The Silver Screen Oasis

Sometimes the simplest explanations are the correct ones. Marilyn had a problem with sleeping pills, and took too many, then died in her sleep. The end. Was this habit exacerbated by her various relationships with Lawford, the Kennedys, and living in the Hollywood world? Absolutely factors...and I believe some of the people involved in her personal life were at her home that night, finding her body and possibly removing some incriminating things (not directly related to her death) from the premises. But she overdosed. I spent way too much time back in the 90s devouring everything out there about her, even writing college papers about her life and death. These more recent "revelations" sound like fan fiction to me. All then-contemporary accounts lead to this conclusion, with the fantastical ones only coming out after all these parties were long dead.

Excellent points, Lomm. Unfortunately, conspiracy theories can be very seductive.

Cinemaspeak59 wrote: ↑March 9th, 2023, 12:08 pm Excellent points, Lomm. Unfortunately, conspiracy theories can be very seductive.

Not to mention fun.

They can also turn out to be true.

And some do.

While researching Thelma Ritter’s biography, I have encountered quite a bit of information about Marilyn, and my research indicates Marilyn had one goal in life. She wanted to be good at something, and that something was acting. Her husbands got in the way of that goal and so did the drugs and the Kennedy clan. Her legacy lives on not in the sordid, but in the fact that people still watch her movies and are mesmerized by her on film and in the thousands of images taken of her by the media. When Thelma Ritter learned of her death, she was devastated. Marilyn adored Thelma like a mother figure and for the fact that Thelma could always make her laugh and see the positivity she tried to instill in Marilyn’s belief in herself.

TikiSoo wrote: ↑March 9th, 2023, 7:57 am Everyone has a theory, just like Lizzie Borden's trial.
I was given this book as a gift & was less than thrilled-


But I read it and gained some insight. It was more of a charactor study of Marilyn and gave you a better idea of her state of mind, her career & her private life in the years, months & days before her death. It contained no speculation, just the facts, m'am.

The book leaves you with only impressions, so you can better formulate your own theories.
(I will check out the other book mentioned too, thanks!)

Having Marilyn's image on the DVD box to sell the movie is a good thing. If just one person buys the movie & watches it, they will at least discover her true vocation. Far too many teens wear t-shirts with MM, or have posters, etc and they have NO IDEA who she is. Many don't even know her name!

I'm not going to go into my theory on Marilyn's death. I'm sure the truth is a lot less interesting than what legends would have us believe. I think I read that book, "The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe" in middle or high school. It looks like something I would have borrowed from the library. Nowadays, I try to steer clear of biographies that look like they were written for the sole purpose of sensationalism or to drag someone's name through the mud.

About teens wearing shirts with MM. I agree. The same thing is true with Audrey Hepburn. I notice it's not just teenagers, I've seen it with 20-30 somethings as well. My friend used to date this girl (and doesn't anymore THANK GOD, but I digress) who claimed to be a huge MM fan. She even had an MM tattoo. I asked her what her favorite Marilyn film was and she said "Oh. I haven't seen any of her movies." I said "Ohhhhh.... kay." I made her watch "Some Like it Hot" just so she could answer that question when it inevitably came up again. For the record, MY favorite Marilyn movie (and I've seen most of them) is "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." In fact, my husband and I are going to see 'Blondes' in the theater tomorrow! I can't wait to see Jane Russell's musical number with the men's Olympic team up on the big screen!