Marilyn Monroe, the name that alone evokes timeless beauty. She not only captured the hearts of the world in the mid-20th century but remains a pinnacle of beauty and the classic star of Hollywood’s bygone golden era. Monroe’s style and grace continue to inspire generations. Now 56 years, after the actress died, her first nude scene in a film has been recovered. In 1961, John Huston’s film The Misfits, Marilyn Monroe, who played the lead female character, drops a bedsheet during a love scene with the lead actor Clark Gable. Exposing herself on the camera, the footage was ultimately not included in the film and was later believed to have been destroyed by Huston. Marilyn Monroe Birth Anniversary Special: 5 of the Sassiest Quotes by the Eternal Diva.
Charles Casillo, author of the forthcoming Marilyn Monroe: The Private Life of a Public Icon, said that Monroe’s nudity in her final feature film was saved by the producer Frank Taylor because he saw it as ground-breaking. What was thought to have been ruined turns out that the footage is stored in a locked cabinet by Taylor’s son Curtice Taylor. He is taking care of it after his father’s death since 1999. If showcased, the scene would have been one of the first times or possibly the first nude act by an American actor in a major production.
While doing his research, Casillo interviewed Curtice Taylor who told him the existence of the tape. The author told Daily Mail that it was Monroe’s idea to drop the bedsheet. He said, “If you read [The Misfits] script… it doesn’t say anything about nudity… When she did the scene, everyone was shocked on the set. Huston sighed and said, ‘Honey, I’ve seen them before.' Gable and others… wanted [it] to be left in. Huston didn’t… because he felt it… was totally unnecessary to the scene.” However, what is to be done with the lost footage remains suspicious.
The Misfits was the final film for two of the Hollywood’s greatest icons; Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable. A western centring on a divorcee Monroe and her complicated relationship with a distant older cowboy, Gable, was written by Monroe’s husband at the time, Arthur Miller. During the film’s premiere, they were said to have been divorced. The love scene, when Monroe appears nude on camera lasts for around 45 seconds. It was Huston who decided not to include the footage in the finished film because he considered it unnecessary to the story. The discovery of the footage is featured in Casillo’s Marilyn Monroe: The Private Life of a Public Icon which is set to be published on August 14.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 13, 2018 09:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).