"When something itches my dear sir, the natural tendency is to scratch."

A hoi hoi mystery blog reader(s)! I really hope you enjoy this one. Today's Blog is about the movie; "The Seven Year Itch"! ;)

The Seven Year Itch is a 1955 American film based on a three-act play by George Axelrod. The film was co-written and directed by Billy Wilder, and starred Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, reprising his Broadway role. It contains one of the most iconic images of the 20th century -- Monroe standing on a subway grate as her dress is blown above her knees by a passing train.
The titular phrase, which refers to declining interest in a monogamous relationship after seven years of marriage, has been used by psychologists. (Trailer below)(YouTube Credit:ThatGirlMarilyn)
This film is one of the most memorable and iconic films of Marilyn's career. Although she may have been typecast yet again as a simple, lusty blonde I hold on to a quote she once said that puts it all in perspective; "It takes a smart brunette to act like a dumb blonde." This film was also an accomplishment for famed director Billy Wilder (Who would later direct Marilyn in 'some like it hot')
Wilder had the incredible task of making a film ABOUT sex, but showing NO sex. This was in large part to the Motion Picture Production Code, a morality code enforced by the Hays office. (Which forbid certain words and situations like interracial relations, adultery, crime, homosexuality, and 'excessive or lustful kissing'. The code was abandoned in 1968) The original play had the characters talking openly and honestly about have sex together, however Wilder had to find a way to portray an affair without appearing to do so. In other words, the use of innuendos at it's best.

Richard Sherman (Tom Ewell) sends his wife Helen (Evelyn Keyes) and son Ricky (Butch Bernard) to Maine to escape the summer heat. When he returns home, he meets The Girl (Marilyn Monroe), a model who is renting the apartment upstairs while she is in town to make television spots for toothpaste.
He, of course, is immediately attracted to her.


That evening, while proofing a book by psychiatrist Dr. Brubaker (Oskar Homolka), claiming that a significant proportion of men have extra-marital affairs in the seventh year of marriage,

he has an imaginary conversation with Helen, trying to "convince" her, in three fantasy sequences, that he is irresistible to women, but she laughs off his assertion. A tomato plant then crashes into his lounge chair; The Girl accidentally knocked it over, and apologizes. Richard invites her to come down for a drink.

As he waits for her to put on her underwear that she keeps cool in the refrigerator and gets dressed, Richard has a fantasy that The Girl is a femme fatale overcome by his playing of Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto. While playing Chopsticks, Richard, back in his fantasy, grabs The Girl in a bear hug, causing them to fall off the piano bench. She shrugs it off, but he is immediately contrite, and asks her to leave.
Over the next few days, they grow closer. His resolve to resist temptation in all of its many forms fuels his fear that he is succumbing to the 'Seven Year Itch'. He seeks out Dr. Brubaker for help, but to no avail. His imagination then kicks into overdrive: Helen and Ricky watch The Girl on TV as she warns the women of New York City about "this monster named Richard Sherman";

The Girl tells a plumber (Victor Moore) how Richard is "just like The Creature from the Black Lagoon"; the plumber repeats her story to the horrified patrons of the vegetarian restaurant Richard ate at; the Sherman’s' hunky neighbor, Tom McKenzie (Sonny Tufts), arranges for he and Helen to be alone on a hayride. Feeling his wife has wronged him, he asks out the girl upstairs on a date.

Richard imagines a wronged Helen returns home to exact her revenge for what he's done. The fantasies turn Richard into a paranoid wreck. After a crazed confrontation with McKenzie, whom Helen has asked to drop by to pick up Ricky's canoe paddle, Richard comes to his senses. He tells The Girl she can stay at his apartment, then runs off to catch the next train to Maine.

The characters of Elaine (Dolores Rosedale), Marie, and the inner-voices of Sherman and The Girl were dropped; the characters of the Plumber, Miss Finch (Carolyn Jones), the Waitress (Doro Merande), and Kruhulik the janitor (Robert Strauss) were added. Many lines and scenes from the play were cut or re-written because they were deemed indecent by the Hays office. Axelrod and Wilder complained that the film was being made under straitjacketed conditions.

This led to a major plot change: in the play, Sherman and The Girl become intimate; in the movie, the romance is all in his head.

The footage of Monroe's dress billowing over a subway grate was shot twice: The first take was shot at Manhattan's Lexington Avenue at 52nd Street and the second on a sound stage. The sound stage footage is what made its way into the final film, as the original on-location footage's sound had been rendered useless by the over excited crowd present during filming whistling over Monroe's see-through panties. The white dress was designed by designer William Travilla specifically for Marilyn in this film. It was said to be inspired by Greek goddesses; several versions and reproductions exist.

Footage of Walter Matthau and Ewell's screen tests for Sherman is featured in the DVD of the film. Nicolas Roeg's film Insignificance features a character based on Monroe and a re-enactment of the subway/dress scene. The exterior shooting location of Richard's apartment was 164 East 61st Street in Manhattan

Hope you enjoyed this! Please leave comments or questions in the 'Comments' Section and I'll post answeres in a seperate blog. Thank you! ;)

You're young, you're in love. Well, I'll give you a warning. Don't let it get out of hand,

Aloha Mystery reader(s)! , Thanks for stopping by, Today's little blurb is about the Movie 'Niagara' starring the one and only Miss Marilyn Monroe.



Niagara (1953) is a dramatic thriller, film noir directed by Henry Hathaway. Unlike other films noir of the time, Niagara was shot in Technicolor and was one of 20th Century Fox's biggest box office hits of the year. The drama features Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters and others. This film was made before the iconic 'Gentlemen prefer Blondes', which ended up launching Monroe's career into stardom. Jean Peters got the role of Polly Cutler after Anne Baxter withdrew. After her withdrawal, the film was reworked to highlight Marilyn Monroe. During the filming of Niagara. Marilyn Monroe was still under contract as a stock actor, thus, she received less salary than her make-up man.



Personally, This is how I would like to always remember Marilyn Monroe.The femme-fa tale role seemed more dignified in a way in comparison to what happened later in her career. She was still relatively unknown and didn't have the pressures to be the 'dumb blonde'she would later be type cast as. This is also of the first films that Marilyn created her signature "Marilyn look". She acted very well as a deceptive wife with a secret lover. Deliciously evil in a way we could (and should) only enjoy in the movies.For those of you who haven't seen the film (which I highly recommend!) Here is a plot summary,video and photos ;)

(YouTube User Credit:captbijou)

Ray and Polly Cutler (Max Showalter and Jean Peters) go on a delayed honeymoon to Niagara Falls, only find out that their reserved cabin occupied by another couple, George and Rose Loomis (Joseph Cotten and Marilyn Monroe). They politely accept another, less-desirable cabin, and the two couples become acquainted.



George and Rose have a troubled marriage. She is much younger and very attractive. He is overly jealous and appears to have problems with depression and anger management. It is implied that he may have just been released from a mental hospital. The Cutlers witness George's rage firsthand the following evening; when Rose joins an impromptu party outside, dressed seductively. (The pink dress is gorgeous, you can get a replica of it in pink or black at pinupgirlclothing.com) He storms out and breaks a record playing a tune that he suspects has special meaning for his wife.


Record Scene
(YouTube User Credit:MarilynMonroeOnline)

It turns out that George is right. Polly later happens upon Rose kissing a young man named Patrick (Richard Allan). Even worse, Rose is planning her husband's murder. She lures him into following her. When he enters the dark tourist tunnel underneath Niagara Falls, Patrick is waiting with a wrench. When the deed is done, Patrick is to make a song request at the nearby bell tower to let Rose know. She hears the song and assumes all has gone as planned.

Bells/Falls Scene
(MarilynMonroeOnline)

However, it is George who has killed Patrick. When Rose goes to identify her husband's body, she passes out on the floor when she discovers the truth. Everyone assumes she was overcome by the sight of George. She has to be sedated and kept in a hospital for the night.

The motel manager gives the Cutlers the cabin they were supposed to have originally. Thus, when George comes to kill Rose, he finds a sleeping Polly instead. She awakens and sees him before he runs away. She tells Ray, but he believes she is imagining things. She informs the police anyway; they launch a dragnet.
During the Cutlers' second visit to the falls with some friends, George finds Polly alone. Trying to get away from him, she slips and nearly falls into the water, but George saves her. He tells Polly that he killed Patrick in self-defense. He begs, "Let me stay dead." Polly leaves without answering.


A frantic Rose leaves the hospital and tries to make her way over the border into the U.S. She finds George waiting for her. She flees to the bell tower, but he catches and kills her underneath the bells. Afterward, he is filled with remorse. "I loved you, Rose. You know that," he tells her. When he tries to leave, he finds he is locked in, but in the morning, he manages to escape undetected and...
I've left out the ending to MAKE you see the movie! ;) hehehe

Leave me any questions or comments, <3 Thank you ever so!
-L

"Are my seams straight?"

Hello mystery reader(s)! Today's topic is Hollywood Costume Designer; Orry-Kelly.



Orry-Kelly was the professional name of Orry George Kelly (31 December 1897 – 27 February 1964), a prolific Hollywood costume designer. He went to Hollywood in 1932, working for all the major studios (Warner Brothers, Universal, RKO, 20th Century Fox, and MGM).

He designed for all the great actresses of the day, including Bette Davis, Kay Francis, Olivia de Havilland, Katharine Hepburn, Dolores del Río, Ava Gardner, Ann Sheridan, Barbara Stanwyck, Merlan Olsen and Marilyn Monroe.He won three Academy Awards for Best Costume Design (for An American in Paris, Cole Porter's Les Girls, and Some Like It Hot) and was nominated for a fourth (for Gypsy).



He wrote a column 'Hollywood Fashion Parade' for the International News Service, owned by William Randolph Hearst, during the war years.A longtime alcoholic, he died of liver cancer in Hollywood and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills). His pallbearers included Cary Grant, Tony Curtis, Billy Wilder and George Cukor and his eulogy was read by Jack Warner. His Academy Awards went to Jack Warner's wife, Ann

He worked on many films now deemed classics, including 42nd Street, The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, Arsenic and Old Lace, Harvey, Oklahoma!, Auntie Mame, and Some Like It Hot.(via wikipedia)



The man had talent, pure and simple. The shape of his clothing complimented a woman and his tailoring and style was somewhat advanced for his time. For example, the dress see-through dress he created for 'Some like it hot' was risque without being vulgar (even with a little cut out heart on the bottom). He used strategically placed strings in his designs to draw your eye directly where he wanted it to.



An interesting thing I learned about Orry-Kelly while filming 'Some like it hot' with Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon was that since both Curtis and Lemmon had to dress up as women for a majority of the movie, they wanted to looking somewhat convincing and well-dressed. Curtis asked director, Billy Wilder (Another genius we will get to on another day.) if Orry-Kelly could design their wardrobe..



Amazing but still hilarious right? lol Today's video is a scene from 'Some like it hot' so you can see what the costumes were like for all characters in a nutshell. PLEASE notice Marilyn's Fur trimmed Coat and Dress which I absouletly LOVE LOVE LOVE! Enjoy! ;)
-L



(Video Credit-Youtube user:MarilynMortician)