Monroe 'The Misfits' footage reels in $60,000

Sunday, June 22, 2008
CBC.ca, Canada

Behind-the-scenes footage of Marilyn Monroe on the set of her last completed film in 1960 sold for $60,000 US Saturday in Las Vegas.

Julien's Auctions listed opening bids for 47 minutes of silent colour footage shot by Stanley Floyd Kilarr, an extra on the film, The Misfits, at $10,000 US to $20,000 US.

On the Set with The Misfits shows candid footage of Monroe, her co-stars Clark Gable, Montgomery Clift, Thelma Ritter and director John Huston. The actors are seen preparing for scenes on a set in the Nevada desert and relaxing between takes.

The Misfits was also Gable's last film. He had a fourth heart attack just after filming was completed and died in November 1960, two months before the film's release. Monroe died in August 1962.

Monroe played an unhappy divorcée who meets Gable's character, a gambler and former cowboy, in Reno. Her marriage with Arthur Miller, the film's scriptwriter, broke down during shooting of the film.