As much as I thought that Shirley MacLaine was very wonderful in this movie, I've always pictured Marilyn Monroe in her role and being absolutely superb as the innocent, sweet prostitute. It was rumoured that Marilyn was set to do the film but had died before production started.
Marilyn Monroe: I don't want to be rich. I just want to be wonderful.
Think of her in The Seven Year Itch, and you are so right!! MacLaine was good and can be sexy and funny - in those days. But Monroe would have brought some real steam!!!
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I was surprised to learn that Wilder wanted MM for the part of Irma. While she was great in Some Like it Hot, she was extremely difficult to work with and Wilder publicly blasted her unprofessional behavior on set. He even said about the production: "we were in mid-flight, and there was a nut on the plane." In the Apartment, which was his first film after Some Like it Hot, there's a scene featuring a vapid and whorish party girl who is meant to resemble Marilyn Monroe in both speech and appearance (another character even makes reference to this). This supposedly was because Wilder hated MM's poor work ethic and "star" demands.
That being said, I just watched Irma La Douce last night and I really enjoyed Shirley MacLaine in the title role. She has an earthiness about her that MM doesn't, which I think worked for the characer of Irma. Irma is rather strong willed and independent and I like the fact that she is not vulnerable. MM always comes across rather vulnerable in her films, which sometimes worked, but I'm not sure about this film.
As much as I am a fan of Marilyn Monroe and throughly enjoy her films and am inspired by the person and the actress....I think it was a breath of fresh air to see someone that is viewed as unconventional beauty playing the role of the sexy and sweet Irma La Douce the head prostitute on the streets of Montmarte Paris...not to mention it being a brunette sexy role. At the time Marilyn was desperately trying to get rid of the image of the sexy dumb blonde this would have only set her back a step. I just recently got into Maclaine films and although I adore Lemmon and pretty much am in love with him...Maclaine made this movie. They both has such an amazing chemistry together...and it's a shame they never teamed up for more films..
shareThat was true. Marilyn's death in 1962 put a kink in that idea.
shareAlthough Wilder experienced difficult periods of working with Marilyn, he was more than prepared to go through it all again, if only to reproduce that legendary sparkle she gave in both The Seven Year Itch and Some Like It Hot. Marilyn had at first accepted the part but of course, she read his comments and was going to pull out. Who knows? If she had lived, she may have gone on to make Irma. Marilyn was absolutely magic with Jack Lemmon, such amazing chemistry and were so funny and amazing together in Some Like It Hot.
Marilyn Monroe: I don't want to be rich. I just want to be wonderful.
I think Marilyn would have given the title character a somewhat different personality, not as worldly, can we say?
Life, every now and then, behaves as though it had seen too many bad movies
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I could see her in this role, and really bringing some much needed zing to the film.
shareThe trivia section is wrong on this. In an interview Wilder said he would never have cast Monroe even if she'd lived long enough, because after Monroe's unprofessional demeanour on the set of Some Like It Hot (She was demonstratively not invited to the wrap party) Wilder said he would never put himself through that again.
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