Marilyn Monroe 1926-1962
Two of Marilyn’s finest early movies are screening in San Francisco this month. You can catch The Asphalt Jungle (1950) at 6.30 tonight at the Excelsior Public Library, and Don’t Bother to Knock (1952) will be shown on January 22 at 9.30 pm as part of the Film Noir Festival at the Castro Theatre.
These extracts from Maurice Zolotow’s Marilyn Monroe: The Uncensored Biography, first published in the Los Angeles Daily Mirror on November 25-26, explore Marilyn’s relationship with agent Johnny Hyde, and her breakthrough role in The Asphalt Jungle (1950.)
John Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle tops a list of great heist movies compiled by Joe Holleman in St Louis Today. In this classic thriller, Marilyn played Angela Phinlay, the young mistress of a corrupt businessman (Louis Calhern.) It was Marilyn’s first ‘big break’, and she remembered the experience with pride.
The Asphalt Jungle (1950): A fabulous film noir directed by John Huston, this is a tight, dark look at an ex-con trying to set up one more big job — a jewelry-store heist — after getting out of prison. Sterling Hayden is excellent in the lead, with great support from James Whitmore and Sam Jaffe. Marilyn Monroe has a small role.
Watch a trailer here
