All language subtitles for Marilyn Monroe - The Final Days Documentary

We need less than that.
201.

In the early months of 1962...

...Marilyn Monroe was set to go
before the cameras for her 30th film.

503.

504.

She'd been absent
from the screen for over a year.

And the comedy Something's Got
to Give would offer her a comeback.

Come on. The water's so refreshing.

Legendary filmmaker George
Cukor was brought in to direct.

Cast opposite Marilyn were two of
the most gifted and glamorous stars.

Dean Martin...

Ellen! Get out of there!

...and Cyd Charisse.

Not like that! Go in and change!

The film also included...

...some of Hollywood's
most respected character actors.

-Excuse me, are you being helped?
"Are you being waited on?"

But eight weeks after
production began, Marilyn was fired.

Two months later,
the star was found dead...

...of an apparent
sleeping pill overdose.

The movie became one
of the most talked-about...

...unfinished films
in Hollywood history.

For nearly four decades,
500 minutes of unedited footage...

...sat in storage in the vaults
at Twentieth Century Fox.

The story of the film
and of Marilyn's tragic final days...

...was seemingly lost.

Lost until now.

- Cut it. Cut it!
- Can't.

See that man?
That's Max Fabian, the producer.

Why do they look like unhappy rabbits?

Because that's what they are.
Now go and make him happy.

By January of 1962...

...Marilyn Monroe had been Fox's
most bankable star for over a decade.

Tell him from me he's simply a doll.
I'm crazy about these old customs.

Her 20 pictures for the
studio had grossed over $200 million...

...making Marilyn its biggest
commodity since Shirley Temple.

But Monroe hadn't worked
for her own studio in two years...

...and Fox was facing
financial problems...

...due to costly delays on
the epic production of Cleopatra.

The studio needed Marilyn back at work
as soon as possible.

So they sent veteran producer
David Brown...

...to entice the star
with a script for a comedy...

...entitled Something's Got to Give.

Marilyn really didn't want
to make the movie.

She was under a slave contract,
having made films away from Fox.

Fox insisted she live up to the
contract and this was given to her.

Something's Got to Give
was a remake...

...of the 1940 comedy
My Favorite Wife...

...which had starred
Cary Grant and Irene Dunne.

Marilyn was a woman who returns home
after five years stranded on an island...

...to find herself
legally declared dead...

...and her husband newly re-married.

The film would be co-produced by
Fox and Marilyn Monroe Productions...

...a company set up in 1955...

...to give Marilyn creative control
over her projects.

Is it true you submitted a
list of directors you would work with?

I would rather say that I have
director approval, and that is true.

This you think is important?
-Yes, it is. Very important to me.

In September 1961...

...Marilyn submitted a list of
directors she'd agree to work with.

It included some famous names.
Among them, George Cukor.

But after a difficult experience
with her in the 1960 Let's Make Love...

...Cukor had misgivings
about working with Marilyn again.

I've never been
so humiliated in my life!

You could have told me
who you are!

In Hollywood, you always owe
somebody a picture.

You finish one,
then you have to do another.

I think it worked out that Fox
wanted Cukor to do this picture...

...and he owed them a picture
for something else.

In January of 1962,
Cukor reluctantly signed on to the film.

David Brown now had a major director
and a star attached to the project...

...but he had no final script
despite the efforts...

...of Fox's staff writer
Arnold Schulman.

He was a great writer,
but I was quite alarmed...

...to see that he was writing
in a yoga position.

Bear in mind the myth of Hollywood
is far less than the reality.

But the producers knew
they had problems much bigger...

...than script rewrites.

Monroe's tardiness was legendary
in Hollywood.

She had been blamed for creating
costly delays on nearly all her films.

To make matters worse, her marriage
to Arthur Miller had just ended.

She was finding consolation...

...from a growing dependency
on pills and alcohol.

Concerned that Marilyn's problems
would add to Fox's financial woes...

...studio chief
Peter Levathes recruited...

...the help of Marilyn's
psychiatrist, Dr. Ralph Greenson.

Levathes hoped Greenson
would control her erratic behavior.

But what the doctor began controlling
was the movie.

He pushed out David Brown in favor
of his friend, producer Henry Weinstein.

I got a call on a Sunday
from the then-heads of the studio.

And I went down there
and they gave me the script...

...of Something's Got to Give.

I was told not to say anything
to anybody about it.

I was told of my impending removal
by my friend Richard Zanuck...

...who said, "I saw Henry Weinstein
who was carrying...

...a script of Something's Got
to Give. Watch your back. "

I did. There was an arrow in it.

Director George Cukor was
furious at Brown's dismissal.

And his resentment lingered
as Henry Weinstein came on board.

I did whatever Cukor didn't want
to do. I just did it.

Right from the beginning,
he was difficult...

...with the script
and everything else.

Two centers of power
began emerging on the set.

One between Marilyn and Weinstein,
and the other between Cukor...

...and his associate producer
and art director, Gene Allen.

But both sides agreed on one thing:
The script still needed work.

Oscar winner Nunnally Johnson
was brought in to do some rewrites.

He had written
How to Marry a Millionaire...

...a great success
for Fox and Marilyn.

-You know who I'd like to marry?
-Who?

Rockefeller.

-Which one?
-I don't care.

Johnson and Monroe would work together
to update Something's Got to Give.

He said to her:

"Marilyn, wherever you think the line
is out of character, put a cross.

Where you think the line is not funny
enough, put a double cross. "

Fine. I leave happy.
I don't hear from them for a week.

I call her analyst Romi
and I said, "What is the problem?"

And he said, "Why did Nunnally use
the word 'double cross'?"

I said, "What do you mean?"

He said, "Nunnally once gave her
a picture which she turned down.

And she now thinks
he's gonna get back at her. "

But despite her fears,
Marilyn slowly came to trust Johnson.

She loved his witty interpretation
of the story, as did Henry Weinstein.

Nunnally Johnson, I think,
was who Marilyn was working with...

...to get a story
that she would approve.

I don't know whether
they were keeping Cukor involved.

One of the mistakes I made
was I didn't...

...confer with Cukor,
which I should have done.

It may have saved me problems
towards the end.

I was reluctant to do so because
Cukor was working with Allen.

And I just thought
I would undercut all of that.

Cukor was furious to be left
out of the meetings.

He felt Johnson's version
strayed too far...

...from the original charm
of My Favorite Wife.

Within two months,
Johnson was replaced...

...with a writer named
Walter Bernstein.

Johnson had written a script.

And I have no idea
whether he then had...

Whatever reason he had left it,
whether he had died or whether...

I really didn't know.
All I knew was that...

...I got a call from George Cukor.

Rewrites alone brought
the production $300,000 over budget...

...a problem that mirrored...

...the larger financial crisis
confronting Twentieth Century Fox.

Cleopatra was still
massively over budget...

...and Fox was panicking
from the escalating costs.

The company was going broke,
and fast.

We got notes we should water
our own plants...

...because the greensmen
had been fired.

Then we got notes
the cafeteria was gonna be closed.

So I said, "Don't worry about it.
I'm eating my plants. "

It's true.
I mean, it was like a ghost town.

A dark cloud seemed to
hover over Something's Got to Give.

And Marilyn Monroe now
had more to accomplish...

...and more to prove than ever before.

By late March 1962...

...there were only three weeks left
before the first day of photography.

The race was on to meet
the tight deadline.

As Cukor and Bernstein pounded out
a new draft...

...associate producer Gene Allen
oversaw completion of the set...

...an exact replica of
Cukor's own home and back yard.

The costume department worked
overtime to pull a wardrobe together...

...for the entire cast.

And producer Henry Weinstein struggled
to keep track of Marilyn Monroe.

He was a prisoner, really,
of the situation.

His preoccupation was Marilyn. How
to get her there and keep her working.

And it was just a thankless job.

On April 10, Marilyn arrived
for makeup and costume tests.

But to her surprise, George Cukor did
not show up to supervise and direct.

I think it was a big mistake
for Cukor not to have done that.

She was at her best.

And she had to take it as a putdown.
I'm sure she did.

Despite Cukor's absence...

...Marilyn's performance convinced
everyone she was in top form.

And I was so happy,
because they were brilliant.

She looked extraordinary.
She was at her best.

Weinstein couldn't wait to
share his enthusiasm with the star.

But when Marilyn was hours late
for their meeting...

...the producer raced over
to her home in Brentwood.

When I came there,
she's spread across her bed...

...practically nude, and really out.

So I called Romi up
and then we called her internist.

And they came running over.

This was the first time.
I knew we were in trouble.

Weinstein was shocked
at seeing Marilyn Monroe...

...unconscious from an overdose
of sleeping pills.

I said to the studio,
"We gotta postpone this picture.

She won't be ready. "
We were gonna shoot in 3 weeks.

"What happened?"
He said, "You're being melodramatic. "

I said, "I tell you, the girl
is not able to do this yet.

If I came and told you she just had
a heart attack, what would you do?"

He said, "We would wait. "
I said, "What's the difference?"

"With a heart attack, we get
no insurance. With this we can. "

They felt that she was
somewhat out of control...

...but still a very bankable
movie star.

And whatever personal problems
she had...

...it was felt it could be dealt with.

Marilyn's habit of mixing
champagne and pills was well-known.

And this latest incident rang
few warning bells.

The first time I actually
got to the house...

...she had some champagne
and had taken sleeping pills.

And Dr. Greenson became worried...

...so she gave me a key
so I could get in quickly.

When she moved out to Brentwood,
we had a key to the house...

...in a fuchsia plant that was hanging
in front of the front door.

We know things we didn't know then.
That's just deadly.

Marilyn had grown dependent
on sleeping pills during her rise.

She had insomnia,
and for the past two years...

...sought almost daily psychological
treatment from Dr. Greenson...

...to ease her emotional pain.

We knew she was
manic-depressive, or bipolar.

I think manic-depressive is better.
It's more descriptive.

That always meant
there were emotional problems...

...and she could have big swings
in her moods.

Marilyn was impressed with
Dr. Greenson's understanding.

Traditional patient/doctor boundaries
soon dissolved...

...and Marilyn became like an extended
member of the doctor's family.

She would eat at his house.

He had a house in Santa Monica
with a pool.

She would eat there...

...because he wanted to show Marilyn
what a "normal" family was like.

I put the word "normal" in quotes.

So it was really quite simple.

And he saw her at his house.
He didn't see her at his office.

He did everything possible...

...but he saw the real problems
that were Marilyn's...

...and tried to keep her functioning.

But with just five days
to go before cameras would roll...

...Weinstein feared...

...that a solution to her emotional
problems and chemical dependency...

...was eluding even her psychiatrist.

Weinstein was left to wonder
if Marilyn could ever recover...

...from what truly ailed her.

Three days after
her April 10th overdose...

...she attended a script meeting
for the movie.

Outwardly unfazed by the events
days before...

...Marilyn focused on the script...

...trying to establish a working
relationship with Walter Bernstein.

Once I went to her house
to talk about a particular scene.

And she had some ideas
about the scene.

And it was a very cordial meeting.
You know, she was very, very nice.

Except you also got the impression
you were in the presence of Caesar.

She'd refer to herself
in the third person.

About a moment in the scene, she'd
say, "No, Monroe wouldn't do this. "

And she was very shrewd
about her own image as she saw it.

With the script still incomplete...

...Cukor postponed principal
photography one week, to April 23.

Marilyn left for New York
to work on her role...

...with acting coach Lee Strasberg.

By now, she had been studying with
Lee and Paula Strasberg for 7 years.

Lee Strasberg was the foremost
teacher of method acting...

...who challenged Marilyn
to become a serious dramatic actress.

To go to the Actors Studio...

...after being thought of...

...as the glamour-girl,
empty-headed blond?

Can you imagine what that took?

To prepare a scene and have to go out
there and do it in front of actors?

I can't imagine having to do that.
Where did that come from?

Except you have to see
this enormous need to do better.

What I'd like to do, that is,
what I'd like to accomplish...

I'd like to be a good actress.

And it's not a matter
of being on top...

...because some of
the best actors and actresses...

...perhaps aren't on the top.

It was a big coup for Marilyn...

...to be part of the Actors Studio
that Lee Strasberg ran.

And she was a big, big star
and a big, big personality.

And for them to be known
as her mentors...

...was important to them.

They opened their home to Marilyn...

...and gave her the comfort
and security of a family.

We were sharing a room
at our Fire Island house.

I woke up early,
and Marilyn was standing nude...

...watching the sun come up
and I was looking at her.

And I said, "You know, Marilyn,
I'd give anything to be like you. "

She was horrified. And she said,
"Susie, don't say that.

I'd give anything to be like you.
People respect you. "

So I think that what she wanted
and what she got from my father...

...was respect.

Marilyn longed for respect
and credibility.

And she sought out the company of
the most esteemed artists and writers...

...including famed playwright
Arthur Miller, whom she later married.

Marilyn, I think,
felt she had a chance of evolving...

...not just as an actress,
but as a woman.

I have a lot of respect for that.

The fact that a girl from her
background was reading Rilke...

...was reading the poets,
was making this effort...

You can lead a horse to water,
but you can't make it drink.

Marilyn planned her return
to the set...

...energized by her stay in New York.

But a bad cold she caught from Lee
Strasberg began weakening her health.

On April 19, Marilyn landed in Los
Angeles, suffering from a serious flu.

Two days later, she was diagnosed
with acute sinusitis.

I called her up and I said,
"Marilyn, what is the problem?"

She says, "I'm running a fever. "

"What's your temperature?"
"Just above normal. "

I said, "I get
that temperature by walking. "

She said, "Yes, but you don't have
to be in front of the camera. "

Her performance depended a
lot on how she looked.

If she wasn't looking well and had
a cold, maybe you couldn't shoot her.

Throat and cold problems
caused delays on most of her films.

And Weinstein worried the same would
happen on Something's Got to Give.

She was easily disturbed by
work pressure, though she worked hard.

When she was depressed,
her resistance to infection dropped.

There's a phrase that is used
by doctors called "psyche and soma"...

...meaning psychological things
and bodily things affect each other.

On Sunday, April 22,
studio doctor Lee Segal...

...reported that Marilyn was
too sick with the flu to work.

He suggested that the movie be
postponed for at least one month.

His recommendation was rejected.

I'm not sure they believed her.
And they didn't check with me.

Cukor proceeded as planned...

...and principal photography was
slated to begin on Monday, April 23.

That day, 104 crew members
reported to sound-stage 14...

...ready and eager to work.

Every time you started a picture
you're up because it's new.

Everybody was excited.
The film was to start.

The director said, "You'll have a few
weeks where you're not working...

...because we have so much to do
with Marilyn and Dean. "

I said, "Fine with me.
Call me when you need me. "

But that first morning,
Marilyn failed to show up.

The phone rings around 7:30.

They said, "Could you come
to the studio now?"

And I said, "Of course. "

Cukor was forced
to reorganize his shooting schedule.

This scene with Dean and Cyd
became the first moment...

...of Something's Got to Give
captured on film.

All right, lot of
get-up-and-go! Cameras!

Here, Martin's character...

...returns from his honeymoon
with his new bride...

...played by Cyd Charisse.

Well, here we are!
Home, sweet home!

Lita, Timmy, front and center.
Daddy's home.

Did you order any carpentry
work done, darling?

Maybe they're hitting each other
over the head. Let's go get them.

Cut it. Good.

Hello, my darlings.

-Hi, Daddy!
- Daddy!

-Is that all you've got to say?
- No presents?

-What are you two doing up there?
-Building a tree house.

What's the matter with the house?
What are you doing up there?

- Building a tree house.
-You said that.

Say it again.
We're building a tree house.

The following day, on
April 24, Monroe called in sick again.

She even missed a visit to the set
by the shah of Iran and his wife...

...who were in the U.S.
on a goodwill tour.

Ginger Rogers is there
to greet the visitors, and Bob Hope.

I have nothing against the shah.

I even liked Artie Shaw
so it shows I'm neutral.

But Hollywood was quite appropriately
agog at meeting foreign royalty.

Although the dignitaries
wanted to meet Monroe...

...she refused to appear.

I called her and said,
"The shah's coming. You gotta come. "

And she said, "I can't come...

...because he is anti-Israel. "

And I think she didn't come because...

...she didn't think
she'd be pretty enough.

We waited for her and they said,
"We'll shoot today with you and Steve. "

The shah visits
the set of Something's Got to Give...

...where Cyd Charisse
and George Cukor welcome him.

Instead of meeting Marilyn,
the shah watched this scene...

...where Charisse's character...

...appeals to her psychoanalyst,
played by Steve Allen.

Camera!

-I know Nicholas is in love with me.
-I see.

That's why it's so maddening!

-This shyness.
-Yes.

Well, now.

Now, you say that even though...
Oh, there you are.

For the whole week,
Monroe was a no-show.

The company worked around her.

She definitely had
sinusitis that summer.

She definitely had
some bronchial infection...

...from the drip from the sinus
down into her chest.

And she felt, at times, weak
and depleted by the infection.

191.

On Monday, April 30, a week
after production had begun...

...Marilyn reported to work
for the first time.

That day, Cukor shot several takes
where Marilyn's character...

...emotes silently,
reacting to being home...

...for the first time in five years.

Cut it! Cut it!
-Can't.

On Tuesday, May 1,
Marilyn was on the set at 7 a.m...

...against the advice
of the studio's own doctor.

But after only moments, the actress
collapsed and was rushed home.

Cukor said, "Don't worry
about anything. This will all be fine.

We have to have patience with Marilyn.
This isn't unusual.

But she's so wonderful,
the results will be worth it. "

Cukor shot this scene
with Dean Martin and Phil Silvers.

Here, Nick Arden discovers
his first wife, Ellen...

...was not stranded alone
on that island.

229.

They have a report,
actually a rumor...

...that a woman answering
the description of your first wife...

...was picked up
by an American submarine.

To tell you the truth...

As was a young man answering
the description of Stephen Burkett...

...who was reported drowned
when your wife was. It's absurd.

A man was rescued
at the same time as my wife?

No. A young man, according
to this unverified rumor.

They were on this island
for five years?

Ridiculous, isn't it?

279.

Marilyn was absent for
the rest of the week, during which...

...these scenes with Martin, Cyd
Charisse and John McGiver were shot.

Happy when you...
303.

Speed.
Camera!

Am I supposed to marry someone?
-Us.

-What?
-Yes.

-Already?
-It's been five years, sir.

They were marvelous.
They were real pros.

She was just charming and nice.

She would never say anything.
She just went along with the flow.

She was very quiet, very ladylike.

She scares the crew sometimes.
She's a perfectionist. She's great.

Dean Martin was just superb.

And he'd always have a golf club,
always be swinging it.

He'd call me in and say,
"Sit. Nothing'll happen.

Just be patient. Wait it out. "

I mean, just the opposite
of everybody...

...who was running around trying
to do whatever they were doing.

He was stalwart.

Marilyn may have been out
sick but she kept her eyes on the set.

All right.

Camera!

I got a call from Marilyn one day.

She says, "Cyd Charisse
is padding her breasts. "

I said, "You haven't been
on the set. You don't know. "

She said, "I have people watching. "

I said, "How? She's wearing this
little negligee. You can't do it. "

She said, "You don't know anything. "

I said, "If you think I'll tell her...

...to stop doing it,
you're mistaken. "

On Monday, May 7, Marilyn
called in sick for the 10th time.

Her behavior was starting
to test even the crew's patience.

She seemed healthy.

All this talk that she had these
colds, I never saw any evidence.

Up to a point, I believed it.

I was certainly ready to believe
she was susceptible to colds.

But I didn't get any sense
of drinking when she came to work.

I always felt she was on pills.

She had those kind of mood swings.

I never felt,
except for rare intervals...

...that there was a normal,
healthy person there.

Tuesday, May 8,
the entire company shut down.

They had run out of scenes
to shoot without Monroe.

Two days later, it was
stated in the production report...

...that Marilyn's presence was
required for the rest of the script.

The star had only worked two days...

...and the show was
51/2 days behind schedule.

Studio executives began to worry.

They couldn't afford to lose money.

Fox needed this film
in theaters by October...

...to help make up
for the mounting debt...

...caused by Cleopatra bills.

In Rome, they were handling
Elizabeth Taylor with kid gloves...

...though her own behavior
and illnesses...

...had created huge delays
and extravagant expenses.

But back in Hollywood...

...the studio's patience with Marilyn
was wearing thin.

I'm sure they had been
through this many times with her.

I don't think it was the first time.

So they knew what to expect.
Like Cukor did.

He really knew what to expect.

There was a lot riding on
the project. She had the most power...

...which was whether to show up or not.

The fourth week rolled by...

...and she had completed
only a few days of work.

Many scenes were shot
in her absence...

...including sequences
with the children.

Kathleen and Michael went
to the ponies. My horse bit...

You don't have a horse!
She doesn't have a horse.

Good. Except you didn't
grab it early enough.

Child actors Alexandra
Heilweil and Christopher Morley...

...had difficulty remembering
their dialogue and staying focused.

Cukor shot take after take with them,
occasionally losing his patience.

Be surprised.
Leave that alone! Watch me!

498.
Speed.

Once more, without cutting.

That was very good.
Come on, boys! Leave it alone!

Now watch me walk away.

Alexandra, stop fussing with that
and watch me!

On May 14, Marilyn made
her third appearance on set.

She was put to work opposite
a very uncooperative dog...

...and a very frustrated trainer.

-I start like this?
382.

Good, Jeb. Watch it. Jeb, speak!

Jeb, speak! Speak for us!

Come on, speak! Come on up here!

Come on, Jeb!

Performing a welcome-home
scene over and over...

...it was the dog, not Monroe,
who repeatedly missed cues...

...and required take after take.

Good, Jeb. Speak, boy, speak!

Come on, Jeb, get it. Speak!

That's a boy.

Uh, well...

Jeb, come here. Get in here.

Now stay right there.

Jeb, speak! Jeb, speak!

Come on, Jeb! Speak!
Come on, boy, speak!

Animals are never
cooperative, except in rehearsals.

A dog will react to a trainer
perfectly all through rehearsals.

But when they hear
a director say, "Action"...

...they know they can
get away with anything.

I remember the poor animal trainer
trying to get it working.

We had her finally on the set.

There were better things to do
with Marilyn than shoot that dog.

I just thought it was a waste.
A terrible waste.

The next two days
rolled by without incident.

Monroe showed up ready to work...

...with her $5000-a-week acting
coach, Paula Strasberg, in tow.

Cukor finally had Marilyn present...

...but could not command
her undivided attention.

She was upstairs with her coach
and she wouldn't come down...

...if she didn't feel
she was ready for the scene.

I think she had a lot
of psychological problems.

Marilyn had relied on
Paula Strasberg's guidance...

...during the production
of her last five films.

Paula had a reputation for usurping
any director's control over the star.

A manner of working that made her...

...universally unpopular on the set.

She was heavier than I am.

She wore these black capes.
She looked like Dracula's assistant.

And she indulged Marilyn
all of those whims.

"You can't treat her this way.
She's a great star. "

Marilyn would look to her
for encouragement and for what to do.

It was insidious.
I think it hurt her very much.

Every time she had to do
something, Paula had to tell her.

We were doing the scene...

...where Marilyn was supposed
to walk down the steps near the pool.

She went up and down
the stairs 10 times. Every time...

...she'd look at Paula and if Paula
said no, she had to do it again.

I could see George just fuming.

Cukor hated her. Really hated her.

I don't think they helped her at all.

I think they just pumped her up
full of lots of stuff...

...so they could use her.

Strasberg was not the only
strong female in Monroe's entourage.

Marilyn's publicist, Pat Newcomb,
was also a presence in her life.

Pat Newcomb took control of Marilyn.

Between Pat Newcomb
and Paula Strasberg...

...Marilyn was like a caged animal.
Nobody could get near her.

Even if Cukor wanted to talk to her,
you had to go through Newcomb.

Marilyn's distracted moods
during Something's Got to Give...

...were also the result
of a chaotic romantic life.

Rumors flew about a flirtation
with President Kennedy...

...and an intense relationship
with his brother, Bobby...

...who was also
the U.S. Attorney General.

Over a period of time,
I was not at all surprised...

...that the Kennedys were a very
important part of Marilyn's life.

I wasn't included
in this information...

...but I was a witness
to what was happening.

I get a call from Marilyn.

She says, "I have a date
with a very important man.

And I'd like to know
what questions to ask. "

I said, "Who's the person?"
She says, "Bobby Kennedy. "

I said, "We're in the middle
of the civil rights situation.

Ask why he's not being more
supportive of Martin Luther King.

What are they doing
to calm down these riots?"

She said, "Which question?"
I said, "Depends on his answer. "

I said, "Let's rehearse. Say
the question, answer and then go on. "

A few days later,
she has another date.

I said, "How did the other date go?"
She said, "Very well. "

I said, "Now you could
be more personal. "

I don't hear from her for a week.
So I call up, "How's it going?"

She says,
"I don't need any more questions. "

On May 15, Marilyn reported to work...

...despite complaining of a fever.

We'd get reports from
the psychiatrist and the producer.

"Marilyn said this"
and "She's coming in tomorrow. "

If she did show up,
it was like the Second Coming.

Everybody fell down and genuflected.

Following hours of makeup...

...Marilyn walked
into the glare of the lights.

Cukor filmed this,
where after a long absence...

...Ellen talks to her children who
don't recognize her as their mother.

Are you staying long?

I don't know yet.
Would you like me to?

-I don't know where you would sleep.
-I don't know either. Yet.

But if it worked out,
would you like me to stay?

I would!
-You would?

I wouldn't mind.

Don't get her wet again.
He got you wet again.

Oh, yeah!

All right.
Cut.

As I remember, there was
a boy and a little girl.

And even before we shot,
she interacted with them...

...to get them at ease so she could
play with them. I remember that.

It was hard, because had
her children lived...

...they'd have been that age.

They loved her. But it was sad.
Marilyn wanted children.

She wanted them badly.

Marilyn's own childhood had
been riddled with painful experiences.

Her biological father never
recognized her as his own child.

Her mother was put
into a mental institution.

And the girl endured years
of emotional, even sexual, abuse...

...while growing up
in a series of foster homes.

Through her years of stardom...

...Marilyn had been open
about her desire to have a child.

But after several
failed pregnancies...

...she feared she could never
have a baby of her own.

After a while, even the sight
of children reminded her...

...of a painful void in her life.

Cut it. Good!

-Timmy, you hurt yourself.
-Let me go.

Marilyn had now been on set,
eager to work, three days in a row.

But on Thursday, May 17, it was
learned she would take time off...

...to attend President Kennedy's
birthday gala in New York.

Before production had begun...

...Weinstein had given her
his tentative approval.

But he had changed his mind.

Little did I know
we'd miss so many other days.

Now the day comes and she says:

"Remember, I'm not supposed
to shoot on this day. "

I said, "I do,
but we haven't shot an arc. "

"I don't want to shoot. I can't. "

Then I pick up she's going
to the president's birthday party.

I said, "You're not gonna shoot,
but you're not gonna go. "

And, "I'm gonna go. "

Production reports stated
she had permission to attend the ball.

But behind the scenes...

...studio head Peter Levathes
was imploring her not to go.

A week earlier, he had sent
a letter stating:

"As you know, we're behind
schedule with our picture...

...and we cannot consent to
or acquiesce in your absence. "

But her mind was made up...

...and she went to New York
to perform for the president.

We all knew she was going to go.

It was an honor to go.
She wasn't the only one invited.

There were many.
And she had permission.

Mr. President, Marilyn Monroe.

Her legendary tardiness was
made a running gag through the night.

Here she is.

I'll introduce her anyway.
In the history of show business...

...perhaps there has been
no one female who meant so much...

...who has done more...

When she finally appeared,
she was wearing a silk gown...

...that revealed more than it hid.

Mr. President,
the late Marilyn Monroe.

That night, her memorable
performance was caught on camera.

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday...

...Mr. President

Happy birthday...

...to you

Fox executives were livid.

She didn't have any
sense of responsibility...

...or any respect for them.
Had no feelings for them.

And they just suddenly...

...I think, moved away
from a professional evaluation...

...to a personal snit.

Everybody! Happy birthday!

Well, it was very upsetting to Cukor.

The rest of us have been
in this movie business a long time.

All kinds of things happen.

So it was no big red-letter day
to the crew. Just one more episode.

But Cukor took it quite personally.

The incident marked
a significant turning point...

...on the set of
Something's Got to Give.

On Monday, May 21...

...Monroe let Cukor know that
close-ups were out of the question.

No amount of makeup
could hide her fatigue.

You feel it as manipulation.

The crew felt,
you're doing your best work...

...and here she was, pissing on it.

Matters were
made worse the following day.

Marilyn had a fresh reason
to postpone shooting.

Dean Martin reported to work
in spite of a cold and fever.

For three days, she refused
to work with him...

...for fear of catching his cold.

Cukor was forced to shoot
close-ups heavily filtered...

...to conceal the actress's exhaustion.

Okay.

-Rolling?
Yeah, ready.

Tensions mounted
and she began to lose the support...

...from the crew
she had come to depend on.

But everyone was prepared
to forgive her behavior...

...when word leaked out she'd be
filming a nude swim scene on May 23.

The first ever
by a major American actress.

Come on in.
The water's so refreshing.

It was like panic. And excitement.
People running back and forth.

Everybody was kicked off the set,
including me.

I'd never been off the set,
but she wanted everybody off.

Only the illusion
of skinny-dipping was planned.

But Marilyn took things
a step further.

We had a body suit for her,
where you look nude in the water.

After three takes, she tore it off...

...and did it without
anything else on.

502.

503.

504.

Do it again!

Marilyn posed
provocatively by the pool...

...and made the world take note
that she still had a gorgeous body.

Ooh!

Marilyn seemed
inspired by the scene...

...and by the presence of
her favorite still photographers.

She was again in front
of the kind of camera...

...that had fallen in love with
her face and figure, years before.

When it was over, she said:
"This is knocking Liz Taylor...

...off the cover of the magazines. "
And she was.

That picture was on the cover
of every magazine.

- Hey!
- Cut it!

It's cool here!

While the temperature in
the pool didn't rise, optimism at Fox did.

The scene was extraordinary.

And Monroe had been on the set
for a week without interruption.

On Friday, May 25th...

...she left the studio looking happier
than she had in weeks.

But that weekend, she disappeared.

No one heard from her
for two whole days.

I couldn't understand
what happened that weekend.

That's what... To me,
it's the big personal mystery.

She left feeling great
and now it was all over again.

Maybe she had a disappointing affair.

Some speculated
Monroe's rumored affair...

...with Attorney General
Bobby Kennedy was at fault.

People think it's ridiculous that
she thought she could be First Lady.

But who thought she could've married
the greatest baseball player ever?

And she did.

Or one of the great American authors.
And she did.

In Marilyn's mind,
she could do all these things.

But whatever she needed
to get back on track with her role...

...no one on or off the set
seemed to have the solution.

On Monday, May 28,
Marilyn called in sick again.

Reports that once stated
"Marilyn Monroe ill" now reported:

"Company did not shoot...

...due to Miss Monroe's
inability to report for work. "

The following day, she showed up...

...but lacked focus in this scene
where her husband...

...implies Ellen was unfaithful
during her absence.

All right. Camera!

- Adam and Eve.
-I was afraid you'd misunderstand.

Misunderstand? You spend five years
on an island with a strange man...

-Would it be better if I knew him?
-And it slips her mind?

-Can we start again?
-Yeah.

All you can think about is the way
I behaved with this poor little...

This poor little fly.

All you can think of
is how I behaved with a...

Poor little man.

A poor little man
who wouldn't harm a fly.

Print that.

One more. That was good though.

How long does it take to tell
a woman, "My wife's back"?

It takes me two seconds.
You've had two days!

-Sorry, George, but we can do it.
Good, good.

Cut.

At 5 p.m. the company
stopped shooting...

...due to Marilyn's complaints
of exhaustion.

The film was now 11 days
behind schedule.

On May 31, her raw nerves were
noticeably close to the surface...

...during this sequence
opposite Wally Cox.

She uses her feminine wiles
to convince a naive shoe salesman...

...to pose as the man with whom
she spent five years on the island.

Would you have lunch with me?

I bring my lunch to the store.

I'd be so grateful
if you'd take it out.

Are you free for lunch?

No.

That is, inferior footwear
is made from them.

The crocodiles themselves don't make...

Would you have lunch with me?

I bring my lunch to the store.

My foot's grown.

Go barefoot for five years!

-Gee.
Cut it, print. Good.

On Friday, June 1,
Marilyn turned 36.

A watershed year for any actress.

But especially one noted
for her beauty and sexuality.

I think she realized, "I'll be 36.

Then I'll be 37, and there's a lot
of new girls that could replace me. "

699.
Speed.

Camera!

Any concerns Marilyn had
about her age, she kept to herself...

...and without mishap, shot this
scene with Wally Cox and Dean Martin.

At 9:37 a.m. they began.
Camera!

Eve said you had some questions
you wanted to ask me, Nick.

He has. Ask him, ask him anything.

Well, let me see.
What kind of an island was it?

-An ordinary island, wouldn't you say?
-Like the rest.

-Small island?
-Not small. Not large.

Medium.

-Trees, yes.
-No vines?

Yes, vines too.

-Water?
-Yes, all around.

That's the nice thing about Stephen,
he doesn't talk your ear off.

-I suppose you lived in tree houses?
-Well...

-Huts. We lived in huts.
-Separate huts.

Even for the rainy season?

When it rained, we moved to the trees.

Cut. How was that? Good.

Beautiful.

Shooting wrapped at 5:30.
Then Marilyn's birthday party began.

I picked up the cake, and they screamed
that I had to hide the cake.

It wasn't to be brought out
till 6:00.

They had to get a full day's work
out of that woman.

That was the expression.

We're having Marilyn's 36th birthday.
The assistant director says:

"Get that goddamn cake off the set
till we're done shooting at 6:00.

Then you can have
her birthday party!"

They were under pressure. They had her
on the set. They wanted to work.

Marilyn's simple birthday
party stood in contrast...

...to the lavish 30th birthday party
thrown for Liz Taylor in Rome.

Marilyn topped off her birthday
with a Dodger Stadium fundraiser...

...for the Muscular
Dystrophy Foundation.

The evening's chilly air caused her
lingering sinus infection to flare up.

And on Monday, June 4,
Marilyn telephoned Weinstein...

...to say she was too ill to work.

It was the 17th time
the actress called in sick.

I said, "Look, I'll come and pick
you up. We'll have a special car.

We'll have coffee ready. " I should've
said, "I'd have the champagne ready. "

That whole episode irritated Cukor...

...because he had been very patient.
The studio had been patient.

- That's the first time I saw
Dean get angry. He got very angry.

He started pacing the floor...

...and George tried to calm him
down, and so forth and so on.

And after a while, he said, "Okay.
That's it!" And he walked off the set.

And that was it. Right there.
That's when the whole picture stopped.

For Fox, this was the final straw.

Marilyn had worked only 13
of 30 production days...

...and the film was now
$ 1 million over budget.

Rumors flew that the actress
would soon be replaced.

Acting as Marilyn's intermediary...

...Dr. Greenson met with Fox to stop
Fox from proceeding with its plan.

He assured them he could do it.
And he was a pretty convincing guy.

Very, very passionate.
Real New Yorker.

Dr. Greenson
negotiated with Fox's lawyers.

In these minutes from one meeting,
Greenson conveyed that...

...he could get his patient
to perform any reasonable request.

He did not want Fox to deem
his relationship as a Svengali one...

...but he could persuade her to do
anything reasonable that he wanted.

He convinced them, convinced her
that he would be there all the time.

I think what's unusual is
for the studio to say:

"I need a psychiatric nurse
to get her through the film. "

Why they would think he would have
any more success than anyone else?

It was a mistake.

Greenson's promises didn't
stop Marilyn from calling in sick.

On June 6, Fox executives met
to discuss Monroe's future.

George Cukor attended and strongly
urged them to replace Marilyn.

I ran into him, and he said:

"It just wasn't running
too well, was it?"

Meaning that he just wasn't able to
get it together. It wasn't his fault.

That day, Cukor slipped news
to gossip columnist Hedda Hopper...

...that Marilyn was removed
from Something's Got to Give...

...and that her career
in Hollywood was over.

He finally just felt so frustrated...

...and had done everything in the world
to keep that production going...

...that he was upset.

But he absolutely agreed
that there was no way to go on.

She was not responding to the scenes.

Swimming in a pool, playing with kids,
that's all fun...

...but that's not gonna make a movie.

On June 8,
two days after the meeting...

...Marilyn Monroe was
officially fired.

She was upset.
The studio fired her and told her...

...she'll never work again in this town
and her career's finished.

This was a terrible shock,
a terrible shock.

Nobody else could get away
with as much as she did on this film.

Decisions would have been made
long before they did this.

They said, "We've had it!

We've got Elizabeth Taylor
in Rome running that show...

...and we got Marilyn
running this show.

You got the inmates
running the asylum. "

Fox hoped to save the film...

...and approached other actresses
as possible replacements for Monroe.

After Kim Novak and Shirley MacLaine
turned it down...

...Lee Remick was fitted
for Marilyn's costumes.

On hearing that Remick
was his new costar...

...Dean Martin handed in
his own resignation.

I said, "You better look at Martin's
contract which you guys negotiated. "

It says, if Marilyn is replaced,
he needs approval of the star...

...otherwise he's not
gonna do the picture.

And that's what happened.

Dean insisted,
"No Marilyn, no picture. "

On June 11, letters went out
to cast and crew...

...informing them of their suspension.

I was a little stunned
that first of all...

...everything came to a stop
that day when Dean walked away.

I was put on suspension immediately.
The production stopped then.

They pulled the plug. They weren't
shooting anymore. We were laid off.

That day, 104 people lost their jobs.

Fingers were pointed at Monroe.
Marilyn was humiliated.

She feared there might be some truth
to the rumors that her career was over.

Determined to fight, Monroe
pitted sexuality, power and fame...

...against the studio
with a storm of publicity.

Between June 20 and July 15...

...Marilyn spoke candidly
with high-profile journalists...

...including Life magazine editor,
Richard Meryman.

She'd just been fired,
there was a huge uproar.

That's why she wanted
to do the article.

She jumped at it.
A huge Life magazine essay...

...would absolutely confirm that,
in essence, she was still alive.

She was still Marilyn Monroe.

In early July, Meryman
conducted two interviews at her home.

The house was empty.
There was almost no furniture in it.

Pat Newcomb was there.
The three of us sat around...

...in the middle of this empty room
on these chairs...

...and we had the interview.

There was about
a three-hour conversation.

When I arrived for the next,
it was about two days later...

...we had a bottle of champagne.
And she drank.

And she got a little high.
And suddenly, there was...

...some anger that
hadn't been there before.

She was angry at the studio. There
was just an undercurrent of anger.

I was seeing closer
to where she really was then...

...which was a very anxious...

...angry, scared woman.

As Meryman left that day,
Monroe made one last request.

She begged the journalist not
to make her look like a joke.

I think she finally articulated...

...her deep fear about herself...

...and about this interview.

I think she finally said it,
"Don't make me a joke. "

I think she felt that,
on some level...

...she was being treated as a joke.

In addition to waging
a war of words...

...Marilyn continued her personal
publicity campaign with pictures.

Monroe allowed photographer George
Barris unprecedented access to her...

...in a series
of revealing photo sessions.

She was in a good mood.

Once in a while, she'd stop and maybe
think about problems that she's in.

And it would bother her, but she
snapped out of it very quickly.

I think she was afraid
her career could be over.

And she worked so hard.

Here's a girl that was desperately
wanting to be a movie star.

Not for the money. She wanted to be
famous and for the world to know her.

The shoot continued
at a house in the Hollywood Hills...

...where the star's sudden presence
surprised the landlord's housekeeper.

She said, "Is that really
Marilyn Monroe?

Would you introduce me?"
I said, "Yes, if she agrees to it. "

When Marilyn came up, I introduced
them. Her name was Louise.

I said, "This is Louise, Marilyn. "

And she stuttered, "Are you really
Marilyn Monroe? I can't believe it!"

Marilyn says,
"I can't believe it too. "

She says, "I guess I am.
Everybody says I am. "

Hundreds of photos
were taken over a three-day shoot.

Some of the images revealed
the sad, vulnerable...

...aging woman behind the actress's
platinum blond hair and makeup.

Others celebrated the playful side...

...of America's number one
sex goddess.

Marilyn was doing more to reignite her
career than just playing cover girl.

Behind the scenes, Monroe was
campaigning with her costars...

...to get the film
back into production.

A couple of weeks later,
I had a telegram...

...from Marilyn asking if I would be
willing to continue with the film...

...if she could get the studio
to start the film up again.

I told her, "Of course,
I'd be happy to do it. "

Just weeks after her firing,
Fox did an about-face...

...and told Marilyn
that they wanted her back.

Tradeoffs were negotiated.
Concessions were made on both sides.

Marilyn agreed to not have
Paula Strasberg on the set.

And in return, director George Cukor
would be replaced with Jean Negulesco.

Marilyn signed a $ 1 million,
two-picture contract with Fox...

...and plans were made to resume
shooting Something's Got to Give.

She pretty much got her way.
But she was in control of...

...situations when it was one-on-one.

She didn't control the big picture,
but certainly bits and pieces.

Marilyn had scored a victory with Fox.

But with the pressure
surrounding negotiations...

...she had more trouble
than ever with insomnia.

By now, she was seeing both
of her doctors every day.

I had prescribed, I think,
24 Nembutal, which is a good dose.

Of course, she was supposed
to take a few every night.

Even if she took it all at once,
it's unlikely to be a fatal dose.

We try to keep it down...

...and give her the Nembutal
more frequently in smaller amounts.

Marilyn had reasons to celebrate.

Her career was back on track.
She looked healthy.

And it seemed that most of the problems
facing her had been resolved.

But on August 4, she declined a dinner
invitation from Peter Lawford...

...and opted instead to stay at home.

At approximately 7:30 p.m.,
she received a call...

...from her former stepson Joe
DiMaggio Jr. and she was delighted.

There were other calls that evening.

As I happened to talk
to her on the phone...

...in the evening, she was happy
and in a manic phase.

So I thought her mental state
was good. She sounded cheerful.

Apparently, something happened
to suddenly depress her.

According to her maid,
she retired to her room at 9:00 p.m.

Marilyn came to her bedroom door...

...and said, "Good night, Mrs. Murray.
I think I'll turn in now. "

And she closed the door.

Later that night, Marilyn
placed a call to Peter Lawford.

She bid a cryptic goodbye
to his wife and President Kennedy.

Although Lawford was concerned about
Marilyn, he didn't rush to her side.

Peter Lawford got a call from Marilyn.
She was mumbling.

She was going under
from the pills she took...

...and perhaps was calling
as a cry for help.

He didn't run over. He was the one
who then called Mickey Rudin...

...to tell him Marilyn sounded funny,
and would Mickey check?

That's when Mickey called
the housekeeper.

Marilyn's attorney,
Mickey Rudin, called Eunice Murray.

Mrs. Murray assured him
Marilyn was fine.

About five hours later, at around
3:30 a.m., Mrs. Murray awoke...

...alarmed to find the light still
on in Marilyn's bedroom.

I went to the front of
the house, turning the curtains back.

I saw Marilyn lying
on the bed, nude...

...and I was just alarmed.

Dr. Greenson got
there first. She was already dead.

And I went into the bedroom,
made sure she was dead.

There was some rigor mortis.
It wasn't extreme.

I suspected she'd been dead
at least a few hours.

There are many theories
about Marilyn's death.

But on that hot summer night
of August 5, one thing was certain.

Marilyn was gone.

I believe she was manic,
and something depressed her...

...and she grabbed pills there. She
had plenty of pills at this bedside.

I think she was suddenly depressed,
and in that sense it was intentional.

Then I think she thought better of it
when she felt herself going under...

...because she called Peter Lawford.

So while it was intentional at the time,
I believe she changed her mind.

The autopsy report showed
drugs found in Marilyn's system...

...that her doctors said
they hadn't prescribed.

At her bedside there was
a lot of Seconal I'd never given her.

Also, the autopsy showed that her
liver had a lot of chloral hydrate.

I never gave her that
and no doctor in the U.S. would.

She must have bought it in Tijuana.

Perhaps the only undisputed
fact surrounding Marilyn's death...

...was that it shocked the world.

I was floored.
I had no suspicion whatsoever...

...that this woman was on the edge
of anything like that.

To think of
"Marilyn Monroe Attempts Suicide"...

...around the world...

...punishing those SOBs at Fox and
all those who'd been mean to her...

...and treated her like a joke.

I had several phone calls
from ordinary women.

The general feeling was if they had
only known Marilyn was in trouble...

...they'd have done everything
they could to help.

And so I realized that Marilyn
didn't just have appeal for men...

...women were aware of the lost
little girl inside of her...

...and they reacted to that.

Marilyn's funeral took place
at 1 p.m. on August 8...

...at the Westwood Village
Mortuary Chapel.

Former husband Joe DiMaggio arranged
a private ceremony...

...to which none of Marilyn's
Hollywood friends were invited.

Lee Strasberg read the eulogy, and
hundreds of Marilyn's devoted fans...

...came to pay their last respects
and catch one final glimpse...

...of the world's most famous,
most glamorous...

...and most tragic superstar.

In death, Marilyn Monroe
became a legend.

An icon whose celebrity transcended
her untimely end.

She is embedded in the memories of
anyone who's ever seen her photograph.

She has become a symbol
defining womanhood...

...sexuality and beauty
for every new generation.

In 1963, Fox recast Something's Got
to Give with Doris Day...

...and James Garner and retitled
the project Move Over, Darling.

Harmless? You call Adam
and Eve harmless?

He broke his leg
and was laid up for six months!

What happened to
the other four and a half years?

The footage from Something's
Got to Give was lost in Fox's vaults.

Except for brief glimpses
in a few documentaries...

...it would rarely be seen
by the public.

In 1999, with the full cooperation
of the Marilyn Monroe Estate...

...a massive restoration project
was undertaken.

Using the latest digital technology,
nine hours of footage was restored...

...to its original
cinemascope splendor.

Cut.

Using vintage scripts
and notes from studio archives...

...a painstaking
editing process began.

Random pieces were assembled
into a coherent shape.

Thought was given
to the original intention...

...of George Cukor
and 20th Century Fox.

Start to work!

Now, for the first time ever
is the edited reconstruction...

...of Something's Got to Give.

It is one last look at a film
that might have been...

...and a star who will
live on-screen forever.