Shameful...Arlene Dahl on Marilyn Monroe "Word of Mouth" Segment

[jamesjazzguitar]

Well out of the 4 names you listed I would put Monroe clearly at the top but that being said Monroe isn't in my top 25 favorite actress (and my list only goes that high!).

 

So I agree what was all the hype about. Clearly it is mostly about dying young and the fact he killed herself.

[C.Bogle]

Yes, he attended, but I don't believe he graduated. I guess he had other career choices

he was considering.

 

The Stones were formed, at least partly, in response to the extreme free market principles

of the Beatles, as propagated in such songs as Money and Can't Buy Me Love.

[MovieProfessor]

Arlene?s story about this encounter with Marilyn has been around or told by her for a very long time. She never intended to be disrespectful or ridicule Marilyn. All Arlene was trying to convey was that Marilyn was never one to be so prepared to converse when out in public. Marilyn had no real sold spontaneity to her character, unless of course she was scripted or had some control over the environment around her. She was simply insecure and probably carried with her lots of guilt about how she made her way up the movie-star ladder. This I think was always the main reason why she was at times presumptuous or even lacking a sense of who she really was and what she represented. But then, these characteristics are part of her legend and life. It shouldn?t be such a surprise or a perplexing matter to consider. It was nothing more than a little misunderstanding that over the years was used as a backdrop towards signifying Marilyn wasn?t so astute. What Arlene said about Marilyn was just one of numerous typical situations surrounding the femme fatale. After all, everybody knew Marilyn abused pills and the various medications that no doubt kept to mindset off the beaten track of life. Marilyn wasn?t stupid; she was just at times naive. This created an assertion of being somewhat transparent to the point of what might make sense.

 

Anyway, luckily for Marilyn, good old Fred Astaire was standing there and he saved the day. Fred was a first class gentleman and he simply kidded with Marilyn about what had been said and left it at nothing to really worry about.

[jamesjazzguitar]

And don't forget Taxman. Those Beatles would make fine members of the Tea-party!

[DownGoesFrazier]

I'm kind of surprised to hear that Clark Gable was in a discussion about Walt Whitman. Seems like a bit of a stretch for him. Maybe he was just saying "Uh-Huh. Uh-Huh".

[VP19]

> {quote:title=finance wrote:}{quote}

> I'm kind of surprised to hear that Clark Gable was in a discussion about Walt Whitman. Seems like a bit of a stretch for him. Maybe he was just saying "Uh-Huh. Uh-Huh".

 

It didn't mesh with his devil-may-care, outdoorsman image -- and it's not something he or MGM played up much -- but Gable actually liked poetry. He and Jean Harlow were both well-read types.

[Tashalyn]

Marilyn did know who Walt Whitman was. And since Clark Gable, upon meeting William Faulkner, asked what he did, it's hard to believe that Gable could take part in a discussion of Walt Whitman. But maybe Gable was more of a poetry than a fiction fan.

[FredCDobbs]

Marilyn is really great in this film ?The Prince and the Showgirl?. Really outstanding. Beautiful and great acting.

[Tashalyn]

Yes, Olivier admitted that she stole the film from him, although I think he's very enjoyable as well. And Sybil Thorndike is sublime.

[FredCDobbs]

Yes, he was very good, perfect for that role, but she did steal the film from everyone.

 

[annelovestcm]

no one ever talks about arlene dahl except maybe how bad or good her cosmetic surgeon is so that is why she did this j

to get attention

unfortunately when celebs die young they stay in your mind forever young and beautiful

[MoRB]

Ok,first off I didn?t even know there was a feud betweeen MM and Arlene Dahl( mother of Lorenzo Lamas).I?ve never been a great MM fan,but I do belive she was smart.Look at the role that Norma created(Marilyn Monroe),my theory is that MM grew to something she couldn?t controle in the end.If Norma wasn?t smart,Marilyn wouldn?t have succeeded at all because people wouldn?t have bought it.That?s my theory anyway.

[DownGoesFrazier]

I've read that SHOWGIRL was the film that captured her at the height of her physical beauty.

[kingrat]

There's another possibility about this anecdote. Perhaps Marilyn made the remark knowing full well who Walt Whitman was because she knew it would draw attention to her and would actually help promote her dumb blonde image.

[misswonderly3]

What I don't understand is why no one has raised the issue of the chocolates in contention here. Are Whitman's chocolates in fact any good? How do they compare to, say, Hershey's? Or Cadbury's?

 

The quality of chocolate bon bons is a serious matter, and I do not blame Miss Monroe for wishing to discuss it. As to the name "Whitman's", there are also chocolate companies named after Herman Melville and John Steinbeck; everyone knows literature and chocolate make a delicious and cerebral combination.

[gwtwbooklover]

Laone08-see when you block your offensive moment someone else will want to block something else and then pretty soon we ain't watching anything. On the other hand by all means post here your beef to get it out here at TCM.com and come back soon.........gwtwbooklover

On an unrelated note kind of Arlene Dahl is the mother of Lorenzo Lamas not Esther Williams? Any clear up on this matter will be greatly appreciated.

[C.Bogle]

 

A Whitman Sampler.

[ValentineXavier]

> {quote:title=misswonderly wrote:}{quote}

> What I don't understand is why no one has raised the issue of the chocolates in contention here. Are Whitman's chocolates in fact any good? How do they compare to, say, Hershey's? Or Cadbury's?

>

> The quality of chocolate bon bons is a serious matter, ...

 

Now, this is what makes me doubt that MM meant the chocolates. Whitman's, the lowest grade of bon bons, were, and are, crap. Even Russell Stover's, a commercial competitor, were, and are, much better. I'm sure MM could afford MUCH better chocolates, and would have had access to them in Hollywood, and in fact, bought them.

 

Oddly enough, Stover's eventually bought out Whitman's, but Stover's are still better.

[DownGoesFrazier]

Not in 1951. She still hadn't made it big, and on a tight budget may have been forced to eat crap like Whitman's Chocolates.

[misswonderly3]

Is that why she put on a little weight? Got addicted to the cheap stuff, couldn't stop consuming it, next thing you know her hips are a little too generous for that train berth in SLIH. (On her it looks good, though.)

[Fedya]

> next thing you know her hips are a little too generous for that train berth in SLIH.

 

Weren't women of the 1920s (which of course MM was playing in SLIH) a bit more voluptuous?

 

Mae West wasn't exactly svelte, either.

[evh55]

I am with Hibi; the thought Clark Gable, Fred Astaire and Reginald Gardner were discussing Walt Whitman at a Hollywood party? Wow!

[Arturo]

*Weren't women of the 1920s (which of course MM was playing in SLIH) a bit more voluptuous?*

 

*Mae West wasn't exactly svelte, either.*

 

Actually. the feminine ideal during the 1920s was to have a boyish figure, as exemplified by the flapper. The fashion styles of the period emphasized a low waistline (no discernable waist really), flat bosom, and the rather masculine cloche helmet, to go along with the boyish bob hairstyle.

 

Marilyn was pregnant at the time she was filming SOME LIKE IT HOT (or had just miscarried), which explains her added curves.

 

Edited by: Arturo on Jan 11, 2011 2:59 PM

[DownGoesFrazier]

I defy any designer to "emphasize a flat bosom" on Jayne Mansfield.

[gwtwbooklover]

Because I gave my 2 cents in another forum it brings to mind something Sophia Loren wrote in her book about Marilyn Monroe. She wished that Marilyn had found her "Carlo Ponti" a father figure to guide her and help her but she didn't. Furthermore, I myself wonder how Marilyn would have been if she had had a child of her own. I like to think she would have found substance, happiness and life.