THE GIRL by MICHELLE MORGAN : MARILYN MONROE, THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH, and the BIRTH OF AN UNLIKELY FEMINIST

As this summer in early August, it will be 60 years since the actress Marilyn Monroe died of an overdose - or perhaps was murdered - a resurgence of film, documentaries, and books has occurred. This book by Michelle Morgan, published in 2018, is one of the first to look at the icon as something other than a victim.  Rather, Morgan points out the attempts to control her career that Monroe had taken in an era when she went against the norms by having a career, and not being the married, stay-at-home wife and mother. In many ways Monroe was born too soon.

Morgan starts out strong with this statement on page 10.

Excerpt: The Girl, titled after her character in the 1955 comedy The Seven Year Itch, tells the story of how that film transformed Marilyn Monroe from another Hollywood star into "The Girl" of modern times - a true icon - and sent her on an unparalleled adventure of self-discovery and reflection.  The years 1954-1956 were Marilyn's most powerful and inspirational, and it was during this time that her most substantial decisions were made. Before Itch, she had been known for her mostly fluffy, dumb-blonde roles, and she was unhappily married to baseball legend Joe DiMaggio.  By the time the film opened Marilyn was the president of her own film company, a student at New York Actor's Studio, and embroiled in a battle with Twentieth Century Fox that would eventually gain independence not only for herself, but others working under the constraints of the studio system too. Shortly after the release, she legally changed her name to Marilyn Monroe, thereby divorcing herself from the troubled past of Norma Jeane once and for all. Her rebellion was remarkable and exceptionally rare during a time when women were expected to strive to be fantastic homemakers and actresses had to accept every kind of behavior imposed upon them by their male bosses.

While Monroe had her detractors, I was surprised to learn that two of the women profiled here, Faith Domergue and Marilyn Maxwell, had nice things to say about Marilyn. 

Excerpt page 127 : Still, Marilyn did have her fair share of powerful female admirers who were always willing to come out in support of her.  One of these women was actress Faith Domergue. She took her complaints about ' clubwomen or jealous movie queens" straight to columnist Erskine Johnson, who published her views. "Nobody can hurt (Marilyn)," she said. "If she stays as she is, holding her ground, being herself, she will be on of the great stars of all time. Women may not approve of an actress, but as long as they're curious, they'll come to see her films and bring their men along too."  (The club she refers to s the Women's Club of Hollywood which apparently thought of themselves as moral arbitrators.)

Excerpt page 128 : One actress shared a name with her. though not by choice.  Marilyn Maxwell had become famous in the 1940's, and when she met the second Marilyn in 1948, she was stunned to hear of her desire to become a successful actress.  Maxwell suggested that she should change her name to something else so that the two of them did not get mistaken for each other. However,  Monroe had no intention of doing so, and for many years Maxwell was bombarded with fans who thought they were the one and the same. In the end, Maxwell gave a standard reply : "No, I'm not the Marilyn with clothes on." though no offense was meant and she actually did greatly admire Monroe. "I think she has done a great deal of good for the movie industry." she said. "She is just what this business needed -- someone to put some glamour and magic back into Hollywood."

If interested in FAITH DOMERGUE:  FAITH DOMERGUE :  HOWARD HUGHES FIFTEEN YEAR OLD MISTRESS : MISTRESS OF THE MONTH  May 2014, which you can find in my archives.  Or click on her name in the labels below.

If interested in MARILYN MAXWELL she is one of the women profiled in my month on comedic actor, Bob Hope.

MARILYN MAXWELL - FOUR YEAR RELATIONSHIP WITH BOB HOPE - CALLED "MRS. BOB HOPE"  August 2015

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