) are currently under way in London tonight (18th February 2018.)   Marilyn was nominated twice for ‘Best Foreign Film Actress’ once in 1956 for “The Seven Year Itch” and secondly for her role in “The Prince And The Showgirl” at the 1958 Award ceremonies.

 

“All About Eve,” “How To Marry A Millionaire,” “Some Like It Hot” and “Let’s Make Love” were all nominated in the catagory for “Best Film From Any Source.”

     

More recently in 2012, the 2011 film “My Week With Marilyn,” starring Michelle Williams in the lead role, earned itself no less than 7 BAFTA nominations.  They included:

Best British Film: My Week With Marilyn
Best Actress In A Leading Role: Michelle Williams
Best Actor In A Supporting Role: Kenneth Brannagh
Best Actress In A Supporting Role: Dame Judy Dench
Best Hair and Make Up: Jenny Shircore
Best Costume Design: Jill Taylor

Michelle Williams at the 2012 BAFTA Awards receiving a nomination for her portrayal of Marilyn in “My Week With Marilyn.”

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVID WAYNE

Happy Birthday David Wayne! (January 30th 1914 – 9th February 1995.)

David Wayne was an American stage and screen actor with a career spanning over 50 years. Marilyn fans will recognise him as being her most frequent co-star, sharing the billing with Marilyn in no less than 4 of her movies:
“As Young As You Feel”
“We’re Not Married!”
“O Henry’s Full House”
“How To Marry A Millionaire”

With little or no screen time shared in “As Young As You Feel” and “O Henry’s Full House,” they were on screen lovers in “We’re Not Married!” and “How To Marry A Millionaire.”

Wayne was quoted as saying (on her performance in “How To Marry A Millionaire”)
“Negulesco (the Director) was very good with her and handled her beautifully. Of course she was always late, but I don’t think either Betty Grable or Lauren Bacall minded her. They were tough old pros and knew their business. There again, I also recall Marilyn being quite capable in her scenes with the other two girls. I wasn’t necessarily in the scene with them, but I’d sit next to Negulesco and watch the three of them work and by that time I thought that Marilyn had got a little technique under her belt.”

Happy birthday David!