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By
NICK ZEGARAC
It's a rather telling
statement on star quality that the '50s
iconography of Marilyn Monroe remains the
benchmark by which many a contemporary starlet and
star have tried in vain to duplicate. Madonna went
through her own Marilyn phase. Remember "Material
Girl?" So did Anna Nicole Smith. However, neither
had Monroe's inimitable classy sheen to mask their
raunchiness. Thus Monroe remains the vision of
ultra-sexed femininity to beat.
20th Century Fox has finally acknowledged the
Monroe legacy. "Marilyn Monroe - The Diamond
Collection Volume 1" aptly brings together
Monroe's trademark performances, including her
immortal "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend"
routine from "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." Hardly a
one hit wonder, this box set also includes: "How
To Marry A Millionaire," "The Seven Year Itch,"
"There's No Business Like Show Business," "Bus
Stop" and the AMC original documentary, "Marilyn
Monroe: The Final Days" -- a poignantly tragic
account of Marilyn's unfinished last film,
prolifically titled, "Something's Gotta Give."
Of these, "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" remains the
highlight. It features Monroe as rabid gold
digger, Lorelei Lee, a showgirl who's engaged to
be married to a simpleton rich kid, Gus (Tom
Noonan). Determined that no other man should have
his chance at snagging his beloved, Gus employs
Lorelei's girlfriend Dorothy Shaw (Jane Russell)
to chaperone their trip to Paris. But when an
elderly scallywag, Sir Francis Beekman (Charles
Colburn), decides to make a play for Lorelei, the
high jinx and double entendres really take off.
In "How To Marry A Millionaire" Monroe is cast as
Paula, a severely myopic dimwit who is in cahoots
with Schatze Page (Lauren Bacall) and Loco Dempsey
(Betty Grable). The three are models, struggling
to pay the bills until Schatze concocts a plan to
snag rich husbands for them. Pooling their
resources the girls rent a posh penthouse in which
they hope to entertain prospective rich suitors. A
promising prospect temporarily surfaces in the
middle-aged bachelor, J.D. Hadley (William
Powell). He's an oil tycoon who genuinely falls
for Schatze's charms until he discovers that she
still has feelings for Tom Brookman (Cameron
Mitchell). All of the girl's well-laid plans begin
to crumble in the face of true love.
"The Seven Year Itch" is perhaps the most dated
film in this box set. Originally a smash Broadway
play, the film upsets the balance of the stage
scenario by casting Monroe as "the girl" opposite
harried husband Richard Sherman (Tom Ewell).
Richard's wife and young son have gone to the
country for the summer, leaving him alone to flirt
with his upstairs neighbor. Directed by the
legendary Billy Wilder, the film strangely lumbers
along at an excruciatingly slow pace, is rather
flat and uninspiring, coming to life in only the
briefest of fits and sparks. It does however
contain one of Monroe's signature film moments --
the sudden updraft created by a subway grate
raising the billowy fabric of Monroe's pleated
skirt well above her knees. Monroe's then husband,
baseball great Joe DiMaggio, was hardly thrilled
by the attention the scene created in downtown New
York.
"There's No Business Like Show Business" isn't a
Monroe film vehicle per se. It's the story of the
Donahues, a showbiz family comprised of Molly
(Ethel Merman), Terence (Dan Dailey), Tim (Donald
O'Connor), Steve (Johnnie Raye) and Katie (Mitzi
Gaynor). They love, laugh and cry (in various
stages and orders) while Tim courts the elegant
Vicki Hoffman (Marilyn Monroe). When some
confusion arises from Vicki's seemingly romantic
involvement with Lew Harris (Richard Eastham) Tim
winds up going on a bender to "find himself." The
film features Merman doing her immortal rendition
of the title song, as well as a host of other
Irving Berlin favorites. This is a lush and lovely
Fox musical from the mid-50s but Monroe isn't its
central focus.
Finally, there's "Bus Stop," the sordid little
tale of a rambunctious cowboy, Bo Decker (Don
Murray in a thoroughly campy performance), who
thinks he can deal with the likes of a woman the
way he does with a steer, by hogtying her feet and
hands and carrying her over his back. Honestly,
even for the 1950s, this is one dumb buck! Monroe
stars as Cherie, a hapless, no-talent singer in a
speakeasy. To Bo, Cherie is a vision but the film
hints of a past that is riddled with failed
romances and tragic stolen moments. Considered at
the time to be Monroe's breakthrough performance
from the image of the dumb blonde, in hindsight
this film is really the beginning of the end of
Monroe's first coming as the last great diva from
Hollywood's post-golden age.
Fox has done an outstanding job on all of the
transfers included in this box set. The images are
bright, solid, vivid and incredibly well balanced.
Credit must be given to Fox for going back to the
drawing board on every one of these transfers --
creating a new fine grain master and wet-gate
preservation master that revitalizes the colors of
the originals with great accuracy and depth. Fine
detail is astonishing. Blacks are solid and deep.
Contrast levels on all film are bang on. The lurid
characteristic of Fox's Technicolor circa 1950 is
unbelievably vibrant in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes"
and "There's No Business Like Show Business." The
palette is generally more subdued on the other
features but this is in keeping with the original
Eastman stock on which the rest of the films where
shot. The audio has been remixed in all cases to
5.1 Stereo. Though some of the audio benefits more
from the remastering efforts than others, the
overall sonic characteristic of this box set will
surely not disappoint. Listening to Alfred
Newman's "Street Scene" prologue and main title
sequence to "How To Marry A Millionaire" in 5.1 is
truly a revelation. Extras include vintage
Movietone newsreels, a short Back Story special on
"The Seven Year Itch" and the aforementioned
"Final Days" documentary. This is a fitting
tribute to Fox's reigning sex symbol. |
