Marilyn Monroe, The Asphalt Jungle
Do you have any old Hollywood favorites you just know people think, “Oh… of course you like them…” when you mention them? Stars who are so iconic you fear they really aren’t taken seriously? That’s how it is when I name some of my favorites (such as Marilyn, Audrey Hepburn, Rita Hayworth, Ava Gardner, James Stewart…). I’m afraid people think I love them because of their image or because of their stardom.
Far, far from it.
I love these stars because of their talent, the films they left us, and the colorful legacies they earned. These particular stars have actually been done a bit of a disservice by their great popularity. People tend to think of them as images or icons, when they were so much more.
I saw a Twitter conversation once where an individual said… (I’m paraphrasing because it’s been over a year and my brain has an “expiration date” with such things!)… “I just LOVE Marilyn Monroe.” Then another individual asked what their three favorite Marilyn Monroe films were.
You guessed it, the Marilyn Monroe lover had never seen a single of her films and even asked the person to name some because they didn’t know any!
ARRRGGGHHH!!!!
Marilyn Monroe, The Asphalt Jungle
All of this came back to me this morning when I was getting these pictures ready to post. One of the films the person named was The Asphalt Jungle and I was impressed. I think I half-expected them to name the glossy, more famous ones – so when they named this excellent, less-popular film, I knew we were dealing with one of us… a true fan of old movies and Marilyn.
The Asphalt Jungle (Amazon link to the movie on Prime Video) was a 1950 film-noir/drama with an outstanding cast and director (John Huston): Sterling Hayden, Jean Hagen (love her!), Louis Calhern, James Whitmore, and Marilyn Monroe.
If you’ve never seen The Asphalt Jungle, I highly recommend it.
Marilyn Monroe, The Asphalt Jungle