I remember watching this video some years ago on YouTube, and I felt like I was on the top of the world because I had found it. This was one of Marilyn's few television appearances on an interview program called
Person to Person. According to comedian Milton Berle, 20th Century-Fox had a stipulation in Marilyn's iron-clad contract that rendered her unable to appear on television. After her appearances on
The Jack Benny Program and some industry-orientated broadcasts, the studio big shots apparently felt that TV was the "wrong medium" for Marilyn, and therefore cut off her ability to appear on the small screen.
But that's all rumor. I've never found anything concrete to confirm it.
In this interview itself, I can definitely see how you came to the assumption that Marilyn is giving a performance here. Her responses seem a little coached, almost to the point that it seems like the questions the moderator asks were submitted beforehand and she and the Greenes sat down and rehearsed their answers. Knowing that this broadcast was done on live television, I don't necessarily believe my own hunch here, especially since the questions being asked could have easily been changed on the spot without Marilyn or her friends ever being aware.
Marilyn's ongoing battles with Fox were approaching their peak (or one of the peaks) during this time. After turning down a few projects, she had recently starred in
The Seven Year Itch, which she says in this interview that she hopes will come out a good picture and be a success. The film was, in fact, one of the raunchy comedies that shook up the censorship bureau back in the 1950s, and it sweep through the country and was a smash at the box office back in the summer of 1955. She says that Billy Wilder, who directed her in the film, was one of the most important people in her career. I find that rather odd, especially considering the parts she played in the films she did for him. In
The Seven Year Itch and
Some Like It Hot, she plays directly into here stereotype, that of a shapely, but seemingly light-headed blonde.
Like I said, her issues with Fox were all in the papers and it gave the press almost more to talk about than her movies or any rumored flings did. I know her lawyers and agents warned her about making too much noise concerning her issues with the studio and her bosses there, so I'd say that's why her replies here are preceded with hesitance. She does seem a little more breathy here than she does in most of her interviews or newsreels, but I can also agree that it seems surprisingly natural, but maybe it's the surroundings. Her appearance visually seems more original and down-to-earth here as well, perhaps as an attempt she and her advisors were making to usher her into the realm of being taken more seriously as an actress.
Marilyn's friendship with Milton and Amy Greene banners a pivotal era in her professional and personal life. As she says in the video, she had met Milton first, and the two struck a friendship. Apparently she was enticed that this man, a wonderful but mostly unknown photographer, was interested in helping her mature as an actress and businesswoman. It was his idea to start Marilyn Monroe Productions, and it seems he felt that Marilyn could saddle her own production company and simply walkout on Fox no matter what she was offered. Her agents and lawyers, however, seemed to want to use her decision to "play" boss of her own company as leverage to get her more money from Fox.
Marilyn, as it seems, was only interested in making good films. She says that she isn't against making musicals and comedies, and that she rather enjoys it, but she never elaborates any further really. Of course, we know she wanted to make more
serious and
straight pictures, and the only way Marilyn and Milton saw that she could do that was to start her own company. Milton doesn't seem to be a gold-digger or anything, but I can't entirely buy that he was completely sold out to helping Marilyn achieve greatness. Maybe he was, but we all know that he and Amy were more than giddy to ride Marilyn's coattails into Hollywood's elite. Amy, in particular, seems in awe about having Marilyn at her side. Every time I watch this video I giggle when the moderator completely ignores Amy's greeting and says "Hello, Marilyn..." instead. Like, my aside baby, this show's about Marilyn.
The time Marilyn spent with the Greenes was kind of brief. She lived with them through the filming of
Bus Stop, but she soon started socializing with intellectuals and it wasn't long before she married Arthur Miller. Marilyn, Arthur, and the Greenes all traveled to England in July 1956, where Marilyn began filming
The Prince and the Showgirl, co-starring Sir Laurence Olivier. It was during this time that Arthur became increasingly jealous of Marilyn's relationship with Milton, and within a while, Arthur had tore their partnership up. Once they all returned to Hollywood, Marilyn quietly asked Milton to leave Marilyn Monroe Productions, which invited the eventual demise of the short-lived production company.
There is a lot of detail about Marilyn's relationship with Milton and Amy Greene done for the documentary called Marilyn Monroe in New York, for which Amy was interviewed. There are multiple videos scattered all over YouTube where many people try to pass Amy off as Marilyn's best friend. While I don't necessarily doubt that these two ladies were close, I also seriously doubt Marilyn would have called Amy her best friend. Now, I realize I could be off in my assumption, but I'm sure Amy, like most women, had her share of jealousies that were directed towards Marilyn.
This is a central highlight of Marilyn's life. She's right on the verge of bulldozing right into her desire to becoming a serious, method-trained actress.
