“It’s nice to be included in people’s fantasies but you also like to be accepted for your own sake.” were poignant words spoken in a touching last interview with Marilyn Monroe published in Life magazine just days before her death. Marilyn had been the ultimate male fantasy when she wearily reflected on her fame and what it had exposed her to in the ten years since ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ had skyrocketed her career as America’s premier movie Goddess.
At the age of 36 she was at a crossroads but looking forward to her future, to a time when people would see her as person rather than a sex symbol or as she herself said “a commodity.”What had always been overlooked, because such qualities are rare in Hollywood, is that there was about her an innocence and a sweetness that no other actress ever shared.
Nearly fifty years since her death, and since she spoke those famous last words, Marilyn is still the ultimate fantasy to many men around the world, old and young who have fallen under her spell as each new generation grasp on to her memory and the legacy of film and photographic images she left behind that tragic August night in 1962. Marilyn has remained the symbol of sex, (she was named by Playboy as the “Sexiest Woman of the 20th Century”) but she has an appeal for women too, who have come to accept her for her “own sake.”
She has become the paramount of femininity to which all others who have followed aspire to and for those that make it are often compared. She’s seen as a prototype in a way.In Metamorphosis, David Wills has brought us arguably the greatest collection of Marilyn photos to date from as early as 1942. He has worked tirelessly sourcing transparencies and contact sheets to bring together a history of Marilyn’s life from the early 1940’s to 1962. What is striking about the book is the quality of the prints as they’ve been processed using the most up to date technology giving them a sense of freshness and crisp newness with vibrant colors and life like clarity.
David had access to 100s of files and found that the best of the images were the ones already chosen to be released at the time when they were first published and he felt that it was important to use these classic images that are now in some ways iconic, as they show Marilyn at her best. He felt it unnecessary to include shots that had been considered “out-takes,” or that were slightly inferior. With this in mind he also thought about younger readers who don’t have big collections of photos and are just discovering Marilyn with this book, which I would say easily replaces those published up until now and that are now out of print and hard to find. But there are some ‘new’ photos which have never been published in books before, so there’s something for the die-hard fan to enjoy who has everything.
When asked about her feelings regarding the millions of fans that followed her and supported her success, Marilyn said, “The least I can do is give them the best they can get from me. What’s the good of drawing in the next breath if all you do is let it out and draw in another?” Indeed, as we see the proof here, Marilyn gave her best during a very short career.David has written a beautiful introduction to the book, where he describes Marilyn as “a marvel of photogenicity, a genetic aligning of the planets and the secret of her allure cannot be found in any one feature.” He also goes on to write that “We also know how much of Marilyn was maquillage, her deliberate glamorization beyond the natural by means of fashion, coiffure and makeup to enhance and create the illusion of beauty.
It is this creation, her “image,” which could be considered the pinnacle of her creative genius. She used her face as a blank canvas to create a gallery of looks and characters that are now legendary. Without makeup, most witnesses say she was unrecognizable and had the face of a child.” He goes on to describe how “As a work of art constantly in progress, Marilyn’s face perfectly adapted to each passing decade.” and how “Her personal and cinematic styles can be divided into five very distinct periods over twenty years, each one a reflection of both the fashion of the time and the changes made of her own volition to advance or alter her career.”This is basically the theme of the book and David’s writing makes it all that more special, it’s spread over the first nine pages and I found myself captivated by the way he wrote about Marilyn and his style of phrasing is very inspirng, a bit like the lady herself, and she is so deserving of such beautiful words.
I actually think this is gonna be what people will respond to the most, after they’ve gotten past the initial impact of the quality of the photos and the gold text, which only add to the beauty of the whole presentation. Throughout the book there’s anecdotes and quotes from Marilyn’s friends, colleagues and admirers and to finish you get the entire transcript of the Life interview at the back.Marilyn’s last interview appeared in Life Magazine on August 3, 1962, two days before the actress died at the young age of 36.
We should keep in mind this particularly memorable line from Marilyn: “…you can read about yourself but what’s important is how you feel about yourself.”
By Fraser Penney
