GOODBYE, NORMA JEAN
dir. Larry Buchanan, 1976
United States. 95 min.
In English.

SATURDAY, JULY 1 – 10:00PM
FRIDAY JULY 7 - MIDNIGHT
WEDNESDAY JULY 12 – 7:30PM
MONDAY JULY 17 – 10:00PM

Content warning: This film contains graphic depictions of sexual assault.

Norma Jean Baker is a poor munitions factory worker and aspiring actress in 1940s California. After striking up a relationship with a photographer who gives her the confidence she needs to overcome a traumatic past, she sets off for Hollywood to pursue her dream of stardom. Unfortunately for Norma Jean, the road to becoming Marilyn Monroe is fraught with abuse at the hands of every predatory producer and creepy casting director in town.

Leave it to Larry Buchanan to take the story of one of Hollywood’s most revered icons and turn it into a towering work of trash cinema. More BAD GIRLS GO TO HELL than BLONDE, Buchanan’s biopic is a bona fide roughie, depicting Norma Jean Baker’s (played by 70s centerfold, Misty Rowe) up-and-coming years as a waking nightmare of sexual violence and sleaze. Which is not to say that his take on Baker/Monroe isn’t still compelling. Considering this was the very first narrative film to depict the life of the world’s most famous sex symbol, Buchanan’s decision to make sex a dangerous, threatening constant in her life is a radical one, offsetting the film’s tawdriness by adding a layer of tragic irony throughout.

Even though the film focuses almost exclusively on Norma Jean’s pre-fame years, the film was still widely publicized as a Marilyn Monroe biopic, with Buchanan holding a nationwide lookalike contest to find the perfect “Marilyn” for his film. The contest was won by an unknown 21-year-old, Alexis Pederson, who supposedly turned down the part immediately after reading the script, leading Buchanan to offer the role to Rowe instead.