'Blonde': Five top Marilyn Monroe movies you should see before Netflix flick
Hollywood has seen a lot of iconic figures, but none has been more enigmatic and charismatic than the one and only Marilyn Monroe. Monroe, whose real name was Norma Jean, began her professional career as a model and by 1946, she had already appeared on 33 magazine covers for some of the biggest publications such as Pageant, US Camera, Peek, and Laff. In 1947, she made her feature film debut with ‘Dangerous Years’ and had a cameo role in the 1948 movie ‘Scudda Hoo! Scudda Haye!’
After making appearances in the aforementioned movie, she never looked back and went on to become one of the most legendary Hollywood personalities of all time. During the 1950s and early 1960s, she became one of the most popular sex symbols and was an emblem of the era’s sexual revolution. However, her professional career started to decline because of her troubled private life and addiction problems. Netflix’s upcoming movie ‘Blonde’, starring Ana de Armas as Monroe, will be capturing all the pivotal moments of Monroe’s troubled life and let viewers know how troubled her life was.
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But let’s take a look at some of the finest works that Marilyn Monroe did in her career and put a smile on everyone’s faces. Here are 5 movies that will make you believe that Monroe was an amazing actor as well.
5) 'River of No Return’ (1954)
‘River of No Return’ was Monroe’s second Western drama, but it was the first time that she was playing a leading role in a western movie. Set in 1875, the movie primarily focuses on a man named Matt Calder (Robert Mitchum) who has been released from prison after 9 years and arrives in the boomtown tent city in search of his nine-year-old son Mark. Soon, he finds out that his child was left in the care of a dance hall singer Kay (Marilyn Monroe). The actress gave a splendid performance as a sultry singer and looked extraordinary in every costume that she donned.
The movie received positive reviews and even though the movie dealt with a lot of problems production-wise, Monroe’s charming performance made everyone forget the drama that took place behind the camera.
4) ‘Monkey Business’ (1952)
Monroe plays the delightful youthful secretary in Howard Hawks’ screwball comedy ‘Monkey Business’. Although it was Ginger Rogers who nabbed most of the eyeballs, the performance given by Monroe was so amazing that audiences started to change their perceptions of the actress. After this movie, Monroe was more than just eye-candy for everyone and people wanted to see more of her.
3) ‘Some Like It Hot’ (1959)
Probably the most successful movie of Monroe’s career, ‘Some Like It Hot’ is considered to be one of the greatest films of all time. Even though Monroe has given a great performance as Sugar, a singer and ukelele player, ‘Some Like It Hot’ doesn’t let her perform to her true potential. Nevertheless, she is still very charming and to this date, a lot of people consider Sugar as one of the iconic characters that she played in her professional career.
2) ‘The Misfits’ (1961)
No one knew that this would be the last time they will be seeing Monroe on the big screen for the last time ever. In ‘The Misfits’, the actress went on to show the depth of her acting skills that she never presented before in any of her previous projects. The movie, which was written by her then-husband Arthur Miller, saw her playing a divorced woman who was just trying to find some kindness and love in her life. People were a bit skeptical about the Monroe doing such a serious role, but when the movie came out, everyone was in awe of the actor.
Monroe delivered a performance that showed everyone what she could have done if she wouldn’t die in 1962.
1) ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ (1953)
The movie was filled with several extraordinary comedy sequences, but every time someone mentions this movie, the first thing that comes to people’s minds is Marilyn Monroe’s captivating performance. People, who have watched her career closely, believe that ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ saw Monroe at her very best and her performance included everything that made her a superstar.
Monroe sang a beautiful rendition of Carol Channing’s ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend’ and her performance was ranked 12th best film song of the century by the American Film Institute. Monroe nabbed all the attention with her impeccable acting and cornered everyone with her dazzling performance.
'Blonde' will premiere exclusively on Netflix on September 28.