Favorite Milton Greene photo session....?

My favorite was the Black and White ones of her in an Edwardian dress and tiara... I guess these were for TPATSG. I thought she looked very elegant in these pictures.... None of the put-on sex pot facial expressions. She had a forthright loveliness. And like I've said before, in these pictures she looks like she could have given Grace Kelly a run for her money!

lisibet--

There are also wonderful color images from that sitting. Quite lovely. I don't think any of them were released during her lifetime. The first one I ever saw was in Mailer's book, in 1973.

___I suppose the black sitting would be my favorite as well, though I have to echo Marilyn's own remarks, "I like most of Milton's pictures".
___The black sitting is timeless, but then a lot of his photos have that appeal. I wish their collaboration had continued, and feel it's possible it may have had a reboot. Marilyn was talking to Lee about setting up another independent company and that could have worked itself back to Greene. They were sort of back in communication that last year. He was certainly good for Marilyn, and we can only speculate the photo sessions we missed out on. I don't believe Marilyn ever hated Milton, it was Miller who poisoned all that went on in those years. If he could have separated Marilyn from everyone including the Strasbergs, he most certainly would have. Thankfully Marilyn did have her breaking point, and didn't allow any further interference in her career. That was a weakness, as in allowing Dr. Greenson interference on her last film which contributed to her firing. Akways the Daddy figure, something she carried around like an albatross.

Dorian--

According to Milton and Amy, MM and Greene spoke not long at all before her death. She wanted to see him again, and complained bitterly over "Something's Got To Give" and the nude scene (which, perversely, was her idea) "I'm right back where I don't want to be." Amy says she had a "premonition" that MM was in trouble and urged Milton to travel to L.A. asap, just a day or two before Marilyn died.

While he undoubtedly had his own motives and hopes for himself--which is only natural!-- Greene really loved and admired Marilyn. He never bad-mouthed her, ever. I recall Greene on a TV show, not long before his own death, talking about her: "She was a very sensitive person who was misunderstood most of the time. She was extremely serious about her work as an actress, and that is something people still don't seem to understand about her."

Denis,
___Yes, it was a extremely good match, Marilyn and Milton. And, they were both very attractive people, so naturally there was some talk which Amy flatly denies. Well, she was there. And, personally I don't believe anything happened, I don't believe what they have been saying about Dr. Greenson. All that started up after the Kennedy rumors had been in the news for decades. I consider it a smoke screen, disinformation.
But, back to Milton. There was an unfortunate connection, drugs. And, poor Milton aged horribly. Still, while alive he never made the money off Marilyn's memory the way Amy and son have. I'm not criticizing, it's their property, just saying Milton was a decent guy. All that stuff about antiques being charged to MM Productions in England may be true, but the Millers did a little buying too. Shipping back the Jaguar they drove while filming. That was Miller, Marilyn never cared for cars, or virtually anything material. Miller just wanted a second Jag to bookend his convertible. As to Amy, for the most part I like her, and the memories she has shared in countless documentaries. But, to call her Marilyn's best friend as some have is a real stretch, and utterly untrue.

Dorian...

NOBODY was Marilyn's "best friend" and certainly not Amy Greene. It is from Amy, and Amy only, that the tale of her 12 abortions has its source.

As for an affair, many who were close to MM at the time, would later say yes it happened. And while I'm sure none of them were in the bedroom, I've always felt there was that intimacy between Marilyn and Greene. It doesn't seem possible that they could have worked with such intensity without it becoming physical. He himself would never say yes or no. Naturally Amy would deny it. She's a tough cookie, with a lot of pride. She got back at Marilyn in other ways--the abortion story and a lot of other comments that are insults wrapped cunningly in compliments.

I feel also that, true or not, Miller believed there had been a relationship. He not only wanted to separate Milton from Marilyn's money (which he needed for himself) but separate the two as friends. Although already somewhat disillusioned, after England, he was still jealous.

Later, Miller would essentially abandon Marilyn to Yves Montand. The marriage was basically all over anyway, but my take was that Miller wanted something to happen between MM and Yves. It was a final validation to him that she was unworthy, and that he had been led astray by her apparent innocence and helplessness. So much easier then, for him to write her up as a vicious slut who stifled his creativity, in "After the Fall." (The truth was just the opposite--the Miller marriage, and her commitment to it, damaged Marilyn's career. His had already dried up, and only by using MM--safely dead--would he have one last success.)

Milton was not only responsible for a great deal of Marilyn's enduring fame--session after session of iconic images--but I believe he truly had her best interests at heart.

It is too bad that Milton and Marilyn didn't find their way into each other's lives eventually. Maybe he could have saved her. I definitely think he would have steered her in the right direction style wise- if Milton had been around maybe she would have had a more natural, flattering hair color and makeup.

lisibet--Unfortunately, unless he'd cleaned up his own act, re substance abuse, he wouldn't have been much help to Marilyn in '62.

As for her styling, although it wasn't as attractive as her younger look, it was the look of the time, especially for a woman in her mid-thirties. I don't think she was fond of the stiff hair, as she often messed it up, during those last photo shoots w Stern and Barris. (She looks so much fresher on the beach, in the Barris shots, with her hair all collapsed and windblown.)

I will say had they remained partners, MM likely would have made at least two more films, or one less-- Milton would have moved heaven and earth to prevent her from accepting "Let's Make Love." And he likely would have had a lot of input about Miller's pretentious "Misfits" script.