Films
Marilyn Monroe’s first film with 20th Century Fox was The Shocking Miss Pilgrim. She played roles in several other films, however, none of them were big hits. Her bad luck streak with films ended when she auditioned for the film The Asphalt Jungle, directed by John Huston. Marilyn thought she blew her chances of getting the role by dressing too provocative. She was given the role as character Angela Phinley, the mistress of an elderly attorney. After that film reviewers described her as “curvy Marilyn Monroe” (Mcann, p 93). Marilyn’s “dumb blonde” persona and sex appeal could be why she was able to land roles in several movies. Her character and persona was the beginning of a culture shift in Hollywood (Vigillant, 2013). “In the movie “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”, Marilyn adorns her trademark platinum blonde “Hollywood” hairdo. In this movie, she plays the role of a sensual yet materialistic woman that is not afraid of using her charm to obtain what she wants. This type of character will be repeated time and time again in popular culture” (Vigillant, 2013).
Although she played a tiny part in the movie, Marilyn’s character in All About Eve was a dumb blonde and a gold digger.
After the film The Seven Year Itch Marilyn began to get many publicity due to her most famous pose of her white dress blowing up at the subway in New York. Publicist wanted to keep on the idea of Marilyn as a symbolic object of illicit male sexual desire (MCcann, 100). “At first, it was all innocent and fun, but when Billy Wilder kept shooting the scene over and over, the crowd of men kept on applauding and shouting, “More, more, Marilyn – let’s see more.”-Marilyn Monroe. Her character in the film is known as “The Girl.” A business man that lives in her complex is tempted to have an affair with her while his wife is away on a trip. She was criticized negatively after this performance. Journalist, Bosley Crowther stated: “Marilyn Monroe does not perform as a great actress; she performs as a great physique” (Crowther, 1955).
