Marilyn: The Untold Story (1980) on Netflix

NR19802h 36mBiography Drama

Norma Jeane, an orphan in California, dreams of stardom. A 20th Century Fox contract makes her Marilyn Monroe, and she marries the baseball star Joe DiMaggio and the playwright Arthur Miller.

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Netflix3.2/5
IMDb6.4/10300 votes
Rotten TomatoesNot available

Plot summary

Norma Jeane grows up in California as an orphan, wanting to be a star. She marries Jim Dougherty, starts modeling, and after a divorce 20th Century Fox signs her, and she takes the new name Marilyn Monroe. Her mother is Gladys Baker, and the agent Johnny Hyde, the acting coach Natasha Lytess, and the director John Huston are part of her working life. She becomes a Hollywood star in the 1950s, and her life in the public eye grows along with her fame. Her second husband is the baseball player Joe DiMaggio, and her third is the playwright Arthur Miller.

Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Marilyn: The Untold Story (1980)

Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.

Director John Flynn quit Marilyn: The Untold Story two-thirds of the way through, saying producer Larry Schiller kept interfering by changing his camera set-ups and the wardrobe. Flynn said he once had his hands around Schiller's neck, and Jack Arnold was brought in to finish the picture.
Director John Flynn begged Bonnie Bedelia to take the part of Marilyn Monroe, but she turned it down. Flynn thought she would have been brilliant as Marilyn, and even producer Larry Schiller agreed to cast her, but she would not do it.
Catherine Hicks auditioned three times for the role of Marilyn Monroe before she got it. In an April 2015 radio interview she said ABC wanted Ann Jillian for the part, but producer Larry Schiller fought for her.
Sheree North, who played Marilyn Monroe's mother Gladys in the film, was under contract to 20th Century Fox at the same time as Monroe, and said she coached Catherine Hicks on playing Marilyn.