Marilyn: Portrait of a Legend

Marilyn: Portrait of a Legend (1992)

*** (out of 4)

This here is a cheaply produced but mildly entertaining documentary that runs 52-minutes and takes a look at the life and death of Marilyn Monroe. The first forty-minutes deal with Monroe's career as we hear some stories about her childhood, her first marriage and her eventual rise in Hollywood. The final twelve-minutes or so deal with her mysterious death as author/director Robert Slatzer discusses various things that don't make sense.

For the most part this here is an entertaining documentary if you've got a hour to waste. The first portion of it does a nice job taking a look at Monroe's rise in the business from being let out of her contract to becoming a bit player and then a mega star. The second portion turns into a conspiracy theory documentary and that too is mildly interesting with the Kennedy's brought in as possible suspects in Monroe's murder. Fans of the actress should enjoy what this offers, although there are certainly more detailed films out there that look at both things.