Dark Tales: Marilyn in the Underworld

Artist Pam Glew has merged Marilyn with a Norse goddess in Dark Tales, a solo exhibition at The Art of Protest Gallery until July 31, as Charles Hutchinson reports for York Press.

“Glew, who lives in Brighton with her family and has a studio in her back garden, is best known for her distinctive paintings on fabric, using dye and stitch to paint, deconstruct and distress vintage materials in her own style of painting.

This summer she comes to York with a show that blends the mythology that filled Glew’s life growing up in North Cornwall as ‘a weird grungy kid with a sketch book and a love of music’ with the influence of her first visit to York in 2017.

‘I was inspired by York’s Viking past woven throughout the city, so I used Norse mythology as the nucleus for the show,’ she says. ‘The strong Norse goddesses featured include Hel, goddess of the underworld; Freyja, goddess of sex, fertility, war and wealth; Nott, goddess of night, and Skadi, goddess of the hunt and winter.

‘While researching, I was struck by how balanced the portrayal of women seemed to be; they are both light and dark, dangerous and caring, and not in any way superficial. The multifaceted trend of the gods, whereby they are both hard and soft, runs through the representational paintings in my solo show.

Hel, for example, is an entertainer to the dead; she is half beauty, half skull, and is painted on a split skull textile applique using ornate Japanese gold-printed fabric and calico.’

Glew re-imagines Norse goddesses as screen stars, Hel becoming Marilyn Monroe and Lofn, goddess of forbidden love, being transformed into Rita Hayworth, while Britannia takes the form of Elizabeth Taylor.”

‘Forever Marilyn’ at Sainsbury’s

A bargain at just £5, this box-set containing four of Marilyn’s finest would be perfect for a new fan, and is available now at UK supermarket Sainsbury’s.

Thanks to Maxine at Marilyn Remembered

From ‘Blondes’ to ‘Millionaire’ in San Jose

Back in 1953, Marilyn was the undisputed queen of the box office. Two great movies from that golden year – Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire – will be screened as a double bill at 3 Below Theaters in San Jose, California on July 31 and August 2, beginning at 5:45 pm.

Richard von Busack reviews both films for MetroActive.

“An ungodly amount of kitsch surrounds the suffering and decline of Marilyn Monroe, obscuring how much fun she was to watch. A double bill of 1953’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (July 31-Aug. 12) and How to Marry a Millionaire(July 31-Aug. 5) explains the appeal.

Marry isn’t as magic—it’s a reprise of a frequently filmed script with three Manhattan ladies (Lauren Bacall, a myopic Marilyn, and Betty Grable) trying their luck with various menfolk. But for some reason Monroe excelled in 1920s settings, as in Some Like it Hot.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is based on Anita Loos’ superb comedic novel about Jazz Age siren and showgirl Lorelei Lee (Monroe) boating to Paris with her traveling companion Dorothy (Jane Russell, dark, shrewd and macha, where Marilyn is tentative, breathy and squeaky.)

The effervescent composer Jule Styne gave MM two of her best numbers. Her duet with Russell on ‘Two Little Girls from Little Rock’ is an outrageously bold opener of spangles, tinsel and girl power. ‘Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend’ is the moment when Marilyn started to captivate the world. Producer and director Howard Hawks told biographer Joseph McBride that he hadn’t been interested in production numbers. Thus this brief 91-minute musical has the sharpness and compact size of great cabaret, highlighting the bright screwball comedy and the hot pink and fire-orange color scheme.”

Coast to Coast: Marilyn Mural-Spotting

This street art image of Marilyn was spotted by Elisa of L.A. Woman Tours along Hollywood Boulevard today. ‘It’s based off a photoshopped hybrid of Marilyn’s face and someone else’s body,’ Elisa notes, ‘but it’s cute and a nice thought. I love seeing Marilyn so many places. It’s like she’s saying hello!’

Meanwhile in Florida, the Vitale Brothers have unveiled their latest mural (based on Alfred Eisenstadt’s 1953 photo of Marilyn) at the Playhouse Theatre in St. Petersburg, a city with a historic connection to MM – she spent time there with ex-husband Joe DiMaggio in 1961.

Marilyn Goes ‘Wilder’ in Amsterdam

The Seven Year Itch is being screened at the Eye FilmMuseum in Amsterdam on selected dates from now through August, as part of ‘Sweet & Sour’, a Billy Wilder retrospective. The new restored print of Some Like It Hot (also mentioned here) will follow in September.

Thanks to Marco

‘Some Like It Hot’ Heads for Venice

A restored print of Some Like It Hot will premiere at this year’s Venice International Film Festival, Seen It reports.

“The film has been restored by distributors Park Circus in collaboration with Metro Goldwyn Mayer and the Criterion Collection.

Working from the 35mm Original Picture Negative, 35mm Duplicate Picture Negative and 35mm Fine Grain Master, the film was scanned in 4K at Deluxe EFILM, Hollywood and Roundabout Entertainment.

Digital image and audio restoration was undertaken by the Criterion Collection in New York. Color grading, picture conforming, additional image restoration was completed by Roundabout Entertainment, Santa Monica. The restoration was supervised by Grover Crisp on behalf of Park Circus.

The restored Some Like It Hot will be released in theatres worldwide later in 2018.”

Prada’s ‘Neon Dream’ of Vegas, Marilyn

Actress Sarah Paulson – best-known for her roles in American Horror Story, The People Vs. O.J. Simpson, and Ocean’s 8 – appears in a new short film advertising Prada’s Fall and Winter Collection. Neon Dream follows a mysterious woman (Amanda Murphy) driving into Las Vegas, where a rather sinister troop of Marilyn Monroe clones led by RuPaul’s Drag Race diva Violet Chachki are waiting. She catches the eye of a parking valet (Paulson) who follows her, morphing into Marilyn a la Seven Year Itch, and a rollerskating waitress.