Marilyn Monroe died by suicide on August 4, 1962. Since then, most of what has been written about her is associated with her tragic end.
However, four years before Monroe’s passing, a film widely believed to be based on her life was released, Far Out reports. The 1958 film was directed by John Cromwell and written by Paddy Chayefsky. The biopic, titled ‘The Goddess’ starred Kim Stanley in her film debut as Emily Ann Faulkner, a young woman who was brought up in a broken home in the South, who goes on to become a Hollywood star named Rita Shawn.
The film’s synopsis reads: “As a child, she was Emily Ann, a poor girl in the South with no friends and an ineffective mother. But as an adult, she’s Rita Shawn (Stanley), an actress loved the world over. Still, all the money and fame in the world can’t buy happiness, and Rita is plagued with depression over her broken relationships – first to a handsome soldier (Steve Hill) and then to a boxing promoter (Lloyd Bridges) – and her lack of any emotional connections to anyone outside of her professional life.”
Despite Stanley’s claims that Monroe was not the inspiration behind her character, the parallels are incredibly close to the Hollywood actress. Monroe too, had experienced a lonley upbringing in the foster care system. Her time as Hollywood’s brightest star were also seen as a curse rather than a fairytale. Fame brings pressure and that paired with the commodification of her beauty, alongside the constant presence of people in her life of people who saw her as an easy pathway to stardom and wealth were seen as her downfall and what has often led to her death being treated as an inevitability.
To this day, critics and fans still debate and provide strong cases as to why the film could be based on Monroe.
Far Out said: “Emily Ann Faulkner sounds a lot like Norma Jeane Baker (Monroes real name). Both the character in the film and Monroe were born to single mothers who weren’t sure who the father was and were ill-equipped to take care of their child. Both married while still teenagers and divorced their first husbands in order to pursue a career in Hollywood. Both married a retired famous sports star, and both struggled with addiction, mental breakdowns, and suicide attempts. And both, of course, were brunettes who became blonde.”
However, it is not a sure thing that the film was based on Monroe. Turner Classic Movies published an article stating: “Some critics have conjectured that The Goddess was based on the career of Ava Gardner, but most think its primary model was Marilyn Monroe, who studied at the Actors Studio at the same time Stanley did.”
The Goddess was not seen as a masterpiece, in part due to editing.
Today, the film garners only a 50% approval rating from audience viewers, meaning it has not grown in fondness over time. Some believe The Goddess can be seen as the first failure to analyse the real person behind Monroe.
The Goddess is available to stream on Mubi.
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