Did Marilyn Monroe Ruin Arthur Miller?!

Did Arthur Miller ruin Marilyn Monroe?

R2 No, She was a mess long before him.

He wasn’t writing much when they were together. She was the breadwinner during their marriage.

While they were engaged, she pretty much saved his career. He was being investigated by the HUAC for communist sympathies. Although she could’ve been blacklisted herself, she publicly supported him. She was popular with the public and that goodwill rubbed off on him. His reputation was spared.

After her death, he wrote After The Fall, which upset many of their mutual friends. The main female character is a thinly disguised version of Marilyn. He portrays this character, a suicide, with many of Marilyn’s faults and none of her positive attributes. People felt he was exploiting her memory, something that Joe DiMaggio never did.

Just to add to R4 I think Marilyn tried hard in the beginning with him, even converting religions. By many accounts he grew disillusioned with her. MM had at least 2 miscarriages during their marriage and her various physical and emotional problems didn't help.

That said, he was very cold towards her and often locked himself in his study, leaving her even more isolated. He wrote The Misfits ostensibly as a gift to Marilyn, a great part. Actually she paid him for it and propped him up financially. She hated the script as he dumbed down and softened the character of Rosalyn Tabor and had her say many lines MM had actually said in real life.

Arthur Milled cheated on his first wife over the years and his third wife was a photographer from The Misfits set. They had 2 kids, one of whom was mentally handicapped. Miller insisted the boy go to a home and he didn't see him again for many years. Arthur was no swell guy. And After The Fall is a piece of shit.

No, and stop asking.

I wonder if she crushed him when they had sex. Look at that ass...

Miller had 2-3 plays (Death of a Salesman, Crucible, View from a Bridge) in him. The rest of his output is average to mediocre.

Marilyn psychotically reeled from abandonment, then lashed out brutally at people she felt disappointed and/or betrayed her. That was her Achilles Heel, and it ended marriages and relationships.

Many people remember her fondly: her first husband; Susan Strasberg; Jane Russell; Shelley Winters; John Huston... These are people she felt loved, respected and supported her- and she returned the sentiment.

So, she was basically a slightly stupid child, R9?

He dissed his dead former wife in After The Fall (which was a critical flop that enraged even people who had never known her) and Finishing The Picture (which evoked little reaction because no one bothered to go see it).

Everyone knew she had problems. So why couldn't he write about the time she single-handedly saved his ass from the HUAC? That was a side of her that few people knew about and would have made for a compelling drama. But he wasn't a big enough man to do something like that. She also supported him throughout their entire marriage. What a putz.

Amy Greene - Milton Greene's widow - totally had Miller's number, as she demonstrates in this clip.

You have to get to 32 - 00 before Amy begins unloading on Arthur.

R7 She's wearing a corset, it's an optical illusion...

After the Fall was a good play. All My Sons was brilliant. Arthur Miller wasn't mediocre.

What is OP's clip from?

He was mean as a snake to her. Arthur Miller was not a good human being. He used/married Marilyn to get out of the Communist allegations. He had to go before McCarthy. He needed Marilyn to soften his image. And it worked. I think during that time he was probably good to her. Then he got jealous/resentful and lost his patience with her. I saw how mean he was to her and will never forget it. She cowered when she saw him coming. I agree she would be challenging to be married to. She was very messed up. But he knew that when he married her and he basically just used her and hen turned on her. He became a degrading bully. So basically, I could never respect anything he has written anyway. But from what I've seen, it's all just depressing and twisted. No thanks.

^^^ She picked him.

It's good to hear from you Misfit Girl. Children are often very sensitive emotionally, so I'm sure what you were viewing was unfiltered. I don't know how much he was into her in the beginning. Perhaps he did have real affection towards her, but I also believe he was a complete ass and quite brutal to her towards the end. I think he speaks kindly of her these days? He know which way the wind blows on that, so he's no fool.

Marilyn was a mess. And if she was looking for someone to save her I just don't think such a person would have been possible. Not at that point.Perhaps when she was young and just starting out... but I think she had too much self-destruction in her to pull out of it. She was beautiful and wonderfully talented. A completely unique individual. Glad she's on celluloid for her to delight us with her gifts for many years to come.

R16 STFU

That's a pretty long clip, R11.

R20, we are supposed to skip to around 31:00

Oh, right, R21. I wrote my reply before reading R12.

she herself commented very insightfully after her 2 marriages that Joe D made the mistake in their first marriage and she made the mistake in her marriage to miller. Meaning, Dimaggio saw in her things he wanted to see and she did the same thing to Miller and neither turned out to be the reality.

Because Dimaggio was physically violent in the marriage she was glad to get rid of him. They got to being friends with benefits later after she divorced miller, but she was weary of tying the knot and was keeping it light. WIth Miller she seemed more devastated in the divorce. I think they had their ups and downs. Miller was a pompous ass and Marilyn realized this immediately. She also was the primary bread winner during their marriage. I read an interview he gave later in life where he was really bitter when they got divorced that their combined take on the misfits was $500k which they spit but he had to pay all the income taxes on as part of their divorce. He seemed still bitter 45 years later about that fact. Marilyn pretty much paid for his conn farm and 350 acres and probably even paid his alimony to his first wife plus paid all the bills while they were married. So I am sure this was payback.

Miller was not the nicest guy in the world and used Monroe like others said to get out of the HUAC problem, plus financially. He also had to be one of the worlds worst fathers, but then again Dimaggio was equally as bad or worse in that dept.

So no, Marilyn didnt ruin Arthur.