Don't Bother to Knock - 1952

Don't Bother to Knock (1952)

Don't Bother to Knock is a 1952 movie.
The sex symbol Marilyn Monroe plays dramatic in 1952's Don't Bother to Knock, as Nell Forbes, a beautiful but suicidal young woman, recently released from a mental institution.
This was Anne Bancroft's first film. It was also Monroe's 12th film and an attempt to prove to critics that she could act.

Director:
Roy Ward Baker

Cast:
Richard Widmark - Jed Towers
Marilyn Monroe - Nell Forbes
Anne Bancroft - Lyn Leslie
Donna Corcoran - Bunny Jones
Jeanne Cagney - Rochelle

O. Henry's Full House - 1952

Five O' Henry stories, each separate. The primary one from the critic's acclaim was "The Cop and the Anthem". Soapy tells fellow bum Horace that he is going to get arrested so he can spend the winter in a nice jail cell. He fails. He can't even accost a woman; she (Marilyn Monroe) turns out to be a streetwalker. The other stories are "The Clarion Call" (Robertson, Widmark); "The Last Leaf" (Baxter, Peters, Ratoff), "The Ransom of Red Chief" (Allen, Levant, Aaker), and "The Gift of the Magi" (Crain, Granger).

Monkey Business - 1952

 

Monkey Business is a 1952 screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks and starring Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Charles Coburn, Marilyn Monroe, and Hugh Marlowe. To avoid confusion with the famous Marx Brothers movie of the same name, this film is sometimes referred to as "Howard Hawks' Monkey Business."

This comedy features a chemist who is working on a youth formula for a company by testing it on chimps. When one of the chimps mixes her own formula and it gets in the water cooler, everyone is affected including the chemist (played by Cary Grant), his wife (Ginger Rogers), his boss (Charles Coburn), and his secretary Lois Laurel, played by Marilyn.

Niagara - 1953

Niagara is a dramatic thriller, film noir directed by Henry Hathaway on 1953. Unlike other noirs of the time, Niagara was shot in Technicolor and was one of 20th Century Fox's biggest box office hits of the year. The drama features Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters, and others.
Although it was not written as a star vehicle for Marilyn Monroe, she would dominate the film nonetheless. Along with Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire, it solidified Monroe's status as a bona fide box office draw.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - 1953

Anita Loos's old story from the 1920s about a pair of single women in search of husbands gets a makeover in Howard Hawks's 1953 musical, starring Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe as friends who go to Paris looking for mates. The film is charged by Hawks's stylish snap, a famous set piece or two (Monroe descending that staircase while singing "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend"), Russell's wit, and songs by Leo Robin and Jule Styne. The film may largely be a fluff project best remembered as a showcase for its leading actresses, but then Monroe and Russell rarely got such extended opportunities to prove that they were more than cinematic icons. --Tom Keogh

How to Marry a Millionaire - 1953

How to Marry a Millionaire was released on November 1953 and directed by Jean Negulesco.
Marilyn's third movie of 1953 cast her as a severely myopic golddigger who walks into walls because "Men aren't attentive to girls who wear glasses". This is her first CinemaScope feature, and actually only the second movie to be filmed with the new CinemaScope process (the first was "The Robe"). Columnists fabricated a feud between Marilyn and costar Betty Grable, whom she was supplanting at the studio, but the two got along well on the set. The same cannot be said of Lauren Bacall, who looked on her with contempt.

There's No Business Like Show Business - 1954

This movie was directed by Walter Lang.
The story is not the main thing here, it only serves as the launching point for the musical numbers. This movie was 20th Century Fox's answer to the MGM's dominance in the musical genre of the era and all stops were pulled to make this as big as possible—some of the big revue numbers are just eye-popping extravaganzas!
The music of Irving Berlin, is the heart of the film and makes for great nostalgia of a simpler America.
Marilyn Monroe and an all-star cast are featured in Irving Berlin's tuneful depiction of the trials and triumphs of a veteran vaudeville family. The talented Donahue family has plenty of love to get them through the hard times - that is, until they cross paths with a rising starlet (Monroe) whose own ambitions may make or break them. Co-Starring Ethel Merman and Donald O'Connor, this delightful classic delivers dazzling production numbers and masterful show tunes!

Seven Year Itch (1955)

The Seven Year Itch (1955) - Directed by Billy Wilder
Story about a man who finds himself in a tempting situation with a young woman while his wife is away on vacation. Features the classic scene where Marilyn's skirt is blown upwards by a gust of wind from a grating.
Ewell's crack timing is matched by Monroe's zesty comic flair, and the scene in which her white dress is blown skyward by a passing subway train has entered the encyclopaedia of great movie images.

The Prince and the Showgirl - 1957

The Prince and the Showgirl is a 1957 British film starring Marilyn Monroe and co-starring Laurence Olivier, produced at Pinewood Studios. Laurence Olivier also directed and produced this film. The film was released on June 13, 1957.

It was written by Terrence Rattigan who based the script on his play The Sleeping Prince.

River of No Return - 1954

River of No Return is a 1954 western film made by 20th Century Fox in CinemaScope and directed by Otto Preminger. The film stars Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe with Rory Calhoun.
The film is particularly notable for its brisk pace, achieved by the editing of Louis R. Loeffler, with very quick cuts between scenes. Mitchum and Monroe performed many of their own stunts and Monroe badly twisted her ankle during production.

River of No Return featured the majestic scenery of Banff and Jasper National Parks in Alberta, Canada.

Both Preminger and Monroe were forced to do the film against their will, due to contractual obligations. They both expressed their frustration over the script which they considered below par. However, the film was a box office hit upon its release and remains a popular classic western.

Let's Make Love (1960)

Let's Make Love (1960)
With Marilyn Monroe, Yves Montand, Tony Randall. This movie is a comedy musical film made by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by George Cukor and produced by Jerry Wald from a screenplay by Norman Krasna, Hal Kanter and Arthur Miller.
The plot revolves around billionaire Jean-Marc Clement (Montand) who learns that he is to be satirized in an off-Broadway revue. After going to the theatre, he sees Amanda (Monroe) rehearsing the Cole Porter song "My Heart Belongs to Daddy", and by accident the director thinks him an actor suitable to play himself in the revue. Clement takes the part in order to see more of Amanda and plays along with the mistaken identity.

Frankie Vaughan appears as a singer in the revue, while Milton Berle, Gene Kelly, and Bing Crosby appear in cameo roles as themselves trying to teach Clement how to deliver jokes, dance, and sing, respectively. Tony Randall's supporting role portrays Clement's conflicted flunky.

Some Like It Hot - 1959

Some Like It Hot - 1959
An American comedy film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon. The supporting cast includes George Raft, Joe E. Brown, Pat O'Brien, and Nehemiah Persoff. The film was adapted by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond from the story by Robert Thoeren and Michael Logan.