TCM includes one of Marilyn’s shining moments in its new list of the Top 10 Greatest Overlooked Performances. Many felt she was denied an Oscar nomination by the Hollywood establishment because of her rebellion against Twentieth Century Fox.
Marilyn Monroe as Cherie in Bus Stop (1956)
After studying with The Actors Studio, Marilyn Monroe was determined to draw on every painful memory from her past for her role as a small town singer – dubbed a “chantoosie” by her fans – courted by an idealistic cowboy. She allowed herself to look under-nourished and performed her one musical number badly, “That Old Black Magic,” to capture the desperation of a woman who would never achieve her dreams. As in her other great performance, Sugar Kane Kowalcyzk in Some Like It Hot (1959), the role is a central part of the legend of Marilyn – the beautiful, sensitive loser. But the film’s success failed to bring her an Oscar nomination or much respect. Reporters were more interested in signs of star temperament, as when she insisted co-star Hope Lange’s hair be darkened so as not to match hers, than the painstaking efforts she put into one of the best roles she would ever play. Neither has the passing of time helped fans to appreciate Monroe’s performance, for many aspects of the film have not aged well. In his dogged pursuit of his “Cherry,” cowboy Don Murray now seems less romantic than criminal – a grating sexual bully. And Cherie’s ultimate capitulation puts into question all of the dreams that made her so touching. Beyond the sexual politics, however, the film vividly reveals what Monroe could have done as an actress had Hollywood allowed her to re-invent herself.
