MARILYN MONROE PERFORMS SONG | BUS STOP (1956) Photo

[Los Angeles]: Twentieth Century Fox, 1956. Vintage original 8 x 10″ (20 x 25 cm.) black-and-white glossy silver gelatin print photo. Half-inch (2 cm.) tear at center blank white margin, neatly mended with archival paper. Crease at bottom right corner, about fine.

Upon her return to Twentieth Century Fox — her home studio after having spent months in New York City discovering what acting was all about — Marilyn Monroe was presented with a plumb role and a great script. Monroe worked with great scripts, directors and co-stars before, but she went all out and as “method” as possible playing Cherie, the bar singer with a severe Southern twang and poor singing ability.

Singing “That Old Black Magic”, Monroe’s performance relied heavily on her physical attributes and movements as depicted in this scene still.