Remembering Marilyn

I can't actually tell you when I first discovered Marilyn Monroe - she was someone I was always aware of so in 1990, 3 years after first seeing Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (that's a story for the Blondes review when I post it) I bought a couple of postcards and posters I decided that I wanted to buy some of her films on tape. So down to Woolworths in Newport with my Mum I went and stood at the video rack trying to decided what film to buy, I had seen Blondes as I mentioned and also Let's Make Love, so was leaning towards The Seven Year Itch when my Mum reasoned, 'Why don't you buy a documentary and see if you like her as a person before spending all your money on the films?'

A reasonable idea, but even then I knew, that know matter what I was going to love Marilyn no matter what I found out about her, there was just something that appealed to me..

But to humour my Mum I bought Remembering Marilyn hosted by Lee Remick.

The documentary opens with the lines (and I know them by heart) 'In a quiet corner of Westwood, Califormia, hemmed off from sounds of traffic, the scene is repeated countless times, warmed by some afterglow, some myth that speaks, nameless visitors still bring flowers to the crypt of a woman they knew only on film - Marilyn Monroe who died 25 years ago (the documentary was made in '87).

Remembering Marilyn features what was at the time rare photographs and footage, alongside clips from her films and audio of some of her interviews. Reminiscences from people who knew her, Susan Strasberg, Robert Wagner, Robert Mitchum, the Howell family who remember Norma Jeane's early years and reveal that they had been asked to adopt her but they decided they couldn't because they had a large family already, when she married James Dougherty, the wedding was held at their house and feminist writer Gloria Steinem, who gives the feminist perspective of Marilyn's life and appeal.

The clips from her films cover the majority of her career though the earliest film clip is from The Asphalt Jungle (John Huston 1950)

The original video cassette I purchased in 1990 - still working

The DVD version I bought last year - it is playing on my TV as I write this!.

All in all Remembering Marilyn is a lovely tribute to Marilyn, it doesn't focus too much on the scandals of Marilyn's life although it does cover her 3 marriages and her death in 1962, the film leans towards the suicide theory rather than any thing else. It does mention some of the mysteries surrounding her death and the rumour of an involvement with the Kennedy's but without placing too much emphasis on it.

A nice touch is that the set is decorated with photos and books on our favourite star.

The one thing that caused consternation among Marilyn fans for many years is that it was hosted by Lee Remick, the actress who was hired to replace Marilyn in her final uncompleted film Something's Got To Give.

Because this was the first documentary I saw it remains my favourite. You can find copies of this on Ebay either on the DVD or Video format (if you still have a player like me) and I would recommend that you add a copy to your collection

If only because of new footage, photos and information Remembering Marilyn scores 3.5 out of 5