BLONDE {PART 2 OF 2} (TV)
Summary
The second installment in this two-part miniseries depicting a fictionalized version of the life of Marilyn Monroe, based on the novel by Joyce Carol Oates. The program begins as Marilyn discovers Cass in bed with both another woman and his friend Eddie G. and flees, distraught. She seeks solace with her agent, and Shinn offers to marry her, promising that he will leave her a fortune in his will. Marilyn declares that she wants to marry for true love, however, rather than for money. Shinn then introduces her to another sleazy producer, Max Lurie, who gives her her first leading role in exchange for sexual favors. She encounters trouble on the set when she asks to rewrite some of her lines, feeling that she understands her character deeply, but the director urges her not to overthink it. Marilyn then visits her mother at the sanitarium and updates her on her career, though Gladys refuses when her daughter begs to finally learn her father's name. The nude photos taken by Otto are then leaked to the press, and Shinn calls Marilyn in a rage, declaring that she was "his" at the time. Mr. R. rudely scolds her for violating the morality clauses in her contract, but admits that he could not fire her because of her growing fame.
Shinn dies suddenly and a heartbroken Marilyn blames herself, feeling that he was her only friend. She then reunites with Cass and Eddie, however, and they enter into a polyamorous relationship of sorts. For her next role in "Niagara," she again attempts to develop her character further, drawing from her own traumatic childhood for inspiration. Mr. R. denies their intimate first "meeting" when Marilyn questions him about it, and her new agent advises her not to "make trouble" or to mention her institutionalized mother. Her relationship with Cass and Eddie deepens, and she is soon elated to learn that she is pregnant, though she is not sure which man is the father. They are both taken aback by the news, but then promise to clean up their lives and become a family. Marilyn turns down an offer for a musical comedy film and tells Gladys about the child, though she admits that she is broke despite her star status and does not entirely trust Cass and Eddie. She asks Gladys' if her mental illness is hereditary, while elsewhere a famous ex-baseball player spots Marilyn's photo in the paper and declares that he wishes to date her, despite the rumors that she is a "tramp."
Cass and Eddie continue their hedonistic lifestyle, and Marilyn realizes that she cannot rely on them to be fathers. Mr. R's secretary arranges for a secret abortion, though she panics and experiences disturbing visions during the procedure. She then accepts the musical role and films the famous "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" scene while taking numerous drugs to control her pain and guilt. She goes on a date with the baseball player and they discuss their careers and their passions, with Marilyn admitting that she is desperate for more serious roles as well as for a family. Cass is angered at her "betrayal," and she is soon stunned to receive a letter from her absent father, though it does not arrange for a meeting. The baseball player proposes to her after the "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" premiere and they are soon married, but the marriage quickly sours when he is forced to pay off a man threatening blackmail with the negatives of the nude photos. He becomes controlling and violent, ordering her to quit her exploitative job with the studio, but she pleads with him that she needs to work.
Marilyn is suspended from the studio and attends acting classes with Lee Strasberg in preparation for a play, though the writer is frustrated that she was cast for her fame alone, feeling that she has no talent.. She then demonstrates remarkable insight about her character, however, comparing the playwright's work to Chekhov's, and he begins to fall in love with her despite being married with children. The two start an affair and she promises to convert to Judaism to be with him, and she soon heads off to England to shoot a picture with Laurence Olivier. She is frequently late to set, however, and the director dismisses her complex ideas about the story by telling her to "just act sexy." The playwright attempts to curb her desperate anxiety, but admits that their marriage was a "nightmare." They escape to Maine and Marilyn soon falls pregnant again and turns down several movie offers, declaring that she does not want to "be her" anymore. She receives more letters from her father and her husband grows suspicious of her past, including her time with Cass, and she experiences strange fears about the baby.
Marilyn comes to believe that her husband is writing about her in his works despite promising not to do so, and he soon finds her at the bottom of the basement stairs. She loses the baby and he attempts to comfort her, and she soon returns to the studio and to Mr. R. Eddie then arrives with the news that Cass has died, and Marilyn is outraged to learn that he was the one writing the letters from her "father" all along. She descends further into drug use and spends an evening at a carnival with a young girl, eventually passing out on a beach overnight. Later, she talks to her makeup artist, her sole true friend, and alludes to her affair with the president. She makes him promise to "make Marilyn up" one final time after her death, seemingly aware that she will not live long, and then takes the stage to sing her famous rendition of "Happy Birthday." The program concludes by explaining that she died at thirty-six under "mysterious circumstances," having never become a mother. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: May 16, 2001 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:26:15
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:83860
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; Biography; Monroe, Marilyn
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV, 2001
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Jay Firestone … Executive Producer
- Adam Haight … Executive Producer
- Robert Greenwald … Executive Producer
- Liz Selzer Lang … Co-Executive Producer
- Jacobus Rose … Co-Executive Producer
- Philip Kleinbart … Supervising Producer
- Ashley Aitken … Associate Producer
- Bradley H. Gordon … Co-Producer
- Joyce Chopra … Director
- Joyce Eliason … Writer
- Joyce Carol Oates … Based on the novel by
- Patrick Williams … Music by
- Poppy Montgomery … Cast, Marilyn Monroe / Norma Jean Baker
- Patricia Richardson … Cast, Gladys Baker
- Patrick Dempsey … Cast, Cass Chaplin
- Wallace Shawn … Cast, I.E. Shinn
- Griffin Dunne … Cast, The Playwright
- Titus Welliver … Cast, The Baseball Player
- Eric Bogosian … Cast, Otto
- Niklaus Lange … Cast, Bucky Glazer
- Richard Roxburgh … Cast, Mr. R
- Jensen Ackles … Cast, Eddie G.
- Skye McCole Bartusiak … Cast, Young Norma Jean
- Ann-Margret … Cast, Della Monroe
- Kirstie Alley … Cast, Elsie
- Tony Harvey … Cast, Mr. Pearce
- Trish Noble … Cast, Dr. Mittelstadt
- John Lee … Cast, Director J
- Matthew O'Sullivan … Cast, Lee Strasberg
- Andrew Clarke … Cast, Laurence Olivier
- Warwick Rimmer … Cast, Agent
- Steve Vidler … Cast, Warren
- Emily Browning … Cast, Fleece
- Don Halbert … Cast, Max Lurie
- Robyn Cuming … Cast, Director B
- Gary Lantzsch … Cast, Mr. Haring
- Michael Carmen … Cast, Director H
- Colin MacPherson … Cast, Whitey
- Mark Lee … Cast, Porn Dealer
- Jennifer Congram … Cast, Yvet
- Lisa Heenan … Cast, Mrs. Mount
- Richard Neal … Cast, Mr. Mount
- Mark Mitchell … Cast, Texas Oilman
- Alan Lock … Cast, Doctor Bob
- Craig McDonald … Cast, Casting Director
- Bruce Hughes … Cast, Clark Gable
- Ben Anderson … Cast, Drama Teacher
- Marita Wilcox … Cast, Bess Glazer
- Glenn Morshower … Cast, Officer
- Angela Stapleton … Cast, Delivery Nurse
- Erik Donnison … Cast, Gynecologist
- Greg Parker … Cast, Doctor Bender
- Soula Alexander … Cast, Dee Dee
- Hamish Hughs … Cast, Louis Calhern
- Donna Ponterotto … Cast, Neighbor Woman
- Megan Will … Cast, Pier Little Girl
- James Bridekirk … Cast, British Reporter
- Brett Tucker … Cast, Actor at White Party
- Phillip Lowe … Cast, Buddy 1
- Richard Morgan … Cast, Buddy 2
- Renee Henderson … Cast, Jane Russell
- Vonnie Pilgrim … Cast, Old Woman
- Kim Knuckey … Cast, Restaurant Owner
- Jim Daly … Cast, Plane Supervisor
- Constance Landsberg … Cast, Sanitarium Nurse
- Keir Saltmarsh … Cast, Radio Reporter
- Alistair Reid … Cast, Actor
- Bernard Curry … Cast, Assistant to Director J
- Lew Luton … Cast, Doctor #2
- Simone Oliver … Cast, Fair Princess
- Stuart Halusz … Cast, Dark Prince
- Bev Killick … Cast, Ladies' Room Attendant
- Chris Fortuna … Cast, Guy in the Liberty
- Mark Guerin … Cast, Director HH
- Cathy Godbold … Cast, Assistant #2
- Roxanne Baker … Cast, Little Girl
- Craig Blumeris … Cast, Man
- Jonathan Newton … Cast, Boy who tries to kiss Norma Jean