Marilyn Monroe Matinée Series

The public is invited to enjoy Sippican Historical Society and Marion Council on Aging’s summertime collaboration: The Best of Marilyn. Beginning on Tuesday, August 4 and continuing over the following three weeks, the organizations will present a selection of Marilyn Monroe’s most popular and acclaimed films.

The selection for Tuesday, August 4 is Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Co-starring Jane Russell, the film chronicles two lounge singers from Little Rock, who work their way to Paris on a transatlantic cruise, enjoying the company of eligible men they meet along the way. The colorful 1953 musical features Monroe at her best as guileless fortune teller Lorelei Lee, with Russell as her practical sidekick. A careful balance between musical and comedy, gold digging and sentimental dreams, the film is a classic.

Tuesday, August 11 will feature The Seven Year Itch. Co-starring Tom Ewell and Evelyn Keyes, the film tells the tale of a married man who falls for the blonde bombshell upstairs while his wife is on vacation. The 1955 comedy was directed by Billy Wilder and is mostly immediately recognizable for its iconic image of Monroe standing atop a subway grate, skirts billowing. Based on a popular Broadway play written by George Axelrod, The Seven Year Itch helped turn Monroe from a sensation into a legend.

The 1961 film The Misfits is the third film in the series, to be shown on Tuesday, August 18. It features Monroe as a sensitive divorcée who gets mixed up with modern cowboys roping mustangs in the desert. Directed by John Huston, the film boasts an all-star cast, to include Clark Gable, Montgomery Clift, Eli Wallach and Thelma Ritter. The Misfits was a pioneering work in the development of the American Western – a more contemporary, nuanced take on the genre.

The series wraps up on August 25 with the screening of the legendary comedy Some Like It Hot. The 1959 film co-stars Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon as two musicians on the run from gangsters, masquerading as members of an all-girl band. Produced, directed and co-written by Billy Wilder, the broad farce features Monroe as a simple, singer/ukulele player with a soft spot for saxophone players and men with glasses. Along with Curtis’ and Lemmon’s dynamic performances, Ms. Monroe’s charmingly naïve portrayal helped make Some Like It Hot one of the highest regarded comedies of all time.

Best of Marilyn Matinées will be held in the front room of the Music Hall (164 Front Street in Marion) and offered free of charge to the public. Ample parking is available across the street at Island Wharf. Films begin at 11:00 am, and attendees are encouraged to bring a brown bag lunch to enjoy during the presentation. For more information, contact the SHS at 508-748-1116.

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