MARILYN MONROE: THE FINAL DAYS

DIRECTOR:
Patty Ivins Specht

APPEARANCES BY:
James Coburn ( voice only - narrator )
George Barris
Walter Bernstein
Cyd Charisse
Hyman Engelberg
Richard Meryman
David Brown
Evelyn Moriarty
Sheree North
Richard Raguse
Peggy Shannon
Susan Strasberg
Henry T. Weinstein
And many others...



QUOTES by Hyman Engelberg M.D. - "We knew that she was a manic-depressive, which is now called BIPOLAR personality"

Production of SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE was a fucking mess, and apparently so was Marilyn Monroe.

They knew she had a legitimate medical problem, and yet nobody seemed to take that fact seriously.

During the production of SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE, there seemed to be a lack of communication, finger-pointing, mind-games and good old fashioned back-stabbing.

Even though I recommend MARILYN MONROE: THE FINAL DAYS, I have mixed feelings about this documentary. Folks express their true feelings about Ms. Monroe and everything that was going on in front, and behind the camera. They criticize Marilyn. Fair enough, but they do NOT criticize FOX's hypocritical and petty behavior. I think that's incredibly one sided and total bullshit.

QUOTES by James Coburn ( narrator ) - "They couldn't afford to lose money on SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE. FOX needed this film in theaters by october, in order to help make up for the mounting debt caused by CLEOPATRA builds. In Rome, these same executives were handling Elizabeth Taylor with kid-gloves. Though her own off-screen behavior and frequent illnesses had created huge delays and extravagant expenses"

FOX was allegedly going broke due to the outrageously expensive costs of making a celluloid-crapfest called CLEOPATRA. They complained about it, and yet they continued doling out cash for that project. However, they didn't seem to have any problems being tightwads with the production of SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE ( and workers at the studio ).



In fact, FOX didn't seem to mind flushing money down the toilet by throwing a "lavish 30th birthday celebration" for Elizabeth Taylor. Meanwhile Marilyn Monroe was treated to a simple birthday cake, and birthday card, during an incredibly lowkey get-together. It seems as if the production of SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE and Marilyn Monroe were treated like second class citizens.



QUOTES by the James Coburn ( narrator ) - "On Tuesday, May 1st, Marilyn was on the set at 7:00 AM against the advice of the studio's own doctor. But after only moments, the actress collapsed and was rushed home"

They took her home?! What the fuck?! She collapsed on the set and nobody called an ambulance or took her to a doctor?! What the fuck was wrong with those folks?! That's incredibly absurd behavior, and fucking inexcusable.



QUOTES by Henry T. Weinstein ( "hated her" refers to George Cukor's feelings towards Paula Strasberg ) - "Cukor hated her, really hated her. I don't think they helped her at all. I think they just pumped her up full of lots of stuff, so they could juice her"

QUOTES by Peggy Shannon - "Pat Newcomb took control of Marilyn. Between Pat Newcomb and Paula Strasberg, Marilyn just, was like a caged animal. Nobody could get near her. Even if George Cukor wanted to talk to her, you had to go through Pat Newcomb"

I would have kicked both their asses OFF the set! That's all there is to it!



FYI: Marilyn was given a special bikini that gave the illusion of nudity when she was in the pool. However, after a few takes, she took the top off. Soon after, she took the bottom off too, and spent the rest of the time fully nude.



QUOTES by Henry T. Weinstein - "When it was all over, she said, "well, this is knocking Elizabeth Taylor off the cover of all the magazines". And indeed, she was. That picture was on the cover of every magazine you could think of"



QUOTES by Evelyn Moriarty ( referring to Marilyn's interaction with the child actors ) - "It was hard, because had her children lived, they would have been the same age as the children she worked with. The children loved her. She played with them. But it was sad. Marilyn wanted children. She wanted them badly"



QUOTES by the James Coburn ( narrator ) - "Marilyn's own childhood had been riddled with painful experiences. Her biological father never recognized her as his own child. Her mother was put into a mental institution. And the young girl endured years of emotional, even sexual abuse, while growing up in a series of foster homes"

QUOTES by George Barris - "She was very upset. It's a very emotional thing to have a studio fire you. And tell her she'll never work again in this town and her career is finished. I mean, you know, this was a terrible shock. Terrible shock"



Director George Cukor went to gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, and provided her with info about Marilyn. That's such an unethical, unprofessional and really disgusting thing to do!

According to this documentary, Marilyn called Peter Lawford and spoke to him in an incoherent manner. But he did not go to her home, and he did not call the police. Instead, he called another man. Afterwards, that man called Marilyn's housekeeper. Why did these folks act as if they were in a relay race?! Everybody passed the baton!

Approximately five hours later, the housekeeper found Marilyn's lifeless body lying on her bed.

A lot of people knew she liked to mix champagne with sleeping pills. They also knew she had overdosed weeks before. So why didn't anyone take the appropriate actions? There seemed to be far too many BULLSHIT EXCUSES for not helping her.

Did anybody truly love her? In my opinion, the only thing most folks loved, was her money.
Meanwhile, other folks only seemed to care about what Ms. Monroe could do to make THEIR LIVES better! She was just a commodity to those fuckers...


FYI: Over five-hundred minutes of footage exists for SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE.

VIDEO INFO:
DVD
FULLscreen presentation of documentary
WIDEscreen presentation of SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE
Color ( black and white footage also ).
Region one
Company - Image Entertainment
NOT rated - documentary
NOT rated - SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE
Extra #1 - Newsreel clips ( read details below )
Extra #2 - Marilyn as a BLUE BOOK model in 1943 ( read details below )
Extra #3 - Marilyn as a BLUE BOOK model in 1948 ( read details below )
Extra #4 - Trailer for MOVE OVER DARLING ( 1963 ). This is the re-cast version of SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE.
Inserts - None



EXTRA #1 - Marilyn appears in 15 black & white newsreel clips!
1 - Marilyn in a parade
2 - Marilyn and Jane Russell signing their names and putting their hand and footprints in wet cement
3 - Redbook magazine
4 - Air Force safety message
5 - Look magazine
6 - Photoplay magazine
7 - Look magazine award
8 - HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE premiere
9 - Marriage to Joe DiMaggio announced
10 - Marilyn and Joe DiMaggio get married
11 - Marilyn and Joe DiMaggio at airport
12 - Marilyn and Joe DiMaggio in Japan for their hooneymoon
13 - Photoplay magazine gives Marilyn their gold medal award
14 - SEVEN YEAR ITCH premiere and birthday celebration for Marilyn
15 - Marilyn in London



EXTRA #2 is a short film featuring Marilyn and some other women as BLUE BOOK models in 1943. The footage is in color, but with NO sound. EXTRA #3 is also a short film of Marilyn and a few other BLUE BOOK models ( circa 1948 ). It's also in color and silent. For those who still don't know, Marilyn was really a brunette. From what I understand, Emmeline Snively, the man that ran the BLUE BOOK MODELING AGENCY told her she should bleach and straighten her wavy brown hair.



OBTAINED AT - CD Universe

PRICE - $11.49



DO I WANT MY MONEY BACK?:
HELL NO!.... Even though I have some problems with this documentary, I still think it's worth watching and owning...



FYI: There are two versions of this DVD. One is by IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT and the other is by FOX.