Some New Offerings for Fans of Marilyn Monroe

Good news for Marilyn Monroe fans: In honor of the 30th anniversary of her death, FoxVideo is premiering four of her movies on home video and dropping the price of eight others to $15.

The best news, though, is that “Marilyn: Something’s Got to Give,” the absorbing 1989 documentary that’s been shown on the Fox TV network, is available on video. But you have to buy one of these 12 movies on video to get a coupon to buy the documentary, for $14, through the mail.

People are still fascinated by the actress who died Aug. 5, 1962. Some video retailers report that there are Monroe fanatics who race out to buy or rent anything new about America’s most revered blond bombshell.

The new Monroe releases are four early ‘50s movies--three comedies and a drama--that show Monroe before she was a star. The packaging is somewhat misleading, however; it indicates that she’s the star of these films, when in three she has only supporting roles:

“Love Nest” (1951). A pleasant TV sitcom-like movie, starring June Haver and William Lundigan, as a couple who own an apartment house full of colorful characters. Monroe plays one of the residents, a sexy ex-WAC who makes the owner’s wife jealous.

“Let’s Make It Legal” (1951). The focus of this lightweight, occasionally amusing comedy is the rocky road to the reunion of a divorced couple (MacDonald Carey and Claudette Colbert). Monroe is a golddigger who, of course, is shown scantily clad by a pool.

“We’re Not Married” (1952). A funny script and a star-studded cast, including Ginger Rogers, Mitzi Gaynor and Zsa Zsa Gabor, propel this movie about couples who find out that, through a bureaucratic error, they’re not really married. Monroe, in a bathing suit again, gives a bland performance as a beauty queen neglecting her husband (David Wayne) and baby.

“Don’t Bother to Knock” (1952). Monroe has a more demanding role here but, at this early stage of her career, she didn’t have the acting skill to carry off the part as an emotionally disturbed baby-sitter. It’s a far-fetched, one-dimensional drama, with Richard Widmark.

Much more interesting is the 47-minute documentary, “Marilyn: Something’s Got to Give”--written, produced and narrated by Henry Schipper--about the making of her last movie, a romantic comedy with Dean Martin called “Something’s Got to Give,” which was never finished. Monroe’s absenteeism held up the movie, being produced by 20th Century Fox, then in a financial hole created by the excessive cost of “Cleopatra.” Through rare footage and interviews with those involved with the film, Schipper re-creates the last few tragic months of Monroe’s life.

The heart of this documentary is the clips from the aborted movie, including makeup test scenes, outtakes and Monroe’s famous nude swimming scene. Schipper points out that after being fired from the production, Monroe had been rehired--and was reportedly elated--shortly before her suicide.

Some of Monroe’s best movies, all from the ‘50s, have been repriced by FoxVideo to $15. Those who aren’t familiar with her work should try “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” “How to Marry a Millionaire,” “Bus Stop,” “Niagara” and “The Seven-Year Itch.” Also reduced to $15 but not among her best: “Monkey Business,” “Let’s Make Love” and “River of No Return.”

If you can find it, buy or rent “The Misfits,” on CBS-Fox, the 1961 Arthur Miller drama about modern cowboys co-starring Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift. It may be Monroe’s finest film.

Stones and Elvis: Documentaries featuring the Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley are making their home-video premieres this week.

“Gimme Shelter” (ABKCO, $30) is the unsettling 1970, 90-minute documentary by the Maysles Brothers about the 1969 free concert starring the Stones, held at Altamont raceway in Northern California, that ended in a murder that was captured on film. The Stones were performing when the Hell’s Angels, an unlikely security force, attacked a man just in front of the stage who had pulled out a gun.

The filmmakers shrewdly create tension, showing preparations for the event and the brawls preceding the stabbing. All the while the Stones are watching the footage in an editing room. This is ranked by some documentary experts as one of the best of the last 25 years. Stones fans will savor the performances of some of the group’s classics, but it’s a must-see even if you’re not a Stones enthusiast.

“Elvis: The Lost Performances” (MGM/UA, $20) is mainly for staunch fans who love him and don’t mind seeing their hero at his worst. A small part of this hourlong documentary is rehearsal footage. Nearly all of it is performances left out of two early ‘70s concert films.

This is Presley, still fairly slender, but having totally gone Las Vegas and turned into a caricature of himself, a step above a lounge act. If you ever saw Presley perform--live or in documentaries--at his peak, this is hard to watch.