All About Marilyn: A Centennial Celebration

July 24–September 15

Born on June 1, 1926, as Norma Jeane Mortensen, Marilyn Monroe was an outsized pop culture figure whose glamorous life — onscreen and off — is the stuff of legend. Unlike the sexy, dim-witted blondes she portrayed in many of her movies, in reality Monroe was a smart, shrewd actress who took her craft seriously, founding her own production company and studying method acting under Lee Strasberg. She was an artist through and through, and although her career lasted just under 15 years, Monroe left an unforgettable mark on Hollywood that still has not faded 100 years after her birth. To celebrate the motion picture legacy of this inimitable screen icon, AFI Silver presents a selection of her best films, tracing her rise from scene-stealing bit player to full-fledged star.

20th Century–Fox introduced CinemaScope, an innovative widescreen format, in 1953 at the height of Monroe’s career, and it was utilized in HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONARE, RIVER OF NO RETURN, THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH and BUS STOP. See our CinemaScope Summer series for additional titles shot in this format.