After watching my week with MARILYN I felt I had to watch The Prince and the Showgirl (I had never watched it). After watching The Prince and the Showgirl I felt I had to read the book my week with MARILYN written by Colin Clark, which also includes his book written in 1995 titled The Prince, the showgirl, and me. In 1995 Colin did not include his special week story instead he waited until 2000 to do that.
Kudos posthumously to Colin for doing that because reading his diary now is like reading not only a who’s who account of an American Icon but of classic British film Icons as well as day to day life in the world of filmmaking.
On April 8, 1955 journalist Icon Edward R. Murrow interviewed, Marilyn along with her business partner Milton Greene and his wife Amy at their home in Weston, Connecticut. It’s a fascinating interview that can be watched on the DVD set, Edward R. Murrow, The Best of Person to Person. It is a pre-Prince interview that is both poignant and a little revealing as Marilyn talks about the importance of directors having worked with Billy Wilder and John Huston. It is also a little telling as in answer to Murrow’s question what magazine cover hasn’t she been on, Marilyn answers; the Ladies Home Journal.
Perhaps most insightful of all are the lines from the 1961 movie The Misfits written by Arthur Miller, Marilyn’s newlywed husband during the filming of Prince. Clark Gable’s character Gaylord is speaking to Monroe’s character Roselyn:
What makes you so sad? I think you’re the saddest girl I ever met
You’re the first man that ever said that, I’m usually told how happy I am
That’s because you make a man feel happy…
It is comforting at least to know that for one week in 1956 a young British gentleman was able to alleviate some of the uncertainty Marilyn must have felt during the filming of The Prince etc. thus making her happy. The actors and entire production crew of the 2011 film my week with MARILYN also deserve all of the accolades they received for their excellent portrayals of life on the set as conveyed by Colin Clark during the filming of The Prince and the Showgirl.
The lines from the Misfits really makes me want to see the movie. I’ll have to check Netflix for it.