In an article for The Guardian, Irish novelist John Banville recalls his first sighting of Marilyn (in River of No Return), and considers her legacy – as depicted in recent books by authors Susan Bernard, Adam Victor and Dr Lois Banner.
“I first fell in love with her in River of No Return, in which she starred with Robert Mitchum and Rory Calhoun. The movie was released in 1954, and probably did not get to Ireland until the following year, so I was 10 when I saw it, at the Capitol Cinema in Wexford. The Capitol was a rather gaunt, barn-like picture palace, with a wooden floor and seats covered with balding plush that gave off a curiously doggy smell. But the glory of the place, at least in my memory of it, was the great scarlet curtain, fluted and fringed, that would open with a deeply suggestive swish as the house lights dimmed and the dark screen came to flickering life.
For many years that curtain was associated in my mind with Kay Weston, the saloon-bar singer Marilyn played in the movie – no doubt the shade of rich red and the sumptuous, silken folds seemed the very essence of sexiness, for a boy who as yet knew nothing about sex…”