Marilyn on Film: An Untold Story

Catherine Hicks‘s performance in the 1980 made-for-television biography Marilyn: The Untold Story is generally regarded as the best biographical portrayal of Marilyn Monroe. Produced by Lawrence Schiller, the photographer who took the famous nude photos of Marilyn on the set of Something’s Got to GiveMarilyn: The Untold Story was based on Norman Mailer’s ‘novel biography.’

The film was enhanced by the participation of three talented directors, including Hollywood veteran Jack Arnold. The impressive roster of behind-the-scenes personnel ensured pleasant entertainment, but the three-hour drama lacks insight into Marilyn’s personality and fails to add anything new to the Monroe lore and literature.

Hicks, whose thoughtful performance is the highlight of the production, managed to capture Marilyn’s voice and mannerisms and suggest her alluring presence without resorting to caricature.

Hicks received a well-earned Emmy nomination. (In an ironic twist, Monroe ‘replacement’ Sheree North appears in this film in the role of Marilyn’s mother.)” – Susan Doll, author of Marilyn: Her Life and Legend

The opening scenes from this hard-to-find biopic are now on Youtube, with more to follow.

Christina Hendricks on Marilyn

The stunning red-haired actress, best known as sexy, ambitious Joan Holloway on TV’s Mad Men, speaks to Parade about those Monroe comparisons:

“I don’t think any woman in the world could get tired of being compared to Marilyn Monroe. It is embarrassing, though, because I think that I could never hold a candle, but it is also incredibly flattering, and she’s someone I admire greatly. So it’s always a really nice thing to hear.”

Set in the New York advertising world at the dawn of the sixties, Season 2 of Mad Men references MM’s life and impact in depth. In Episode 6, ‘Maidenform’, the creatives devise a campaign slogan for Playtex bras, ‘Are you a Jackie or a Marilyn?’

And episode 9, ‘Six Months Leave’, explores the differing reactions of the characters to Monroe’s death. In a pivotal scene, Joan’s sadness reveals a hitherto unseen vulnerability behind her glamorous persona.

Christina Hendricks Fansite