As Rita Cansino
- La Fiesta (Short subject, 1926)
- Cruz Diablo aka The Devil's Cross (Unaccredited, 1934)
- In Caliente (1935)
- Under the Pampas Moon (1935)
- Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935)
- Dante's Inferno (1935)
- Paddy O'Day (1935)
- Human Cargo (1936)
- Meet Nero Wolfe (1936)
- Rebellion (1936)
- The Dancing Pirate (1936)
- Old Louisiana (1937)
- Hit the Saddle (1937)
- Trouble in Texas (1937)
As Rita Hayworth
- Criminals of the Air (1937)
- Girls Can Play (1937)
- The Game That Kills (1937)
- Paid to Dance (1937)
- The Shadow (1937)
- Who Killed Gail Preston? (1938)
- Special Inspector (1938)
- There's Always a Woman (1938)
- Convicted (1938)
- Juvenile Court (1938)
- The Renegade Ranger (1938)
- Homicide Bureau (1939)
- The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt (1939)
- Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
- Music in My Heart (1940)
- Blondie on a Budget (1940)
- Susan and God (1940)
- The Lady in Question (1940)
- Angels Over Broadway (1940)
- The Strawberry Blonde (1941)
- Affectionately Yours (1941)
- Blood and Sand (1941)
- You'll Never Get Rich (1941)
- My Gal Sal (1942)
- Tales of Manhattan (1942)
- You Were Never Lovelier (1942)
- Show Business at War (1943) (short subject)
- Cover Girl (1944)
- Tonight and Every Night (1945)
- Gilda (1946)
- Down to Earth (1947)
- The Lady from Shanghai (1947)
- The Loves of Carmen (1948)
- Champagne Safari (1952)
- Affair in Trinidad (1952)
- Salome (1953)
- Miss Sadie Thompson (1953)
- Fire Down Below (1957)
- Pal Joey (1957)
- Separate Tables (1958)
- They Came to Cordura (1959)
- The Story on Page One (1959)
- The Happy Thieves (1962)
- Circus World (1964)
- The Money Trap (1965)
- The Poppy Is Also a Flower (1966)
- L'Avventuriero (1967)
- I Bastardi (1968)
- The Naked Zoo (1971)
- Road to Salina (1971)
- The Wrath of God (1972)
In 1952, Monroe faced a possible scandal when one of her nude photos from her 1949 session with photographer Tom Kelley was featured in a calendar. The press speculated about the identity and commented the anonymous model, resembled Monroe. The studio discussed how to deal with the problem, Monroe suggested that she should simply admit that she had posed for the photograph and she had done so only because she had no money to pay her rent. She gave an interview in which she discussed the circumstances that led to her posing for the photographs. The resulting publicity elicited a degree of sympathy for her plight as a struggling actress.
Monroe made her first appearance on the cover of Life magazine in April 1952. She was described as "The Talk of Hollywood". The following year, Monroe was photographed by noted Life magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt, considered "The father of photojournalism." He photographed Monroe on the patio of her Hollywood home. Many of the images from that sitting have been reproduced in numerous subsequent publications and by Life magazine. Monroe was pleased with his images of her, later telling him, "You made a palace out of my patio."
Stories of her childhood and upbringing portrayed her in a sympathetic light. A cover story for the May 1952 edition of True Experiences magazine showed a smiling and wholesome Monroe beside a caption that read, "Do I look happy? I should — for I was a child nobody wanted. A lonely girl with a dream — who awakened to find that dream come true. I am Marilyn Monroe. Read my Cinderella story."
It was also during this time that she began dating baseball player Joe DiMaggio. A photograph of DiMaggio visiting Monroe at the 20th Century Fox studio was printed in newspapers throughout the United States. Reports of a developing romance between them generated further interest in Monroe.
Four films in which Monroe featured were released beginning in 1952. She had been lent to RKO Studios to appear in a supporting role in “Clash by Night”, a Barbara Stanwyck drama, directed by Fritz Lang. Released in June 1952, the film was popular with audiences, with much of its success credited to curiosity about Monroe, who received generally favorable reviews from critics.
This was followed by two films released in July, “We're Not Married!”, and “Don't Bother to Knock”. “We're Not Married!” featured Monroe as a beauty pageant contestant. Variety described the film as "lightweight". Its reviewer commented that Monroe was featured to full advantage in a bathing suit. Some of her scenes suggested a degree of exploitation. In “Don't Bother to Knock” she played the starring role of a babysitter who threatens to attack the child in her care. The downbeat melodrama was poorly reviewed, although Monroe commented that it contained some of her strongest dramatic acting.
“Monkey Business”, directed by Howard Hawks starring Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers, was released in September and was the first movie in which Monroe appeared with platinum blonde hair.
In “O. Henry's Full House”, Monroe had a single one-minute scene with Charles Laughton. Monroe received top billing alongside him and the film's other stars, including Anne Baxter, Farley Granger, Jean Peters and Richard Widmark.
Darryl F. Zanuck considered that Monroe's film potential was worth developing and cast her in “Niagara”, as a femme fatale scheming to murder her husband, played by Joseph Cotten. During filming, Monroe's make-up artist Whitey Snyder noticed her stage fright (that would ultimately mark her behavior on film sets throughout her career); the director assigned him to spend hours gently coaxing and comforting Monroe as she prepared to film her scenes. Reviews of the film dwelled on her sexuality, while noting that her acting was imperfect.
Much of the critical commentary following the release of the film focused on Monroe's overtly sexual performance, and a scene which shows Monroe (from the back) making a long walk toward Niagara Falls received frequent note in reviews. After seeing the film, Constance Bennett reportedly quipped, "There's a broad with her future behind her." Whitey Snyder also commented that it was during preparation for this film, after much experimentation, that Monroe achieved "the look, and we used that look for several pictures in a row ... the look was established." While the film was a success, and Monroe's performance had positive reviews, her conduct at promotional events sometimes drew negative comments.
Her appearance at the Photoplay awards dinner in a skin-tight gold lamé dress was criticized. Louella Parsons' newspaper column quoted Joan Crawford discussing Monroe's "vulgarity" and describing her behavior as "unbecoming an actress and a lady". Monroe had previously received criticism for wearing a dress with a neckline cut almost to her navel when she acted as Grand Marshall at the Miss America Parade in September 1952. A photograph from this event was used on the cover of the first issue of Playboy in December 1953, with a nude photograph of Monroe, taken in 1949, inside the magazine.
Monroe next replaced Betty Grable in the musical film “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” co-starring Jane Russell and directed by Howard Hawks. Her role as Lorelei Lee, a gold-digging showgirl, required her to act, sing, and dance. The two stars became friends, with Russell describing Monroe as "very shy and very sweet and far more intelligent than people gave her credit for". She later recalled that Monroe showed her dedication by rehearsing her dance routines each evening after most of the crew had left. Monroe arrived habitually late on set for filming. Realizing that Monroe remained in her dressing room due to stage fright, and that Hawks was growing impatient with her tardiness, Russell started escorting her to the set.
At the Los Angeles premiere of the film, Monroe and Russell pressed their hand- and footprints in the cement in the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Monroe received positive reviews and the film grossed more than double its production costs. Her rendition of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" became associated with her. “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” also marked one of the earliest films in which William Travilla dressed Monroe. Travilla dressed Monroe in eight of her films including “Bus Stop”, “Don't Bother to Knock”, “How to Marry a Millionaire”, “River of No Return”, “There’s No Business Like Show Business”, “Monkey Business”, and “The Seven Year Itch”. “How to Marry a Millionaire” was a comedy about three models scheming to attract wealthy husbands. The film teamed Monroe with Betty Grable (who she replaced in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) and Lauren Bacall, and was directed by Jean Negulesco. The producer and scriptwriter, Nunnally Johnson, said that it was the first film in which audiences "liked Marilyn for herself [and that] she diagnosed the reason very shrewdly. She said that it was the only picture she'd been in, in which she had a measure of modesty... about her own attractiveness."
Monroe's films of this period established her "dumb blonde" persona and contributed to her popularity. Monroe was listed in the annual "Quigley Poll of the Top Ten Money Making Stars", which was compiled from the votes of movie exhibitors throughout the United States for the stars that had generated the most revenue in their theaters over the previous year. "I want to grow and develop and play serious dramatic parts. My dramatic coach, Natasha Lytess, tells everybody that I have a great soul, but so far nobody's interested in it."
Monroe told the New York Times. She saw a possibility in 20th Century Fox's upcoming film, “The Egyptian”, but was rebuffed by Darryl F. Zanuck who refused to screen test her.
Monroe was assigned to the western “River of No Return”, opposite Robert Mitchum. Director Otto Preminger resented Monroe's reliance on Natasha Lytess, who coached Monroe and announced her verdict at the end of each scene. Eventually Monroe refused to speak to Preminger, and Mitchum had to mediate. Of the finished product, she commented, "I think I deserve a better deal than a grade Z cowboy movie in which the acting finished second to the scenery and the Cinema Scope process."
In late 1953, Monroe was scheduled to begin filming “The Girl in Pink Tights” with Frank Sinatra. When she failed to appear for work, 20th Century Fox suspended her.
Hope made his first films in New York. Educational Pictures employed him in 1934 for a short-subject comedy, “Going Spanish”. Hope sealed his fate with Educational when Walter Winchell asked him about the film. Hope cracked, "When they catch John Dillinger, they're going to make him sit through it twice." Educational fired him. Hope was soon before the cameras at New York's Vitaphone studio starring in 20-minute comedies and musicals from 1934 through 1936.
Paramount Pictures signed Hope for the 1938 film “The Big Broadcast of 1938”, with W. C. Fields. During a duet with Shirley Ross as accompanied by Shep Fields and his orchestra, Hope introduced the song later to become his trademark, "Thanks for the Memory". The song became a major hit and was praised by critics. The sentimental, fluid nature of the music allowed Hope's writers (whom he is said to have depended upon heavily throughout his career) to later invent endless variations of the song to fit specific circumstances, such as bidding farewell to troops while on tour.
Handprints of Hope at The Great Movie Ride in Disney World's Hollywood Studios theme park.
Hope became one of Paramount's biggest stars, and would remain with the studio through the 1950s.
Hope's regular appearances in Hollywood films and radio made him one of the best known entertainers in North America. At the height of Hope’s career he was also making a large income from live concert performances. He was both a world-class singer and dancer. Hope introduced many major songs during the course of his career, including the Oscar-winning "Buttons and Bows" in “The Paleface”, and he matched James Cagney's bravura dancing during the tabletop showdown sequence in “The Seven Little Foys”.
As a movie star, Hope was best known for comedies like “My Favorite Brunette” and the highly successful "Road" movies in which he starred with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour. Hope had seen Lamour as a nightclub singer in New York, and invited her to work on his USO tours. Lamour is said to have arrived for filming prepared with her lines, only to be baffled by completely re-written scripts from Hope's writers without studio permission. Hope and Lamour were lifelong friends, and she remains the actress most associated with his film career. The “Road” series consists of “Road to Singapore”, “Road to Zanzibar”, “Road to Morocco”, “Road to Utopia”, “Road to Rio”, “Road to Bali”, and “The Road to Hong Kong”.
Bob Hope & Bing Crosby sing and dance during "Chicago Style" in “Road to Bali “.
Hope's informal teaming with Bing Crosby for the seven "Road" pictures from 1940 to 1962 and countless stage, radio, and television appearances together over the decades were critically important to Hope's career. At the beginning of the "Road" series, Hope was relatively little known nationally compared to Crosby. Hope was actually billed under Dorothy Lamour in the first film.
After the release of “Road to Singapore”, Hope's screen career immediately became white hot and stayed that way for over two decades. Hope actually continued until “Cancel My Reservation”. It was last theatrical starring role.
Bing Crosby and Bob Hope became linked in public perception to the extent that it became difficult to think of one without the other even though they actually conducted predominately separate careers. They had planned one more movie together, “The Road to the Fountain of Youth”, until Crosby's demise abruptly intervened.
Dorothy Lamour, Bing Crosby, and Bob Hope made up to look older at the end of “Road to Utopia”.
Hope starred in fifty-two theatrical features altogether between 1938 and 1972, not to mention cameos and short films, and frequently stated that his movies were the most important part of his career.
Hope was host of the Academy Awards ceremony 18 times between 1939 and 1977. His feigned lust for an Academy Award became part of his act. In one scene from “Road to Morocco” he erupted in a frenzy, shouting about his imminent death from exposure. Bing Crosby reminds Hope that rescue is just minutes away. A disappointed Hope complains that Crosby has spoiled his best scene, and thus his chance for an Academy Award.
In “Road to Bali”, when Crosby finds Humphrey Bogart's Oscar for “The African Queen”, Hope grabs it, saying "Give me that. You've got one." Hope was never nominated for an Oscar for his performances. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored him with four honorary awards. In 1960, Hope received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. While introducing the 1968 telecast, he quipped, "Welcome to the Academy Awards, or, as it's known at my house, Passover."
1946-Big Sleep
1955-Cobweb,
1958-Gift of Love,
1973-Applause
1976-Shootist
1978-Perfect Gentleman
1981-Fan
1989-John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick documentary
1989-Tree of Hands
1989-Dinner at Eight
1991-A Star for Two
1993-Portrait,
1993-Parallax Garden
1993-Foreign Field
1996-Mirror Has Two Faces,
1997-Day and Night
1999-Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke
1999-Venice Project,
1999-Conversation with Gregory Peck, documentary
2003-Limit,
2006-These Foolish Things
2007-Walker
The Grand Witch, voice
2009-Wide Blue Yonder
2010-Firedog, Posche, voice
