# Film critics: What was MM's best movie? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 25, 2001, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-critics-what-was-mms-best-movie/70083 "2001-06-25T14:38:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-critics-what-was-mms-best-movie/70083/1 "2001-06-25T14:38:19Z")
This came up in conversation this weekend while watching “Happy, Texas”, a re-do of “Some Like It Hot”. What was Marilyn Monroe’s best work? Why? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-critics-what-was-mms-best-movie/70083/2 "2001-06-25T14:46:54Z")
Steamboat Willie. Oh, no Mickey Mouse? Whoops. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Cynical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@Mr.Cynical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Cynical)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-critics-what-was-mms-best-movie/70083/3 "2001-06-25T14:48:28Z")
Austin Powers : International Man of Mystery. Wait…not Mike Meyers? Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-critics-what-was-mms-best-movie/70083/4 "2001-06-25T15:10:20Z")
Kids these days… Don’t have any respect for the great blondes of our time… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-critics-what-was-mms-best-movie/70083/5 "2001-06-25T15:53:13Z")
“Kids these days… Don’t have any respect for the great blondes of our time…” —Couldn’t agree more. Mae Murray’s best movie? “The Merry Widow,” of course. . . . Oh, wait—you meant the other MM, Marilyn? OK. Marilyn Miller’s best movie was “Her Majesty, Love.” ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-critics-what-was-mms-best-movie/70083/6 "2001-06-25T15:58:12Z")
IMO “Some Like It Hot” is the most entertaining (she played off Curtis and Lemmon so well) with “Gentlemen Prefer Blonds” (her ditzy and Russell’s savy were a nice balance) probably a close second. Possibly her best acting (with a bit of overacting thrown in) was (still IMO) “The Misfits”. However when you are in a scene with Clift and Gable are insecure to begin with, you may feel the need to overact. I’ve seen clips for the comedy she was working on at the time of her death (the one with Dean Martin-later done with Doris Day and James Garner as “Move Over Darling”) and it had magic in those scenes she was in. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-critics-what-was-mms-best-movie/70083/7 "2001-06-25T16:11:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TV time \* > **IMO “Some Like It Hot” is the most entertaining…** Ah! Now we’re getting somewhere! Where _does_ one find clips for movies that never made release? D’ya have to sell your immortal soul, or can any shmuck off the street street get a glimpse? ---
**Author:** ![Albert\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Albert\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Albert_Rose)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-critics-what-was-mms-best-movie/70083/8 "2001-06-25T16:18:01Z")
I would say that her best performance came in _Some Like it Hot._ The best film in which she played a part was _All About Eve._ ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-critics-what-was-mms-best-movie/70083/9 "2001-06-25T17:25:36Z")
I would think the answer to this OP would be obvious to everyone. _A Clockwork Orange_ is **M** alcolm **M** cDowell’s best film by far. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-critics-what-was-mms-best-movie/70083/10 "2001-06-25T17:56:26Z")
I’ve always been partial to _La Dolce Vita_ (Marcello Mastroianni), _Passion Fish_ (Mary McDonnell), _La Lectrice_ (Miou-Miou), _The General_ (Marion Mack), _Sweet Smell of Success_ (Martin Milner), _The Age of Innocence_ (Miriam Margolyes), _Meet Me in St. Louis_ (Marjorie Main), and _McCabe and Mrs. Miller_ (Michael Murphy) ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-critics-what-was-mms-best-movie/70083/11 "2001-06-25T18:08:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TV time \* > \*\* > > IMO “Some Like It Hot” is the most entertaining (she played off Curtis and Lemmon so well) with “Gentlemen Prefer Blonds” (her ditzy and Russell’s savy were a nice balance) probably a close second. Possibly her best acting (with a bit of overacting thrown in) was (still IMO) “The Misfits”. However when you are in a scene with Clift and Gable are insecure to begin with, you may feel the need to overact. > > \*\* I’d go with **Gentlemen Prefer Blondes** (although she was pretty good in **All About Eve** , too). I didn’t see **The Misfits** , unfortunately. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-critics-what-was-mms-best-movie/70083/12 "2001-06-25T20:04:17Z")
Oh, and Mae Marsh’s best film was undoubtedly “Intolerance.” Marion Marsh’s? “Svengali.” And did anyone catch Mary Miles Minter in “The Eyes of Julia Deep?” ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-critics-what-was-mms-best-movie/70083/13 "2001-06-25T20:49:29Z")
I shoulda known better than to ask for film critics! Now I’m gonna spend the rest of the night looking up obscure film references! I’ll be renting old movies until _I’m_ old! 😉 Thanks, y’all…! ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-critics-what-was-mms-best-movie/70083/14 "2001-06-25T20:57:59Z")
:::dragging the thread kicking and screaming back on topic::: Of the Monroe movies I’ve seen (meaning those in which she starred) the best is The Prince and the Showgirl. A completely charming confection in which she plays the eponymous showgirl to Laurence Olivier’s prince (regent, actually, but why quibble). MM hadn’t become “MM” yet so she was able to play the part without veering into self-parody, and she played off Olivier perfectly. Add to that a delightful supporting cast, especially Sybil Thorndike as a thoroughly dotty Queen Dowager, and you have a movie that gets more and more fun every time it’s viewed. We now return you to your regularly scheduled off-topicality. Did Marvin Mitchelsen make any movies? ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-critics-what-was-mms-best-movie/70083/15 "2001-06-25T21:25:53Z")
Gotta go with _Some Like It Hot_. I think it is one of the finest films ever made, and I’m not kidding. Sure, it might have required 59 takes for Monroe to properly say, “where’s the bourbon,” but the one time she does it right, it’s perfect. Monroe: If there’s anything I can do for you… Lemmon: I can think of a million things… (Monroe, startled, dives into Lemmon’s bunk, burying her head in his lap) Lemmon: That’s one of 'em! ---
**Author:** ![Protesilaus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Protesilaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Protesilaus)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-critics-what-was-mms-best-movie/70083/16 "2001-06-25T22:03:54Z")
I thought Mickey Mantle did an adequate job of playing himself in _That Touch of Mink_, and I’ve been told that _Safe at Home_ is awful, so I’d have to go with the former. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2001, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-critics-what-was-mms-best-movie/70083/17 "2001-06-26T00:19:22Z")
I think Marilyn Monroe was overrated. She was never very good at playing the “dumb blonde” roles she was cast in\*. At her best, she was tolerable; I’d go with “Some Like It Hot.” \*Compare her to Jean Hagen in “Singin’ In the Rain,” Maureen Arthur in “How to Succeed in Business” (not a blonde, but the same type of character), or anything Gracie Allen ever did. ---
**Author:** ![Juniper200](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@Juniper200](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Juniper200)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2001, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-critics-what-was-mms-best-movie/70083/18 "2001-06-26T02:15:44Z")
I think _Roger & Me_ was far better than _The Big One_. Of course, _Canadian Bacon_ is often overlooked when answering questions like this. ---
**Author:** ![Sylkyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@Sylkyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylkyn)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2001, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-critics-what-was-mms-best-movie/70083/19 "2001-06-26T02:41:18Z")
I’m somewhat of a Marilyn freak. I’ve always thought she never knew she was better in comedy than anything else, but hated to be thought of AS “the dumb blonde”, which she really wasn’t. But, IMO, her best flicks were _Bus Stop, The Seven Year Itch,_ and _Some Like It Hot_. In that order. I really liked _Gentlemen Prefer Blondes_, too, but it wasn’t fabulous. Except for the costumes. She probably would have been great in _The Misfits_, too, if she’d have stayed sober. From what I have gleaned, she despised that movie/play, and Arthur Miller wrote it with HER in mind in the leading role. I think she could have been better than what she was. I just don’t think she gave herself the chance, and from what I’ve read, nobody else did either, at least from her point of view. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2001, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-critics-what-was-mms-best-movie/70083/20 "2001-06-26T12:39:23Z")
Hmmm… “Bus Stop”. Never seen that one. “The Prince and The Showgirl”. Missed that one, too.[sub]gets out note pad, starts scribbling[/sub] Thanks, folks! I’m learning far more than I expected. 🙂 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-critics-what-was-mms-best-movie/70083.md?page=2)