Airdate: Reframed: Marilyn Monroe

4 part documentary Reframed: Marilyn Monroe, which has been available at SBS on Demand, now gets a linear broadcast.

Narrated by Jessica Chastain, this highlights how Marilyn fought the studios and misogyny to become a global superstar.

Reframed: Marilyn Monroe revisits the extraordinary story of a girl who sprang from nowhere to become the most famous woman in the world. Narrated by Golden Globe-winning actress Jessica Chastain, it reveals a complex, fascinating woman who took on powerbrokers in Hollywood and courageously challenged the misogyny of 1950’s America, all while beating the odds to succeed in a man’s world. Marilyn’s story isn’t just the story of one woman – in many ways, it is the story of every woman.

Episode One: Contender
Young Norma Jeane, despite her tough childhood, dreams of stardom and has the tenacity to turn dreams into reality. Soon after her first audition at Fox Studios in Hollywood, Ben Lyon, head of casting at 20th Century Fox, suggests she change her name and Marilyn Monroe is born. A year into her contract with Fox, she still hasn’t impressed studio boss Darryl Zanuck and is dropped by the studio. However, after making a close connection to Joseph Schenck, she’s able to get a job at Columbia Pictures, where she receives her first starring role in a film. Upon her contract renewal, she gets a pointed offer from the studio head, Harry Cohn, that she promptly turns down, resulting with her being let go from the studio. Four years after the incident, she co-authors an article with journalist Florabel Muir exposing the behaviour of men she’s encountered in Hollywood film studios – warning other women about the ‘wolves’ in the industry.

Monday, 15 May at 9.30pm on SBS.