Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend

Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend (1987)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Richard Widmark narrates this highly entertaining look at the life and career of the sex bombshell who died at a very young age. If you're looking for a 100% complete, well-detailed documentary then this here really isn't that. While we get some clips from her movies there's no question that a lot of material is overlooked or not covered at all. What is covered here, stuff like her troubled childhood, her film projects and her troubled times, aren't really looked at in any great detail. At just around a hour the film pretty much sticks to the basic information most people are already going to know but this doesn't take away from the entertainment for one reason. That reason is this documentary is full of famous faces talking about Monroe and this here is what's going to keep film buffs entertained. Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Sheree North, Susan Strasberg, Don Murray, Celeste Holm and Joshua Logan are among the people interviewed and these interviews are what makes this documentary so special. It's great getting to hear from so many famous faces and especially since they knew or worked with Monroe. Film buffs are certainly going to enjoy seeing these people talk about the movies and their work especially since most are no longer with us.