I'd start any newbie off with Gentlemen" which is her most entertaining, perfect film--holds up better than almost anything else, including "Hot." And she's perfect, physically. (Many modern viewers are turned off by MM's latter-career plumpness, and it does no good to point out she was pregnant through some of "The Prince and the Showgirl" and all of "Hot." I guess depression led her to keep it on through "Let's Make Love" and "The Misfits."
She's terrific in "Itch" but like many of Monroe films it has not aged well. (As great as she is in "Bus Stop" contemporary audiences loath Don Murray's abuse of her character. The point of the film is that they were both rather dumb--Cherie is actually one of the few genuinely ignorant girls she ever played. But it is judged now through the lens of women being manhandled.)
"Niagara" and "Don't Bother to Knock" are good to show her in a different light, as is "Clash By Night"--not a big role, but she's excellent and uncharacteristically rough and feisty.
reply
share