Film focuses on still images of star

The documentary is part of PBS' 'American Masters' series.
WASHINGTON POST
Her face is unmistakable; her name, legendary. As one of the most photographed people in American history, Marilyn Monroe's image has persisted as one of the most recognizable, even decades after her death in 1962 at age 36.
The vast collection of still images of the iconic starlet is the focus of "Marilyn Monroe: Still Life," an hour-long documentary that's part of PBS' 20-year-old "American Masters" series. The show airs at 9 p.m. Wednesday on PBS.
The film, directed by Emmy Award winner Gail Levin, includes anecdotal interviews with several famous people who knew Monroe, including Gloria Steinem, Hugh Hefner and Norman Mailer, plus commentary from several of the photographers who worked closely with the star.
"I wanted this to feel like a story told by people who really knew her intimately," said Levin, a photography aficionado whose interest in Monroe's career began while she was working on a project about "The Misfits," Monroe's last completed film.
What drew people
Former Redbook editor Robert Stein, who worked with Monroe early in her career, said it was the actress's extraordinary vulnerability, innocence and reality that made her so accessible.
"She had no social defenses," Stein said. "If you asked her how she was, she would stop and think, and then tell you, instead of just saying, 'fine,' like most people do. It was that quality which made her able to connect with people."
Monroe, who would have celebrated her 80th birthday June 1, appeared in 30 films, but it was photography that propelled her to stardom. Her remarkable ability to use the media and to craft her public persona was one of the points Levin wanted to explore in the documentary.
"She was absolutely masterful at image-making," Levin said.
George Zimbel, one of the photographers interviewed in the film, witnessed Monroe's skill when he documented the famous 1954 "Seven Year Itch" photo shoot of Monroe standing over subway grates in New York.
"She was just magic with the camera," Zimbel said. "Therefore, the pictures are really terrific, and so people fall in love with her."
Aim of the film
Levin blended the interviews with selected still images to chronicle Monroe's tumultuous life in the spotlight, from her early years posing nude for pinup photos to her later struggle to earn respect as an actress.
But Levin didn't want this film to simply rehash Monroe's trysts and tragedies. The missteps don't matter, she said -- it's the public's fascination with Monroe that's compelling.
"People see themselves in her," Stein said. "They see themselves, kind of -- 'What if? What if I weren't cautious? What if I weren't afraid of my feelings? What if I did everything I had the impulse to do? What would happen?"'