The poignancy of seeing Marilyn Monroe in her final, uncompleted picture is deepened still by the emptiness one feels at the thought of what the silver-screen goddess might still have accomplished.
It is true that "Something's Got to Give", based on the screwball comedy "My Favorite Wife" (1940), is a rather light, conventional movie: Nick Arden (Dean Martin) has his wife Ellen (Marilyn Monroe), who got lost in a storm five years ago, declared dead so as to be able to remarry. Upon returning from his honeymoon with his new spouse Bianca (Cyd Charisse), Nick finds that Ellen, who got stranded on a tropical island with another man, was rescued and has come home. Ellen pretends to be the new Swedish maid in order to mislead Bianca, at the same time urging Nick to explain to Bianca that she is indeed his legitimate wife. Nick, however, has suspicions of his own about the man who stayed with Ellen on the island. The fragment breaks off after Ellen introduces another man to Nick as her former companion.
Just weeks before her suicide, Marilyn Monroe is as brilliant, sexy, and effervescent as ever. I do not agree that she seems absent-minded in the completed scenes - this assessment is a misconception rooted in the fact that the reconstructed movie can only be seen as the last part of the documentary "The Final Days," which strongly foregrounds Marilyn's dependency on barbituaries. In the picture itself, however, Marilyn is in top form. Particularly in the scene in which Ellen returns to her home for the first time in five years, and finds that her two children have no conscious memories of her, Marilyn's performance is outstanding: Her silent emotional response to the place and her body language match her best performances in "Bus Stop" (when she's mad at Don Murray), "The Prince and the Showgirl" (the reverie in Westminster Abbey), "Some Like It Hot" (her disappointment at Tony Curtis leaving her) and "The Misfits" (overall). You can see that she actually relates to the idea of a mother coming home and not finding reciprocal affection in her family, which allows a deep glimpse into her own psyche, i.e. her desperate wish to have kids of her own.
Further, the nude bathing scene is absolutely stunning even though there is something labored to it. Marilyn definitely wanted people to see what an extraordinary body she still had at 36; you can see that she makes people see. And - as we learn from the documentary - she wanted to knock Liz Taylor, who was shooting "Cleopatra" in Rome, off the magazine covers, which she did. Despite these afterthoughts, there is an authentic sense that Marilyn's really enjoying herself and feels confident about herself. Seeing this kind of self-assurance, it is hard to believe that she suffered from depression, physical fatigue, and alcohol/drug abuse while she was shooting the picture.
Finally, despite her luminous aura and still impressive physique, "Something's Got to Give" shows a more mature Marilyn, as do the photos made by Bert Stern and George Barris taken at the same time. Marilyn Monroe is no longer Cary Grant's secretary - as in "Monkey Business" - or the bubble-headed showgirl she had to play so often ("Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," "Let's Make Love" etc.); she's Dean Martin's wife and an affectionate mother of two children. This is at least in part the reason why it is so sad that Marilyn couldn't make more movies: Had she lived longer, "Something's Got to Give" might have continued the transition from "girl" parts to "woman" parts, which began with her playing Roslyn Taber in "The Misfits" - her best performance by far in her most artistic picture.
To sum it up: Though the plot of "Something's Got to Give" is pretty thin, Marilyn is at her best in the completed scenes. Her presence is as bright and dominant as it ever was. The movie might have continued the transitional phase of her career towards more mature parts, and hence might have opened a new chapter in the history of Hollywood film making. It is infinitely sad that Marilyn Monroe, eclipsing her fabulous co-stars once again in her final picture, had to go so early.
It is true that "Something's Got to Give", based on the screwball comedy "My Favorite Wife" (1940), is a rather light, conventional movie: Nick Arden (Dean Martin) has his wife Ellen (Marilyn Monroe), who got lost in a storm five years ago, declared dead so as to be able to remarry. Upon returning from his honeymoon with his new spouse Bianca (Cyd Charisse), Nick finds that Ellen, who got stranded on a tropical island with another man, was rescued and has come home. Ellen pretends to be the new Swedish maid in order to mislead Bianca, at the same time urging Nick to explain to Bianca that she is indeed his legitimate wife. Nick, however, has suspicions of his own about the man who stayed with Ellen on the island. The fragment breaks off after Ellen introduces another man to Nick as her former companion.
Just weeks before her suicide, Marilyn Monroe is as brilliant, sexy, and effervescent as ever. I do not agree that she seems absent-minded in the completed scenes - this assessment is a misconception rooted in the fact that the reconstructed movie can only be seen as the last part of the documentary "The Final Days," which strongly foregrounds Marilyn's dependency on barbituaries. In the picture itself, however, Marilyn is in top form. Particularly in the scene in which Ellen returns to her home for the first time in five years, and finds that her two children have no conscious memories of her, Marilyn's performance is outstanding: Her silent emotional response to the place and her body language match her best performances in "Bus Stop" (when she's mad at Don Murray), "The Prince and the Showgirl" (the reverie in Westminster Abbey), "Some Like It Hot" (her disappointment at Tony Curtis leaving her) and "The Misfits" (overall). You can see that she actually relates to the idea of a mother coming home and not finding reciprocal affection in her family, which allows a deep glimpse into her own psyche, i.e. her desperate wish to have kids of her own.
Further, the nude bathing scene is absolutely stunning even though there is something labored to it. Marilyn definitely wanted people to see what an extraordinary body she still had at 36; you can see that she makes people see. And - as we learn from the documentary - she wanted to knock Liz Taylor, who was shooting "Cleopatra" in Rome, off the magazine covers, which she did. Despite these afterthoughts, there is an authentic sense that Marilyn's really enjoying herself and feels confident about herself. Seeing this kind of self-assurance, it is hard to believe that she suffered from depression, physical fatigue, and alcohol/drug abuse while she was shooting the picture.
Finally, despite her luminous aura and still impressive physique, "Something's Got to Give" shows a more mature Marilyn, as do the photos made by Bert Stern and George Barris taken at the same time. Marilyn Monroe is no longer Cary Grant's secretary - as in "Monkey Business" - or the bubble-headed showgirl she had to play so often ("Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," "Let's Make Love" etc.); she's Dean Martin's wife and an affectionate mother of two children. This is at least in part the reason why it is so sad that Marilyn couldn't make more movies: Had she lived longer, "Something's Got to Give" might have continued the transition from "girl" parts to "woman" parts, which began with her playing Roslyn Taber in "The Misfits" - her best performance by far in her most artistic picture.
To sum it up: Though the plot of "Something's Got to Give" is pretty thin, Marilyn is at her best in the completed scenes. Her presence is as bright and dominant as it ever was. The movie might have continued the transitional phase of her career towards more mature parts, and hence might have opened a new chapter in the history of Hollywood film making. It is infinitely sad that Marilyn Monroe, eclipsing her fabulous co-stars once again in her final picture, had to go so early.