Marilyn Monroe: 5 cult films to (re)discover the actress behind the icon

The most famous blonde in the 7th art would have been 100 years old on June 1st. A look back at five roles that forged his legend.

The star’s comedic and dramatic talent, although present from her first films, was long ignored by French critics, viewing her only through her pin-up image. Each decade, the figure of Marilyn is summoned. For several years, in a context where feminist issues have crossed public debate and cinema, it is her experience as a woman that has been highlighted. Today, the legend of Monroe is finally reread through her acting. Here are five films that have entered the annals of the 7th art, thanks to the performance of Marilyn Monroe, who reveals herself behind her famous silhouette and her illustrious name as a real actress.

Men prefer blondes, by Howard Hawks (1953)

Marilyn Monroe becomes Lorelei Lee, a blonde, falsely ingenuous and fascinated by money. In a sequence that marked the history of cinema and her filmography, dressed all in pink, her wrists and neck adorned with diamonds, she sings Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend. Surrounded by men in black who court her, the actress with her heightened sensuality plays on her power of attraction: like a true leader of the revue, with a fan gesture, she slaps their cheek or their forehead. In one song, she thwarts the image of the corrupt woman, mocks the greed of men, and praises the independence of women.

Seven years of reflectionby Billy Wylder (1955)

A young woman walks onto the ventilation grille, her white dress comes off, revealing her underwear. It was on the set of Seven Years of Reflection that the actress forged her legend. “Higher Marilyn!” shouts the crowd. She is 28 years old and she still does not know that this scene will become one of the most famous in popular culture. It is through this image that the actress exists in the public’s mind: an attractive woman, with a wide smile, holding up her dress.

Bus stopby Joshua Logan (1956)

If Marilyn is heavily naked in Joshua Logan’s film, it is much more than her skin that she lets show. The actress excels in the role of the dapper Cherie. Between melancholy, childish cheerfulness and rage, Monroe skillfully blends into the different emotions of this cabaret star. Even critics who saw her as nothing more than a sex symbol recognized that she had something rare on screen: a very genuine vulnerability.

Some like it hotby Billy Wylder (1959)

Marilyn reunites with Billy Wilder and reveals the full extent of her comedic talent by playing Sugar Kane. In black and white, his character, a bottle in his hand, faces, without fading, the comic genius of Jack Lemmon. With her bewildered eyes, her mouth half open in astonishment or her body jumping on a station platform, the actress shows great mastery of the comic gesture. The film appears in first position in the American Film Institute’s ranking of the greatest comedies of the “100 Greatest Comedies”.

The Unhingedby John Huston (1961)

The star is shooting this script by Arthur Miller, who offers him a real compositional role. She plays Roslyn, a young woman adrift, fragile and angry. This character in rebellion with the male gender offers Marilyn the opportunity to shine in a dramatic role. And the actress bursts onto the screen. The feature film was initially poorly received, but decades later, with the critical re-evaluation of the film, the actress’s performance was praised and Les Désaxés became a major film in the repertoire.