From the back cover:
Originally released in 1964, and shelved for over 30 years, THE LEGEND OF MARILYN MONROE contains never-before-seen film footage, pictures and interviews from those who knew her best.

I have always been interested in the life of Marilyn Monroe so decided to check out The Legend of Marilyn Monroe from my library. I really enjoy these types of documentary tapes that show footage and interviews. This has lots of interviews with people who were close to Marilyn.

Menu:

1. Play
2. Chapters
3. Interview
4. Special Features: Gallery, Creative Design Art, Milestone Media Group, USC School of Cinema Television

Chapters:

1. Interview 1
2. John Huston Intro
3. Growing Up
4. Playboy
5. Granman’s Chinese Theater
6. Larger Than Life
7. Love Life
8. Happy Birthday Mr. President
9. The Funeral
10. Interview 2

The Show:

It starts out with the producer and director telling how the tape came about. There are various people at the beginning telling little things about Marilyn, but it doesn’t say who the people are. There are many pictures from her career. John Huston was the director of Marilyn’s first movie and her last movie. He was interviewed.

Marilyn was born as Norma Jean Baker on June 1, 1926. She lived with foster parents and in an orphanage during some of her childhood. At age nine she went to live with her mother for a few months. It didn’t last because of her mother’s mental illness. She met James Doherty at age 15 and married him. He was 22 and married her to keep her out of the orphanage. In 1946 Norma Jean was on the cover of five magazines in a one-month period. She got her first acting job at 20th Century Fox. They didn’t think her name was glamorous enough. So she became Marilyn Monroe.

Marilyn met and then married Joe DiMaggio, whom she called “My Slugger”. He was a retired baseball player. It showed footage from when she entertained the troops in Korea while on her honeymoon. When she got back from the honeymoon she filmed The Seven Year Itch. After 9 months the marriage broke up. When her attorney announced the divorce due to “conflict of careers” you could see the pain and heartbreak on Marilyn’s face. In December 1954 she left for New York and lived with Milton Greene and his wife. He set out to create the “new” Marilyn Monroe. After 14 months she went back to Hollywood to film another movie. Five months later she married Arthur Miller. It showed a clip of an interview with the couple. They had two weddings, one civil and one Jewish.

There was also footage of Marilyn meeting Queen Elizabeth. There was footage of Marilyn as she sang Happy Birthday to President Kennedy. They showed Marilyn singing “I Want to Be Loved By You”. There were various pictures of Marilyn shown throughout. At age 36 Marilyn took a bottle of sleeping pills and died. I think the saddest was them showing her being taken out in a body bag from her home. It really gave me a somber feeling.

Interviewed in the taping:

David L. Wolper ~ Producer
Terry Sanders ~ Director
John Huston ~ Directed Marilyn’s first and last movie
Her previous Science teacher
Her foster parents
James Doherty ~ her first husband
Someone from her modeling agency ~ about her first modeling job
Harry Lipton ~ Marilyn’s Agent
Photographer who took nude photos of Marilyn
Mrs. Murray ~ Marilyn’s home decorator and housekeeper who found Marilyn dead

Extras:

The biography section has 22 pages of writing if you want to read about Marilyn’s life. The photo gallery has 17 assorted photos of Marilyn. Some of the photos are never before seen photos. There is over 30 minutes of new commentary from the producer and director.

91 Minutes
Not Rated

My Thoughts:

The menu was very easy to navigate. I enjoyed watching this very much as Marilyn has always intrigued me. There were parts of the tape where they played Marilyn’s actual voice. It was great to hear things about her life in her own voice. This was taped in black & white and color. The majority of it was black & white due to the age of the footage. Some of it was not the best picture and appeared grainy. That is because it is from so long ago. The sound was average.

If you are a Marilyn Monroe fan you are sure to enjoy this DVD.


Related Reviews:

Marilyn ~ My Story (An Autobiography)


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up to Age 4