Marilyn Monroe 100

2026 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of legendary movie star and cultural icon Marilyn Monroe. Elektriteater will celebrate her legacy with a retrospective taking place in June.

Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson) had a difficult childhood. Despite her best efforts in later life, she never got to meet her biological father and her mother Gladys was not prepared to raise her daughter alone. Thus Monroe spent her childhood in foster families, the orphanage and at times lived with family friends. In one of her autobiographies, Monroe recalled that some of her foster families often sent her off to the cinema, where she would spend all day well into the night. Films helped the young girl better understand the society which made her feel rejected. Since childhood, Monroe was inspired by Jean Harlow and determined to be an actress.

Monroe began her career as a model. At 20, she signed a deal with 20th Century-Fox and established her stage name, which later became her real name. The first 6 months at Century-Fox she studied acting, singing, dancing and closely followed the movie-making process. Her first notable roles came in 1950: in Joseph Mankiewicz’ “All About Eve” and John Huston’s noir “The Asphalt Jungle”. These roles first brought her notoriety as a sex symbol and emerging movie star.

In 1953, Monroe starred in three films that brought her widespread acclaim: Henry Hathaway’s crime drama “Niagara”, Howard Hawks’ musical comedy “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and Jean Negulesco’s “How to Marry a Millionaire”, which was the second film ever to be filmed in the Cinemascope format and was thus far the most successful film in Monroe’s career.
In 1954, Monroe starred in Billy Wilder’s “The Seven Year Itch”, in which the subway grate scene has become one of the most iconic ever in both Monroe’s career and pop culture. In 1959, Monroe starred in another of Wilder’s films: “Some Like It Hot”, which is considered one of the best films in film history and was one of the first 25 films to be inducted into the National Film Registry in 1989.

Despite her constant problems with studios and in her personal life, Marilyn Monroe consistently maintained her status as a true movie star throughout her career during the last decades of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Although her career was tragically cut short, Monroe’s legacy as an actress and pop culture icon is one of a kind. Despite maintaining at times a negative reputation, Monroe fought relentlessly for her rights as an actress against the power of major studios at the time. Monroe’s films are some of the most well-known and critically acclaimed of all time and decades after her death she herself still inspired countless artists, musicians and filmmakers.

The retrospective will hold four screenings:
“Niagara” (1953)
“Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” (1953)
“Some Like It Hot” (1959)
“The Seven Year Itch” (1955)