Editorial Review:Description:Contains: *Don't Bother to Knock *Let's Make it Legal *Monkey Business *Niagra *River of No Return
Amazon.com:Some essential examples of the Marilyn Monroe mystique make up this second collection of titles from MM's years at Twentieth Century Fox. After sparkling in small roles, she burst upon the public consciousness in 1952, thanks to five films and a certain nude calendar. Two of the 1952 pictures, showing very different sides of the new actress, are included here. One is
Monkey Business, Howard Hawks's raucous comedy about a youth serum, in which top-lined stars Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers regress to a state of adolescent abandon, with Monroe doing spot-on supporting duty.
Don't Bother to Knock gives Marilyn her first lead role, in a tense little film noir; she's a babysitter with an unstable streak, a fine performance hinting at depths rarely touched in her career.
In
Niagara, Monroe is a full-fledged sex goddess, a scheming wife tormenting husband Joseph Cotten in their cabin by the falls. This Technicolor slice of pseudo-Hitchcock is a fun location picture with a genuinely exciting climax. Otto Preminger's
River of No Return has Marilyn livened up by the presence of costar Robert Mitchum, in a strong outdoorsy Western that catches the two stars in appealing form. By the time of 1960's
Let's Make Love, MM looks tired. This backstage musical is more interesting as a time capsule than as a romance, although one number shines: 'My Heart Belongs to Daddy.' Less urgent for Monroe fans than the first Diamond Collection, this set is still a good one for the die-hards.
--Robert Horton
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Marilyn Monroe - The Diamond Collection II
These are the movies that made us love her forever and a day or two.
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Marilyn Monroe - The Diamond Collection II
If you're a fan of Marilyn Monroe, this is a great collection ... each selection is Classic Marilyn. Quality is excellent.
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STUNNING LEGENDARY PERFORMANCES~BRAVO MARILYN!!!
Marilyn Monroe is a once-in-a-lifetime legend and nobody has come along since to match the magic of this gifted and very versatile performer...each gem in this Diamond Collection are classics to be enjoyed over and over again for anyone who enjoys the finest that the world of entertainment has to offer! "Don't Bother To Knock" is an amazing hauntingly brilliant performance early in Marilyn's career that shows incredible dramatic range while "Monkey Business" is a fun romp showing Monroe's great comic ability. "Niagara" is a real DIVA Superstar turn unlike any other and Marilyn is drop-dead gorgeous in this colorful spectactular with this film being the one that made Marilyn Monroe a true film Superstar and introduced without a doubt that famous Monroe walk with Marilyn unforgettable in that sumptuous red dress...mesmerizing and exotic singing "Kiss" and never was Marilyn more seductive!!! "River Of No Return" is a great movie that has aged well having a timeless quality to it with a moving and richly etched performance from Marilyn that holds up well today...musical numbers show Marilyn had her own totally original style and made magic with these numbers and every moment is fascinating to watch. "Let's Make Love" was ahead of its time and its style of intergrating musical numbers into the story was used some ten years later in "Cabaret"...listening to the Original Soundtrack CD it is clear that Marilyn delivers some of the finest musical performances of her brilliant career (Cole Porter's "My Hear Belongs To Daddy" is a real showstopper!) making this a must have for fans of great musical films and this winning release also features wonderful unreleased performances not in the film...as a young teen who sneaked into the theatre to see this racy at that time film, I have lost track of how many times I have seen this classic and find it richly entertaining every time...and the final never completed "Something's Got TO Give" show a sophisicated and very beautiful Marilyn who never looked so stunning on the big screen and this motion picture would have been a real classic...Marilyn was coming into her own as a unique performer and living screen legend who showed promise of becoming the greatest star of her generation...too bad her career which meant so much to Marilyn and showed such promise of hitting greater heights was cut tragically short. Thankfully movies such as these keep this incredible legend alive and Marilyn will in this way always shine the brightest and she always lit the screen up in a way that nobody else ever could...Marilyn was the true meaning of SUPERSTAR...we love and miss you Marilyn and thank you for leaving behind a treasure chest of magic for all of us to savor and enjoy!!!
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Niagara is a (flawed) Gem
I bought the 1st Diamond collection for my wife (a devoted Marilyn fan) and we were both impressed with the quality of the restorations. We were looking for more of the same with the Marilyn II collection. Although I ordered the collection well before Christmas, I didn't receive it until the day after Christmas. The tracking site showed it ready for pickup on December 18. When we received it we first viewed Niagara. The restoration was very good. I've been to the Falls many times and I got a kick out of how little things had changed since this movie was shot. Joseph Cotton was very convincing as the tortured soul who was infatuated with Marilyn. The action was well-paced and kept you in suspense during the last half of the movie. Unfortunately, this DVD was defective and the picture broke up 30 minutes into the movie and we lost about 10 minutes of the movie. I went to Amazon's site and after going through a short questionaire I was able to print out a postage-paid mailer without having to talk to anyone. I returned the collection for replacement due to arrive in a week. Hopefully this one will not be defective since we are looking forward to viewing the other DVDs in this set.
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Waiting for the soundtrack of the DIAMOND COLLECTION , Volume II. This collection merits a soundtrack.
After The DIAMOND COLLECTION of Marilyn Monroe DVD was released,
a soundtrack CD was also released with many interesting tracks.
Yet this time around, no soundtrack was released. I am waiting
for a soundtrack with the songs Marilyn sings in NIAGARA (KISS),
River of No Return, and Lets Make Love, as well as the main themes from Don't Bother to Knock, and Monkey Business. There must be enough tracks in the vaults of 2oth Century Fox to include as Bonus items of Marilyn Monroe singing, deleted songs
from her movies, alternate takes, etc. We Marilyn Monroe fans
demand that a soundtrack CD to the Marilyn Monroe DIAMOND COLLECTION vol. II be released.