A small size book with lavishly illustrated pages from Marilyn Monroe’s film career and some early modelling assignments from when she first changed her name from Norma Jeane. A young Marilyn poses with a turkey in 1947 (thankfully this wasn’t an indication of her future film career) to the more classic, familiar iconic publicity shots of her from the 1950’s (in her gold lamé dress).Marilyn Monroe dissolved the camera and appealed straight to the person in the cinema seat.
The phrase ‘the camera loved her’ doesn’t really apply, because she had the knack, which amounted to a condition of soul, of behaving as if it didn’t exist. There was just her, the people watching and the other actors, whom she made better than they were by focusing all her attention on them.”Although she had undoubted talent,’ wrote Laurence Olivier, ‘I think she had a subconscious resistance to the exercise of being an actress. But she was as happy as a child when being photographed.
“The book mixes classic film stills, with some rare ones, lobby some candid shots from behind the scenes and film posters and adverts. Multi-language text and captions and a year by year chronology.
By Fraser Penney
