These Are the Best Marilyn Monroe Movies

The legendary pop culture icon Marilyn Monroe is famous for her blonde bombshell status in classic Hollywood and the captivating lore surrounding her personal life; she is undeniably one of the most famous figures of the twentieth century. The movie star was a top-billed actress for a decade and appeared in a string of successful and beloved pictures that further propelled her to superstardom. Her films grossed $200 million (equivalent to $2 billion in 2020) at the time of her tragic death in 1962. Monroe was one of the most marketable and adored cinema stars of all time, and remains so to this day.

After getting her start with bit parts in a slew of B-list pictures, Monroe garnered the attention of audiences and critics with her minor roles in the 1950s Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve. From that moment forward, the actress took the silver screen by storm and received top billing in classic films like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Niagara, The Seven-Year Itch and Some Like It Hot. Monroe was just taking control of the trajectory of her Hollywood future when she died from a barbiturate overdose at the age of 36 in 1962. Her legacy is one of the most enduring and her impressive acting resume is a testament to her devotion to the craft and her faithful fans. An upcoming Netflix biopic of the legend starring Ana de Armas, Blonde, will be released later this year. These are the best Marilyn Monroe movies.

9 How to Marry a Millionaire

Directed by Jean Negulesco, 1953’s How to Marry a Millionaire stars Hollywood darlings Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall, and Betty Grable as a trio of fashionable Manhattan models who set out to find eligible millionaires to marry and end up actually falling in love with their marks. Monroe portrays the ditzy but kind-hearted Pola Debevoise, letting her comedic chops shine as the short-sighted character who vainly refuses to wear glasses, bumping into walls and doors throughout the film. Each actress is given their own unique storyline that often overlaps with each other, and the stunning cinematography and gorgeous costumes really make the romantic comedy stand out. The outstanding talent of its gifted leading ladies helps make How to Marry a Millionaire an endearing and amusing farce that was a box office hit and became the fifth highest-grossing film of 1953.

8 Don’t Bother to Knock

Undeniably one of Monroe’s most underrated and best performances, 1952’s Don’t Bother to Knock is a psychological film noir that has the actress playing a disturbed babysitter who catches the eye of a pilot while staying at a New York City Hotel. As her behavior becomes more erratic, he becomes more and more concerned for the safety of her young charge. The star took on the character of the troubled Nell Forbes in an effort to show she could act in a dramatic role after beginning her career with a string of hit comedies. The black-and-white thriller truly shows off Monroe’s range as a performer, and is considered by the vast majority of her fans as some of her finest acting. Film critic Dennis Schwartz was captivated by the starlet, writing, “Playing someone mentally deranged, Marilyn wonderfully channels how her mentally troubled mom acted and gives a believable performance (she’s the best reason for seeing this forgettable pic).”

7 The Prince and the Showgirl

Directed by and co-starring English acting great Laurence Olivier, 1957’s romantic comedy The Prince and the Showgirl tells the story of an American performer who gets swept up in a political coup when the Prince Regent attempts to seduce her. The movie was Marilyn Monroe Productions’ first independent picture, and was the company she formed in order to gain more control of her career trajectory. Filming was marred by difficulties between Monroe and Olivier, as their tumultuous relationship was strained by their conflicting acting approaches. When Olivier once patronizingly told the actress “All you have to do is be sexy”, she held it against him for the rest of production. Despite a rocky process, The Prince and the Showgirl fared well at the box office and particularly the United Kingdom. Monroe received the Italian David di Donatello and French Crystal Star awards for her scene-stealing performance. This was the film which led to the biographical book and movie My Week With Marilyn.

6 Niagara

Henry Hathaway’s 1953 film-noir thriller Niagara focuses on two couples who are both visiting Niagara Falls, as the tensions between one husband and wife take a dark and disturbing turn. Marilyn Monroe stars as femme fatale Rose Loomis, and co-stars Joseph Cotten as her ill-fated husband in addition to Jean Peters and Max Showalter as fellow couple Polly and Ray Cutler. Niagara was one of Monroe’s most overtly sexual films of her career, and in some scenes her body was only covered by a sheet, shocking contemporary audiences. The noir was a massive success with audiences despite the protests by women’s clubs, and was one of 20th Century Fox’s biggest box-office hits of the year. For her memorable performance, the actress was given top billing, further elevating her movie star status. The Technicolor spectacle was a star-making role for Monroe, as she would also appear in the beloved classics Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire that same year.

5 The Seven Year Itch

Renowned filmmaker Billy Wilder directed the 1955 romantic comedy The Seven Year Itch, which contains one of the most iconic pop culture images of the twentieth century: Marilyn Monroe standing over a subway grate as her white dress is blown upwards. Co-starring Tom Ewell, the picture follows New Yorker Richard, who is left alone for the summer when his family goes on vacation and finds himself infatuated with his beautiful next-door-neighbor. His imagination goes into overdrive, and he begins to fantasize about “what if.” Monroe’s performance as the simply named “The Girl” garnered rave reviews from audiences and critics across the world; her famous subway scene shoot attracted over 2,000 spectators and landed her on international front pages as 'the shot seen around the world.' The Seven Year Itch is an amusing delight and was a major financial success, becoming one of the most lucrative pictures of the year.

4 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

1953’s musical comedy Gentlemen Prefer Blondes features Marilyn Monroe teaming up with silver screen legend Jane Russell as two showgirls who travel to Paris while unknowingly being pursued by a determined private detective. The blonde bombshell stars as the gold-digging Lorelei Lee, who thinks about a man’s finances and ability to support her passion for all things shiny above all else. Russell portrays her sharp-witted and down-to-earth best friend Dorothy Shaw, who cares more about a man’s good looks than his bank account. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes iconically features Monroe’s rendition of the song “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” and her classic pink satin dress. The musical earned praise by critics for its outlandish and stimulating visuals, along with both Monroe and Russell’s entertaining performances, with Harrison Reports declaring, “Both Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe are nothing short of sensational in the leading roles. They not only act well, but the sexy manner in which they display their song, dance and pulchritude values just about sets the screen on fire and is crowd-pleasing.”

3 Some Like It Hot

Director Billy Wilder and Marilyn Monroe once again joined forces for the classic 1959 romantic comedy Some Like It Hot, co-starring Hollywood greats Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. The hilarious burlesque follows two musicians who disguise themselves as women in order to evade mafia gangsters whom they witnessed committing murder. Prior to filming, Wilder did not think that someone as famous as Monroe would take on the part of Sugar Kane, a ukulele player and singer who captures the attention of the two musicians. “The word came that Marilyn wanted the part and then we had to have Marilyn." Once again production was marred by problems with Monroe, who lacked concentration and was experiencing personal struggles while on set. However, the movie star managed to deliver a knockout performance that earned her a Golden Globe for Best Actress. Some Like It Hot opened to widespread critical acclaim and is heavily considered one of the best films of all time.

2 Bus Stop

Unlike most of Marilyn Monroe’s famous films, 1956’s Bus Stop is neither a full-fledged musical nor a comedy; it’s a dramatic piece that was the first picture she appeared in after studying at the Actor’s Studio in New York. The romantic dramedy is based on the 1955 play of the same name and centers on a naive cowboy who falls in love with an independent saloon singer and tries to whisk her away to get married and live on his Montana ranch. Don Murray joins Monroe in the film as the stubborn cowboy Beau, who falls head-over-heels in love with the ambitious Chérie, despite her many reservations. For her performance in Bus Stop, the actress learned an Ozark accent and deliberately chose make-up and costumes that lacked the glamour of her earlier works, and intentionally sang and danced mediocrely. The picture was a hit with audiences and once again Monroe’s portrayal was heralded, with The Saturday Review of Literature writing that she “effectively dispels once and for all the notion that she is merely a glamour personality.”

1 The Misfits

The legendary screen star’s last completed picture was the John Huston western drama The Misfits, which was written by her estranged husband at the time, playwright Arthur Miller. Marilyn Monroe stars as divorcee Roslyn Tabor, who falls for an aging cowboy who attempts to maintain a romance-devoid lifestyle. The picture includes the talent of “The King of Hollywood” Clark Gable (in his last role), as well as Montgomery Clift and Eli Wallach. Filming was difficult for Monroe and the rest of the cast, with production set in the 100-degree Nevada desert and Miller constantly making last minute re-writes to the already difficult script. The starlet had a gift for delivering against stacked odds, and director John Huston said that when Monroe was acting, she “was not pretending to an emotion. It was the real thing. She would go deep down within herself and find it and bring it to consciousness.” The Misfits initially failed at the box office, but the film’s leads (including the great Clark Gable, in his last film appearance) produced superb performances that have been praised by modern critics. It has since become a cult classic and is considered one of the best of the 1960s.