Liz Smith on "My Week With Marilyn"

Liz Smith reviews "My Week With Marilyn," along with providing some comments on the star-studded screening of the film.

Source: www.wowowow.com.

“WHEN I was growing up I wanted to be either Mickey Mantle or Bert Stern. But later, when I thought about it, I preferred Stern. Mickey Mantle hit a lot of balls and got drunk a lot. But Bert Stern got to meet all of the world’s most beautiful women!”

That was Harvey Weinstein’s introduction of photographer Bert Stern, at a special screening of The Weinstein Company’s feature, “My Week With Marilyn.”

The screening was held downtown at the Milk Gallery, which is currently exhibiting a collection of photos of Monroe, “Picturing Marilyn.” These run the gamut from fresh-scrubbed Norma Jeane in 1945 to the weary but still lovely goddess of 1962. One of Mr. Stern’s most beautiful shots of Marilyn, in a backless, black Dior gown dominates the entrance to the exhibit. The flamboyant sex-symbol is elegance personified.

Dior was one of the sponsors of the event. Indeed fashion model Dree Hemingway — daughter of Mariel Hemingway and the great-granddaughter of Ernest, was on hand, swanning around in what was said to be the very same Dior gown Monroe had worn in the Stern photos. Or at least it was an excellent copy. Dree looked lovely, though it was bittersweet imagining how gorgeous Monroe herself must have looked in this dress.


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THE SCREENING also attracted, as co-hosts, Celeste Holm (she was one of the big stars of “All About Eve” in which Marilyn had a small but showy role) and actress Joan Copeland, Arthur Miller’s sister. Also peering closely at the pictures of Marilyn were Ben Shenkman … Dan Abrams … Bruce Weber … Matt Stone … Calvin Klein and his Nick Gruber … Simon Curtis, director of “My Week With Marilyn” and one of the film’s stars, Dominic Cooper who plays Milton Greene) … Beverly Johnson and — giving Marilyn a run as the most gorgeous blonde in the room, Christie Brinkley — in head-to-toe shades of caramel.

Miss Brinkley is jaw-droppingly beautiful — so statuesque, so shapely, so radiant it’s almost scary. But she doesn’t have that scary look. If she has employed methods other than good clean living to stop the clock, it’s been done with an expert touch. She is still beaming from her adventures in London with the production of “Chicago.” She had been a big hit on Broadway in the long-running revival. And she is super-excited about a line of beauty products she is launching online. Christie is certainly her own best advertisement! At one point, Christie and Beverly Johnson embraced and posed for photos together. The sight of these two great beauties, supermodels of decades past, but still looking in their prime, stopped the room cold. Or hot.

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AH, YES — the movie. Much has been said — mostly by the film’s star, Michelle Williams — about the difficulty of portraying the many sides of Marilyn, her variety of voices and personas. Miss Williams is a wonderful actress and no doubt she means every word she utters, but the Marilyn of her creation is a dreary, depressed, dim creature. In fact, it is the Marilyn of Arthur Miller’s “The Misfits.” (Marilyn hated her role in that film, complaining endlessly of the girl’s passivity.)

This movie is based on the highly suspect memoirs of Colin Clark, a lowly go-fer on the set of “The Prince and the Showgirl,” which was filmed in London, in 1956. Colin and Monroe became “close” he averred. The characterization offers nothing of Monroe’s wit, humor, intelligence or — and this is vital — her anger. Her reactions to events were not always a depressed collapse. She was capable of intense, extraordinary rages. She had a sharp tongue. She could fight back, and she did. But “My Week With Marilyn” presents nothing but her fears. Or a perceived stupidity. Williams has to utter lines like, “Gee, I wish I could read all these books” when entering a library, or, “I met the Queen. She said my dress was pretty.”

Worse, all the other characters in the film — Kenneth Branagh as Laurence Olivier, Judi Dench as Dame Sybil Thorndike, Julia Ormond as Vivien Leigh, Eddie Redmayne as Colin — are compelled to say how “extraordinary” Monroe is, despite her neurotic behavior. Then we see Miss Williams enacting various scenes from “The Prince and the Showgirl.” Problem? She is not Marilyn Monroe. And so, she does not seem extraordinary at all. I admire Miss Williams for her efforts and sincerity, but in the end, she has given one more imperfect impersonation of Marilyn.

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HOWEVER, the worst served by “My Week With Marilyn” is the late photographer Milton Greene. This man admired and loved Marilyn, encouraged her ambitions, supported her financially during her year-long strike against 20th Century Fox. He co-produced “The Prince and the Showgirl.” Their partnership ended badly, but he never spoke ill of her, never exploited their relationship or her image. Dominic Cooper plays Milton like a foul-mouthed NYC gangster, just another user. One wonders what Amy Greene, Milton’s ex-wife, who lived through The Marilyn Years with Milton, would think of this portrayal. (I ran into Amy Greene by chance, just last year. Still razor-sharp, she spoke lovingly of both Marilyn and Milton, “That was their golden time,” she said.)

You know what? Just check out “The Prince and the Showgirl” the next time Turner Classic Movies runs it. It is a testament to the talents of Monroe and Milton Greene.

No more pretty blonde ladies playing dress up, pretending to be Marilyn. It just doesn’t work. Sorry, Michelle.

MM-Personal: A New Book on Marilyn Monroe

Coming soon: MM Personal, by Lois Banner PhD and celebrity photographer Mark Anderson.

This book consists of photos of Marilyn Monroe's personal files and documents, all of which come from her personal filing cabinets - The filing cabinets everyone knew existed but were nowhere to be found. MM-Personal is available now for pre-order on Amazon.com here.

I had the incredible and amazing opportunity to see Marilyn's personal archives in person on two separate occasions in Los Angeles before ownership of the cabinets and their contents was transferred to Marilyn's estate. (There is much actual speculation as to how the cabinets came to be in the possession of Inez Melson, Monroe's business manager, yet they eventually came to be owned by Mil Conroy, nephew to Melson. Ultimately, the cabinets and all contents were turned over to the Strasbergs.)

Other items pictured in the book, aside from personal documents, are furs, jewels, purses, and other effects, yet there is serious doubt in my mind that these items actually did belong to Marilyn. Note that it is clarified in the book that it's not known 100% if these items were in fact owned by Marilyn.


As a point of reference, these cabinets and their contents were the subject of a lengthy expose written by Sam Kashner for Vanity Fair in October of 2008: The Things She Left Behind.

Inspite of the inclusion of personal items that may or may not have actually been owned by Marilyn, believe you me, if you're a true Marilyn Monroe fan you'll be salivating over the array of documents, receipts, and personal communications showcased in this book. The photographs, taken by Anderson, are in fact spectacular.

Liz Smith wrote about MM Personal in her column today:

Marilyn — Still Alive in the 21st Century!

“NOW, ON Castro. You see, I was brought up to believe in democracy, and then when the Cubans finally threw out Battista with so much bloodshed, the United States doesn’t stand behind them or give them help or support even to develop democracy! I can understand John Daly on an American national broadcast making fun of Castro for having appeared at one of his country’s national functions in a tuxedo. But the New York Times’ responsibility to keep its readers informed — means in an unbiased way. I don’t know, somehow I have always counted on the Times, and not entirely because you’re there.”

That is a part of a long letter to senior New York Times editor Lester Markel, dated March 29, 1960. The writer? Miss Marilyn Monroe.

(Actually, I personally think the Times went all out to support Castro’s ascension via their reporter T.S. Matthews who is credited by conservatives as having “accomplished” Castro’s rise to power. The Right has always blamed The Times.) But “never mind” if Marilyn had it wrong — she was probably swept up by the romanticism of a revolutionary who said he was “for the people.” She proves that she cared about what was happening in the world.

THIS letter (in which MM also ruminates on campaign slogans for the coming presidential race) appears in a new (yet another!) book on Marilyn, the star who simply cannot die. This one is titled MM-Personal: From the Private Archive of Marilyn Monroe by Lois Banner, photograhs by Mark Anderson.

Unlike last year’s Fragments, which consisted solely of Marilyn’s notes, poems, jottings, recipes, etc., MM Personal — while it also has letters from the star — is mainly correspondence to Monroe. From friends and professional colleagues — including harried notes and telegrams from publicists frantic to put a stop to the unhappy publicity surrounding Marilyn’s behavior on the set of “Some Like It Hot.” These strategic plans are overshadowed by Monroe’s miscarriage, which is referred to. (There is even talk of suing Time magazine.)

Among the affectionate missives is this telegram from the great Broadway and movie choreographer Jack Cole: “The universe sparkles with miracles, but none among them shines like you. Remember that when you go to sleep.” The book, a luscious glossy thing, is studded with photos, many of them Monroe’s personal items — including artwork she purchased just before her death.

There’s a great deal of minutiae that only the most devoted MM fans will appreciate –check stubs and such. But the overall vibe of the book is wrenching, because it clarifies Monroe’s humanity, her working life, her normal day-to-day existence. She didn’t lurch around every single moment in a drug-induced coma. She had a vital — if troubled —existence. She wrote to her stepchildren by Arthur Miller (in the voice of the family dog, Hugo) and she wrote to Isadore Miller, even after she had divorced his son, Arthur.

This note to Miller, dated February 12, 1962, contains a significant paragraph: “Last night I attended a dinner in honor of the Attorney General, Robert Kennedy. He seems rather mature and brilliant for his 36 years, but what I liked best about him, besides his Civil Rights program, is he’s got such a wonderful sense of humor.”

***MMC Interesting Reference Note: I own the letter that Miller wrote to Marilyn in response to this February 12, 1962 correspondence. The letter Miller wrote to Marilyn is dated February 22, 1962. View both of these letters on my website here.

However it ended up, that controversial relationship began as most of Marilyn’s relationships with men began — appreciation of the mind, and a fine regard for laughter. Six months after writing this, Monroe was dead. But, not really.

Others were more beautiful, more talented, had far more illustrious careers. But even in her lifetime, there was sense that she was a little different than the usual “sex symbol.” Certainly, her struggles to raise herself up in the world were there for all to see. Death enshrined her, and books continue to analyze and reveal the woman who, according to her last press rep, Pat Newcomb “never told everything to anyone.” Monroe herself said, weeks before her death, “Fame will go by, and so what? I’ve had you, fame. It’s something I’ve experienced, but that’s not where I live.”

She couldn’t know that Fame is exactly where she’d live, forever.
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You got that right, Liz!