MovieChat Forums > Marnie (1964) Discussion > Marnie starring Marilyn Monroe?

Marnie starring Marilyn Monroe?

posted 9 years ago by DorianGray502
14 replies | jump to latest

According to the trivia section, after Kelly turned this part down, Marilyn Monroe expressed interest in playing the part. I'm not sure if the chemistry would have been right with Connery, the male lead might have been better with Cary Grant, Burt Lancaster, Marlon Brando, or someone else. It would have to be a strong male lead, or Monroe would wipe them off the screen. Certainly, someone like Paul Newman would have been utterly inadequate. Unfortunately, MM would die the year before production began.

[–] zooymtoo 9 years ago

Not only would MM have been completely wrong for the part the notion that she would wipe Paul Newman, a far superior actor, off the screen is ludicrous.

[–] DorianGray502 9 years ago

___Could you tell us how you really feel?
___A lot of people would disagree with you, on both accounts.
___Perfect casting would have been Marlon Brando and Marilyn, the two greatest talents of their generation according to acting guru Lee Strasberg. He had nothing whatsoever to say about Paul Newman, who I believe also studied at The Actors Studio.
___Incidentally, Newman was scheduled to work with Marilyn on her next film, "What A Way to Go".

[–] Ethan_Ford 9 years ago

Marilyn had Hitchcock on the list of the ten directors she most wanted to work with but the feeling was not reciprocated as he obviously knew of her unpunctuality,something which he hated,and he thought her sex appeal was too obvious. But it would have been an interesting idea and she had proved in Don`t Bother to Knock and Niagara that she was quite capable of playing roles other than the dumb blonde she was always asked to play.

[–] dlynch843 9 years ago

Newman was great in The Verdict, and Harper, and he could also do comedy. He could be open and friendly like Butch Cassidy or mysterious like Cool Hand Luke. In these roles, Lee Strasberg's opinion has no importance. Why the unnecessarily harsh dig at Newman?

[–] kenny-164 9 years ago

Given Hitchcock's penchant for casting blondes as his female leads, from Fontaine through Hedren, we can assume that he did consider casting Monroe in something at some point. That he did not says something.

I certainly agree Monroe could act. Her work in The Misfits was great. But it would have been quite a stretch seeing her substitute for Kelly, Novak or here for Hedren.

I can't see it.

[–] greenbudgie 9 years ago

I agree. I don't really see Monroe in any of Hitchcock's films. But as you say, he probably did consider Marilyn at some point. I would like to suggest that this could possibly have been after he would have seen her in 'Niagara' (1953). But he must have been so taken by Grace Kelly at that point. And that he was too busy planning her trio of films with him, that followed soon after, to think too much about MM.

[–] hockeyhrs 9 years ago

Even though she's blond, the breathy-ness of MM's voice makes her too overtly vulnerable and weak to play this, or (as far as I can remember) any Hitchcock female lead . . . even Kim Novak's role in Vertigo, which is as close as she could get.

[–] hockeyhrs 9 years ago

Hitchock says something in this film interview . . . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCBDtbj2M6A

. . . . that explains why MM (had she been available) would never have been chosen for the lead in Marnie.

[–] denis-38 9 years ago

I have always thought, had she lived, and had Hitchcock overcome his distaste for her overt display of herself, she would have been wonderful in "Marnie." The fashion shots MM did for Bert Stern show that she certainly could look elegant. However, Marilyn's unwillingness to let go of the sex-symbol image--the nude swim, the nude Stern photos--would likely be a big turn-off for Hitch.

"Marnie" certainly would have far superior to most of what was available to Monroe at that point. And I think she could have conveyed the disturbed woman who Marnie was, very well indeed.

But she would had to have taken excellent care of herself, physically (if the film had proceeded in '64, MM would have been 38) and also somehow overcome her reliance on the constant presence of a drama coach. I don't think Hitch would have indulged her in that or her legendary tardiness to the set.

It's the only film of that era I can see her in, and doing well. Perhaps also role of the Condesa in "Ship of Fools" which Simone Signoret played brilliantly.

Because of her image, and the mostly lousy material she was given, MM had not built a persona to take her into middle age, as Lana and Rita and Ava--and eventually Liz--had. And she knew it. "Marnie" would have helped her transition immeasurably.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] kaskait 9 years ago

Marilyn had a very warm, gentle, open and girlish persona. That would be the exact opposite of the repressed and compulsively treacherous Marnie character. Although it would have been interesting to see how much the role could have been tailored to fit Monroe without it changing the story too much.

But what it all boiled down to was Hitchcock's taste. Monroe would have been openly flattered by his attentions and would have flirted back at him. He seemed to like women who put him down.

Even his wife turned him down many times before she relented to date him and ultimately married him. When she was younger, Alma was very popular in the filmmaking circles they both hung around. She had a cute air about her. That didn't last long after her marriage to Hitchcock. I wonder just how much of his water she carried over the years...making sure his films were perfect.

[–] DorianGray502 9 years ago

___No question about it, Hitchcock had an S and M thing going with women.
____I think Marilyn had the talent to do this part, the style, which originally was a Grace Kelly part, and the vulnerability in the mother daughter dynamics. If Marilyn could have worked with Brando, I think it would have been an unforgettable pairing. However, Hitch would have probably had to retire after working with two such egos clashing with his own.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] poetcomic1 8 years ago

Never in a million years would Hitch consider M.M. for Marnie. She would bring nothing necessary to the role. Hitch hated her unprofessionalism, he openly mocked her overt style of sexiness, he liked to control and direct actors and hated the whole 'method acting' shtick which Marilyn was deeply into. I can't imagine Marnie without Hedren's stiff manner and chilling monotone voice. Just try to picture Marilyn Monroe convincingly typing and working efficiently in a large office.