I was really excited to learn that Eileen Whitfield’s wonderful biography on the life and career of Mary Pickford has been bought by Poverty Row Entertainment for an upcoming biopic. Pickford was a woman ahead of her time, she had an amazing life and career and she deserves to have her story told on screen.
Of course, the benchmark film in this genre is Chaplin (1992), starring Robert Downey Jr. One of the best biopics ever made!
Marilyn Monroe’s last film was never completed. She was fired, then rehired on her terms at a higher salary and a change in director. Filming of Something’s Got to Give was scheduled to restart in September/October 1962. On August 5, 1962, Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her bed…at a cost of $2 million, there wasn’t enough footage to piece it together into anything releasable. It was, quite literally, a dead loss.
Whenever I see this footage I wonder what Something’s Got to Give would have been like had it been completed. Incidentally, the 1963 “remake,” Move Over, Darling, starring Doris Day and James Garner cost around $3.5 million to make and did very well at the box office, grossing $6 million.
In researching the film, it’s very apparent that Fox’s issues with Something’s Got to Give had little to do with Marilyn Monroe, and everything to do with the out of control budget on Cleopatra (costing over $45 million to complete). The bigwigs were scrambling to save the studio from bankruptcy, and scrambling to save face and regain some control. Since Cleopatra was being filmed overseas, they wielded the axe closer to home. Something’s Got to Give – gave, and Fox blamed Marilyn Monroe for the film being shut down. She was the scapegoat, an easy target. For years, she’d made millions for the studio as a contract player, and for the bulk of that time she was paid a ridiculously low salary. It meant nothing.
The below clips show various out takes and candid scenes that were filmed before Monroe’s firing, and subsequent death. At a little under an hour in length, it’s worth watching if you’re a fan of Marilyn Monroe. For a woman with so many problems, she had the most magnificent laugh, and she laughs a lot in the raw footage that I’ve posted below. Enjoy!
While the Chaplin figure is pretty good, the Harlow is horrendous. Take a look at the range of celebrity and historical wax figures up for auction in the link below. I wonder if they’ll even get the opening bids…
A shout out to my fellow author, and namesake, Michelle Morgan. Her new, updated version of her book, Marilyn Monroe: Private and Confidential is now being shipped in the U.S., about a month ahead of its scheduled release date.
Congratulations, Michelle! Marilyn Monroe is such a worthy subject and you’ve done her proud with this latest edition.
Additionally, Michelle Morgan’s popular blog can be viewed HERE
Norman “Chubby” Chaney was only twenty-one years old when he died. The year was 1936 and he’s been in an unmarked grave ever since. Time to make that change. Please donate and be a part of getting “Chubby” a long overdue grave marker, even if it’s just one dollar. Everything helps!
After doing some research, I’m about a year late on this one, but I just saw this ad on television for the first time. Thanks to the wonders of CGI, Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich and Grace Kelly are featured in the Dior commercial (see clip below) for their perfume, J’Adore. A nod to these classic Hollywood beauties is reason enough to buy the perfume. A round of applause for Dior!
Many of Hollywood’s earliest stars were of the four-legged variety. I’ve long been fascinated with animal actors and I will most likely explore the subject in a future book. For now, have a read of the article at the link below:
Michelle Vogel
Michelle Vogel (Author) - michellevogelhollywoodnews.com 
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